Out-of-body experience, and not in a good way!
During these scary times of being fired for using the wrong pronoun, is it possible for a customer to voice concerns or offer feedback without the recipient becoming annoyed or frightened? Followed by the management 'canceling' you by making it too uncomfortable to return?
Let me be clear, when I voiced my concerns, I was careful to do it gingerly. I was not angry; I was not sarcastic or argumentative; I was not aggressive. I only wished to enjoy my yoga experience.
My husband & I are 75 years old. In 2022, we moved from Chicago to Charleston. We've practiced yoga for years, so we checked out Salt Spa & Yoga. The first class was October 5, 2023. We've attended 30 sessions with various instructors.
During the first sessions, instructors burned incense. We were surprised. The yoga we attended in Chicago was fragrance-free to accommodate those who suffer from allergies and asthma, so my husband, who suffers with both, asked about the use here.
Then there is the background music. When it's loud, it's irritating. I'm accustomed to, and wish for, a peaceful experience during yoga. We've practiced yoga for years, & never experienced the volumes we experience at Salt.
Several of the instructors play it loudly, so much so we can't hear the poses called out. I've asked 3 instructors to turn the music down a bit. Each was annoyed. One asked why. My response, "I'd like to hear what you're saying." Another walked to the shelf, made a motion to turn it down, but did not. Another played the music loudly & because it included words, we couldn't hear her over the words of the songs. Before her next class, I spoke to her. She shrank away as though frightened. Her solution? She will speak louder. Why not just turn the music down a bit?
Flow and pace are my other concerns. I recently thanked one instructor for offering us time to enjoy each pose, and also the time between the poses.
But others rush through. Some call out the Sanskrit terms for poses. I see class members struggling to figure out what to do and what the Sanskrit terms mean, but by the time we figure it out, the instructor has called out the next two poses. When I brought up the use of the Sanskrit terms to one instructor, she said she demonstrates the poses, but she is not always in our line of sight. Her response, "Well, just move on." But aren't we supposed to flow from one pose to the next? Class members are struggling, but some instructors aren't paying attention.
So, in 30 sessions, I spoke to 4 instructors about concerns. Since those concerns were ignored and dismissed, I 'let it go'.
Last week, the manager called, leaving a long message about each one of those conversations - incense, background music and flow. The topics were specific, dating back to October! Did she have some client list which detailed every conversation we had with instructors? I don't really understand why she called.
Before returning the call, I wrote out the text of my responses to all three topics, and I read the text verbatim when I returned her call. I still did not understand why she called in the first place.
After reading my responses, had she replied, "Thank you for your feedback. I will relay all this to the instructors", I would have felt 'heard'. The initial step to good customer service! But no such reply was offered. I suggested customer service training for the instructors to help them understand how to respond to customer feedback, but I was met with silence. What is happening here?
Unnerved, I contacted the owner who told me the manager had recorded the conversation! Then she chastised me for what was said to the manager in the last 17 seconds of the recording, "Calling the manager horrible and she is not good at her job and she should find a new job is a little much." I never said that! Yet, during our email conversations, the owner chastised me twice for those last 17 seconds! What is going on?
I sent a friend the recording and the text of my email chain with the owner. She responded, "Every email reply, and what is said on the calls is a polite way of saying, 'WE DON'T CARE. PLEASE LEAVE.' Such pat dismissive answers."
"PLEASE LEAVE?" For voicing comments or concerns? Well, now I finally understand what is going on here!
By the way, in the last 17 seconds of the recording, I stated, "If you can't handle this management job, you need to hand it over to somebody else, because this is not the way you deal with people."
The most hurtful realization of this uncomfortable situation is broken trust. We feel deceived. We thought we had good relationships with the Salt instructors. Like the meaning behind the phrase, "Bless your heart!", those relationships were never real. read more