2016 Issue 2 | GearedUp

18

®

a Planet Fitness franchisee, it’ s likely you can recite the Judgement Free Zone ® script in your sleep. But do you know where it actually began?

William“ Bill” Mulleady is an original author of the first Judgement Free Zone script and someone with whom long-time PF ® franchisees are likely very familiar. Mulleady began with Planet Fitness in 1999 and, for more than 15 years, oversaw operations and franchise development for Planet Fitness as vice president of franchise operations.

“ Bill was a huge advocate of the Judgement Free Zone, and it was a concept that was very difficult for franchisees to grasp at the time,” said franchisee Shane McGuinness.“ Bill was really instrumental in guiding us through that. PF execs had their hands full with onboarding new franchisees and opening new clubs. Bill really helped out while we were young.”

Sunshine Fitness Management LLC Franchisee Eric Dore remembers working with Mulleady beginning around 2003, when Planet Fitness began franchising.“ Early on in the model, Bill had a lot of influence on its development. He was the‘ boots on the ground’ providing a lot of information at the time; the franchise was young and there weren’ t a lot of manuals. They developed through people like Bill and Chris [ Rondeau ]; they had a firm grasp and could teach to new franchisees, helped us understand it. There is so much more to PF than just a $ 10 per month club; he was able to portray what that was and help franchisees.”

In his role, one of Mulleady’ s duties included hosting the workshops given to new franchisees and people interested in PF franchise opportunities.

“ One thing I always remember about Bill is no matter what state we were in or

“ Bill was a huge advocate

of the Judgement Free

Zone, and it was a concept

that was very difficult for

franchisees to grasp at the

time.”

– franchisee Shane McGuinness

what group of franchisees we talked to, he was well-respected and had such a great connection with them,” said Lisa Cote, Planet Fitness director of store franchise development.“ I could name any state, and he could list every club and franchise owner in the state, as well as names of managers and regionals. He was just really involved with the franchisees.”

Other franchisees echoed this sentiment. Dore said,“ Bill had a lot of industry experience. I’ d met him in the mid- to late-90s, and he managed a huge health club. He was a lifer in the industry. He’ d seen a lot, so he understood what Planet Fitness did not want to be and really helped the franchisees understand the concept.”

Jessie Dricker, franchise owner and managing partner of Planet Fitness Vermont, was one of those Mulleady helped guide in the early days.

“ Bill was and will always be my mentor. He taught me how to succeed by believing in myself and my ability to manage people.”

A common mantra Bill had in his work with franchisees was“ addition by subtraction.” He believed in enforcing the Judgement Free Zone concept and

publicly demonstrating that Planet Fitness was serious about it.

“ If someone was being rude on the floor, originally we would bring them up to the desk to cancel [ their membership ],” McGuinness said.“ Later, we started canceling people on the floor in front of other members. Customers standing nearby would think,‘ Wow, they really mean this.’ And they would bring in their friends.‘ Addition by subtraction’ – Bill used that phrase for 13 years.”

Atomic Fitness LLC franchisee Mike Walker remembered that Mulleady was the man to call for assistance in just about any situation, no matter how tricky.“ If there was a woman who reported sexual harassment in the club, that’ s a delicate situation that we need to handle well. How do we handle that at the desk? That’ s the type of stuff Bill would help us with. He would tell you exactly what to do and how to handle the situation.”

Dore recalled that a lot of these situations and procedures weren’ t standardized when franchising began, and over time, much of Bill’ s knowledge and insights became official processes and procedures still in use today.

Bill also taught franchisees to value and stand behind the staff in the clubs.“ A young female staff member telling a body builder he can’ t bring his giant jug of water on the floor needs to know her managers will back her up,” Dore said.“[ This concept ] was a huge shake-up in the industry. It was so important having someone like Bill to teach people who came over from other gyms into the PF model.”

Mulleady stepped down from his role