I was at the gym earlier today , not my usual branch but the weekend one, and saw two notices, saying they are stopping the free coffee and tea and going to provide coffee and tea vending machines. and they are going to stop the newspapers.
So finally the axe has fallen on those two free services.
rather sad for me, but i read recently that the company is having trouble financially. The usual story, a private equity fund bought it in 2006, paid over the odds , loaded the company with debt, so that even when it made a profit of £50million, it could not service the £100million of debt repayments.
Added 29.2.12. not sure what their problem is but today i read that they have a £18million interest payment . surely they could pay that out of their profit of £50million... i was puzzled but it seems they have £550million of debt, link here
This was also what happened to travellodge, the budget hotel chain which recently have to sell debt for equity. they are the chain that have a special offer of £10 per night , though in london the cheapest offer was £22 a night, and only for one night so if u want two nights u have to pay the normal rate for the next night. recently i have been seeing adverts from them offering £39 a night.
Added. 18.3.12 found out travelodge actually had a £100million a year debt repayment . here is the link
This fitness first branch is not my normal branch. my normal branch has given notice that the daily mail will be stopped but the FT remains. and no mention of removing the free coffee and tea so maybe my branch will still keep them. i know each branch has its own budget.
Added 27.2.12 too bad, i went to my regular gym today and saw the notice up there as well.
we shall see.
if they remove it entirely i shall move to a more basic gym or maybe not. There is one in vauxhall for about £16 a month.(correction: it is now £19.99 a month) but there is no sauna. i might even give up on the gym and go walking or cycling instead. because really walking is all u need in terms of exercise. and join a yoga, or tai chi class. you can do yoga and tai chi at home .
I go to the gym like it was a club. it is nice to have somewhere to go daily, another place to go instead of the library, gets me out of the flat. but without the newspapers, and coffee/tea is it worth £310 a year?
Changes will come. like my being forced to switch to google chrome . i find i like it so not all changes are bad.
The gym has this shortlist magazine provided free. i like it. there is a funny article by danny wallace in a lesson on how to order in a restaurant . he has a nice style in humour.
Added. 6.3.12 found out that the link is not to that article he wrote about the eating out, but to the latest one he wrote. So i am keeping the magazine, just to keep his articles. i daresay he will bring out a book compilation of all his articles as they are really gems of humour.
to read older articles by him go to the archive in the website.
The magazine is easier to read than its website... u have to hunt for the articles in the website and a lot of past issues crowd the page.
another article in this week's magazine talked of the digital future when we will be even more wired.but i think it will only affect some... ie some more wired than others. for eg, it says 50% have smartphones. well i dont have haha. and dont feel the lack.
There are competitions to enter too. this week there is a free holiday to thailand.
Talking of thailand, simon went yesterday to phuket for 2wks. he has a month's holiday, which he has to take or he will lose them.
Added 1.3.12 i got a reply from the fitness first organisation to my email.
Having investigated the possible refreshment options, we are introducing vending machines across all of the
Well, i did not expect them to change and reinstate things. i guess it does not matter. i was chatting to the trainers in the gym and asked them when the change will take place. the receptionist said it will be in april . i said will they keep the hot water ? one of the trainers said they are hoping to persuade management to keep the machine that provides the hot water.
i guess most of the coffee and tea is drunk by the trainers and people like me. i dont know how much of it is drunk by the members though today i did see some women drinking it, but not sure if they are trainers or members. coffee is rather expensive and they must use up quite a lot of it, not to mention providing suger and milk. it will be a significant saving i think.
i am hoping they keep the hot water machine. at least then we can bring our own coffee or tea. i dont use suger or milk so it would be no trouble for me. i hear the trainers saying does it mean they will have to provide their own milk and suger then.
come to think of it, even if they dont retain the hot water, i can still bring along a thermos of tea... so i guess it is not crucial.
so many things in life is not really necessary. dont you find this so?
