The Form

It was not a good night.  The sounds of the city, aircraft and wind kept waking us up.  It was a two cup of coffee morning.

Readers may have noticed there was not much written about our semi-daily workouts.  While in Grand Junction, a combination of altitude, cool weather and busy schedule conspired against us.  Well, the real excuse is that we just got lazy.  Whatever the reason, fast food and inactivity resulted in weight gain.  Arriving in Las Vegas, we were out of excuses and out of shape.  Jeanne brought the hammer down; it was back to exercise and healthy food.  Jeanne chose to exercise at the coach but I decided to find a local gym and use a treadmill to get started again.

There were two gyms (national chains) nearby.  Not sure exactly where gym #1 was, we called for directions.  Although it was only a few blocks away, it took two conversations to pinpoint the location.  This was a bad omen.  We soon found the place.

Approaching the counter in gym #1, the conversation went something like this:

   Marty:  Hello.  I will be in the area for only two weeks.  What are your daily or weekly rates?

   Young woman behind the counter:  You have to fill out this form.

   M:  I just want some rate information.  Can you answer a few quick questions?

   YW:  You have to fill out the form before someone can talk with you.

   M:  My wife is waiting in the car and I just want some rate information.  Isn’t there someone here to give me the info?

   YW:  You have to fill out the form first.

   M:  Look, I don’t want to fill out the form right now.  I just want some rate information.

   YW:  If you fill out the form, someone will be right with you.

   M:  If I had phoned would I have to fill out the form before someone talked with me?

   YW:  There is a liability issue here, you have to fill out the form first.

   M:  I’m not here to sue you, I only want some rate information!  I’m not going to fill out a form to get your prices!  This conversation is over, have a nice day.

I headed for the door.  Needless to say, this was not a pleasant consumer experience.  Was it unreasonable to ask how much they charged without filling out a form?  Why do they need to know how old I am to quote prices?  Or my phone number?  Or my e-mail address for that matter?  It took a few minutes to cool down.

We soon located gym #2.  Approaching the counter, the conversation went something like this:

   Marty:  Hello, I will be in the area for only two weeks.  What are your daily or weekly rates?

   Young woman behind the counter:  How often will you be here for a workout?

   M:  About every other day.

   YW:  Our daily rate is $15, but the $35 weekly rate is a better deal for you.

   M:  Thanks for the tip.  I’ll buy two weeks at the weekly rate.

   YW:  Would that be cash or charge?

   M:  Cash.

   YW:  Let me ring it up for you.

This was more like it.  No forms-for-information runaround.  The rest of the transaction went smoothly and included a brief conversation about living in a motorhome and traveling around the country.

After shopping at the Walmart Supercenter for groceries and supplies, I returned to the gym for an agonizing workout.  Amazing how quickly a 52 year old can loose muscle mass!  This is going to hurt tomorrow.

The remainder of the day was spent washing the Jeep, updating this web site and quietly watching TV at the coach.  We ate a healthy dinner and took aspirin before going to bed.  We were back on the workout-wagon.