Contractor or Employee

I hope that all the mothers out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day, and now we are looking forward to the “unofficial” start of Summer – Memorial Day. For me and my wife it’s one of the few days of the year that we have off, but there are so many “house” things to do that it will be just another day. Hopefully it will be nice for all those having cookouts.

The other day my wife went to a hair salon to get a haircut. She mentioned to me that this particular salon is owned by a stylist who rents out space to other hair stylists. It got me to thinking about how many fitness studios have personal trainers that are contractors rather than employees.

What does that mean to the average client? Sometimes nothing; but there definitely is a difference.

Many private personal trainers have no place to train their clients. If they have a client with a full gym (which is rare) then they can train the client in their own home. When this is not the case, then the trainer has to rent out space in a gym. Many times this means that you will be trained in a gym atmosphere with other clients around you, there may be limited options for equipment since the gym’s own clients have precedence, or the session may take longer than needed because of the lack of equipment.

If you, as a client, have a problem with the trainer or are not achieving the results you want, your only recourse is to talk to the trainer. The gym owner has no obligation to settle any disputes. You are the client of the trainer, not of the gym owner.

Some fitness studios only hire contractors. This saves them money in many ways but, again, they are not fully responsible for the trainers that train clients in their studios. When a fitness studio hires contractors many times you will pay the studio, and then the studio will pay the trainer, less rent/space fees. For their reputation’s sake, if a client has a problem with the trainer the studio owner may try to mediate the problem but, again, they are not obligated to do so. You are really the client of the trainer, not the studio.

At Fitness Together we only have employees, not contractors. This means that every Personal Trainer at our Studios has gone through our hiring procedure and has been trained as a Fitness Together Personal Trainer. That is beyond their own certifications.

If you, as a client, ever have any questions or concerns with relation to the Studio or your Trainer, you can always speak to my wife or myself. It is our responsibility to make sure that you receive the best fitness experience possible. We are committed to help you achieve your fitness goals and, if for any reason you are not getting the results you requested, we want to know why.

That is the difference between contractors and employees. What is your preference?