Fit to Print Volume 23 Issue 2: June 2014 | Page 5
S t a f f Pe r s p e c t i v e
by Laurie Gilfedder
What’s The Difference?
It’s the People!
instance or point of unlikeness or
dissimilarity' a distinguishing
characteristic; distinctive quality,
feature, etc.
A
ll you have to do is watch television
in any given week and you will hear
dozens of commercials representing
dozens of fitness facilities to realize that
there are so many choices when it comes
to gym memberships. Or just drive within
a five mile radius and you will pass at
least a half dozen or so gyms in your home
town. And if you widen your scope to
include weight loss programs, such as
“Diet Plan XYZ to lose 10 pounds in a
week or Diet ABC for convenient home
food delivery, your health, weight loss and
fitness choices become even more mindboggling and complicated.
So what's a person to do, how do you
decide which one is best for you, how do
you determine which gym, which weight
loss program will help you achieve your
immediate and your long term goals?
What's the right fit? What's the
difference??
It's not so easy as it first appears. Impulse
may influence you to join the newest
gym. And so you think, if it's new, it must
be good, right? New is better than old,
right?? Or perhaps you may be persuaded
to believe that the gym with the most
treadmills is best. A gym with 40
treadmills must be twice as good as a gym
with 20 treadmills, right? More is better,
right?? Or perhaps you should follow the
diet program that promises you will lose
20 lbs. What does it all mean and how do
you make heads or tails of these choices?
How do you make a decision?
What's the Difference??
Webster's dictionary defines difference as:
the element or factor that separates or
distinguishes contrasting situations; an
So first things first, let's define the
differences. I can sum it up in one
word: People! To name a few, Ken and
Corinne Brown, Cathy Peacock, Kelly
Wallace, Dina Voigt, Carmella Milano,
Rachel Ezelius, Linda Bornholdt, Diane
Tinerello, our PT staff, Spa staff (I
could go on and on) and, most
importantly and irreplaceably, our
member community!
You may be surprised that I didn't
mention the name of even one piece of
equipment. But when it comes to
differences, is any one piece of
equipment the defining factor for
joining
a gym? Of course not! It's all about
people, relationships and how they
affect you and your fitness success.
Let me start with Ken and Corinne
Brown, owners of Fitness Incentive for
the last thirty years. As a staff member,
I have met many people and said the
following to them: “One of the
distinguishing qualities that sets Fitness
Incentive apart from the rest is that it
is owner managed.” This gym is their
baby, and they love it no less than if it
really was their now 30 year old child!
It is that important and it defines them!
So what does this mean to you? It
means that they have outlined a
mission for Fitness Incentive; to provide
you with the best possible facility,
equipment, classes, services, and staff
that is possible. A facility that tries to
be one step above, a gym that tries to
provide not just good, but exceptional
customer service. In the beginning it
was possible to do it more or less by
themselves, but as the gym grew, it
became necessary to choose the right
people to help the gym reach its
potential. And that is why I have listed
people as the defining difference of
Fitness Incentive. Ken and Cor have
chosen an incredible staff along the
way that has helped to define the
uniqueness of FI.
Consider, for example, Cathy Peacock,
who has basically been at FI since its
infancy. Of course, it's nice for our
members to be able to see Cathy's
smiling face when you come to the
gym. And it's even nicer, if you haven't
Summer 2014 FIT to Print
been to the gym in a few days, months or
even years, to come back and see that
the same old staff is still here! And
although most of you know her through
the front desk and her classes, her
influence goes much deeper. Through the
years Cathy has taken on many )ɕ