Would not recommend this yoga studio to others. After a year and a half away from in-person yoga classes and after relocating to Manayunk within the past few months, I was thrilled to try out this neighborhood spot that had come highly recommended by other Yelp reviewers. However, when I got sick shortly after signing up for my first two classes and sought clarification on the cancellation policy, I was met with a great deal of rudeness from the staff- who also attempted to charge me for the second missed class, despite failing to address my question about the cancellation window when initially asked.
I ultimately decided to give the studio another try despite this and logged on to attend a virtual class a few days later. I waited for over a half hour for the instructor to arrive- but ultimately she was a no-show. I wrote to the studio to advise them of the no-show and to ask to be put in touch with the manager- but nobody responded. I then wrote a second message the next day and received a response that the instructor had an emergency and that I could sign up for another virtual class, instead- which was no adequate compensation in my case, considering I'd bought a monthly pass and was not being charged per each individual class. No apology nor additional compensation was offered, and my request to speak to the studio manager was ignored.
The final straw came the next day when I received notification that the outdoor class I'd signed up for that night had been switched to indoors due to weather, with the caveat that any students to cancel as a result of the change in location would be charged a late cancel fee. Considering we are in the midst of COVID still and considering I- like many others out there- have a sick family member whose safety plays a role in all of my decisions, it is not yet feasible for me to attend indoor classes. The fact that the studio has chosen to enforce a late cancel fee for any student to cancel due to a location change at the studio's discretion- is not only poor business but disrespectful to the health and safety of their students and their students' loved ones. So that was the nail in the coffin for me.
I have looked up several other yoga studios in the meantime, and many have a no-charge cancellation policy, regardless of how soon before a class a student may cancel. In these ever-changing, sensitive times, one would hope that a business trying to win the affections of the Philly community would be accommodating to their clients' needs and circumstances- but unfortunately, this was not the case here. And how sad, coming from a yoga community- one that should reduce stress and bad vibes, rather than causing them.
Unfortunately I wasted $90 in this instance and never should have jumped to buying a monthly pass to begin with- but ultimately I'm glad to have learned early on that this was not the studio for me so that I could move on to a more accommodating environment. Hopefully this review will prevent others from making the same mistake as me.
ADDITION:
In response to my review I received the below comment, making excuses for the way the business is run and attempting to blame the customer for the cancellation issue. When somebody is not feeling well and has to search a website for hidden information, it is often easier to ask the studio directly for their policy. However, this question was disregarded and I was ultimately blamed for not following the cancellation policy that I had not been advised on when asked. It is in poor taste but typical for the response to this review having been to throw blame at the customer. Not in the least bit surprised. read more
