What a horrible experience!
I just want to say up front that I have never written a negative review about a business. Being a fan of CF and a member for over three years, however; I feel that if a business is not living up to the "Credo" of the community it is affiliated with gives the whole CF organization a bad name, which shouldn't be tolerated...Hence, the below review:
My boyfriend and I both travel a lot for work, he deploys frequently and I travel all over the US, and we both regularly drop in at the local CF gyms to enjoy a few WODs and meet other CF affiliates/members because CF is known for its sense of community and support of military personnel. Today, however, that understanding was seriously undermined when we attempted to drop-in at CrossFit Colby.
My boyfriend had already been here a week prior to my arrival and had paid for two weeks worth of CF up front ($50, which is not a deal as a one month membership is $100...oh, and they don't give military discounts here either!). Regardless, I was excited to join him and be able to work out so that I didn't lose a whole weeks worth of training and was willing to pay whatever agreed upon fee that I needed to. When I showed up today, however; I was turned away! I really couldn't believe it, there we were at 0830 hrs, after having driven 30 miles to the gym, under the assumption that, like all the CF gyms we had been to before, I could drop in, hang out with cool CF folks, and get an awesome workout in, which would be a great start to our Holiday home leave. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way, and I was chastised in front of the whole CF class, by the Owner/Coach Heather Stapp, that I did not provide her with an email notification 24 hours in advance of my drop-in and therefore, I could not join the class.
Now don't get me wrong, I am all for having policies, but I think sometimes these "rules" can be bent if the circumstance warrants...for example, I would totally get her turning me away if the class was at maximum capacity, but it wasn't, there were only 8-10 members there this morning. I would also get her turning me away if it was my first time at CF and she was concerned about my lack of experience and that I might get hurt because she didn't have the staff there to help me...but that is not the case, I am a seasoned CF member and know what my limitations are. She was just flat out unwilling to work with us and was downright rude! Had she even had a better attitude/approach and the circumstances worked out the same way, we would have returned tomorrow, after providing my 24 hour email notice of course , and this review would never have taken place! Instead, she has lost our business indefinitely. This may not be a big deal to her or to the success of her business; but maybe it will be a big deal to the CF community that she is affiliated with because she sure is giving them a bad name! read more
