CURVES Franchise: Curves Still Bullying Failed Franchise Owners
CURVES franchise owners don’t get a helping hand when they fail. No thank you card or best wishes. Just legal threats and a demand for tens of thousands of dollars.
Curves has new ownership, but not much has changed in the lack-of-compassion department.
Curves franchise owners who are unable to save their failing clubs (more than half of Curves clubs have failed) still should not expect a helping hand from Curves International.
They shouldn’t expect a nice letter thanking them for building the Curves brand, for paying years of royalties, for enabling Gary Heavin to strut like an altruistic peacock on national TV and cash out with an untold fortune.
What they can expect is a legal demand for the future royalties they would have had to pay if they hadn’t run out of money and could stay open to the end of their contract.
And they can expect Curves International to tell them they don’t actually own the equipment they paid for, and they should return it.
aussie z wrote:
Well I closed my club at the end of June, 4 years prior to the end of my agreement.
I did everything that CI wanted me to do in regards to closing.
I did not give them my equipment or CS [Curves Smart]I figured that I paid good money for it so I will do what I want with it.
I received a letter of demand for $64,000 to be paid within 7 days (what a joke).
I asked them to review this amount as I had no money, I then got another email telling me the figure was now $17,000, again I explained that I had no money and then a month later I got a letter delivered to my home signed by a person I have never heard of in the 6 years I have been dealing with Curves (must be from the new people who have taken over) telling me that I owe $64,000 again.
I sent an email to this person and have not heard anything since, it has now been a month since I received that letter.
I know that this will not be the last I hear from them but they will not be getting a red cent out of me. The restraints they put on you regarding getting rid of the equipment is ridiculous, there is no brand name on the equipment so what right do they have?
If they want my CS they can pay me the $12,000 I paid for it. I will not let CI bully me into anything and I will help anyone else who is being bullied by them. They need to be stopped.
In Australia we have gone from over 400 clubs in 2006 to 283 in 2012 with still many in the process of closing. I think that Curves has run its course over here and I would encourage any owner who has a profitable club to try and get rid of it before its too late. CI are putting to much emphasis on Curves Complete, I personally think it is a rip off. None of the members I had would have been able to afford the $199-$299.
I am so stressless since closing my club BUT I do miss my incredible members everyday.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CURVES FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY AND CURVE INTERNATIONAL? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
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Hi! I am unhappy about the franchisee. We just purchase it from another who was bankrupt.
I am a current Curves owner, I am a multi club owner. Curves is a great workout! I love what I do. Unfortunately, the peeps at corporate are in it for themselves and are very fake. Pretending to be overly Christian, condescending and self righteous. Also racist. Yes, I do work well over 40 hrs a week, but I am enjoying a profit at both locations. Curves is not supportive of their failing franchisees. I have heard the Area Directors say they cannot hold everyone’s hand. But what they can do, is have redundant, boring meetings. Material shared is so repetitious. And they make you watch god awful videos. And not to mention Club Camp. Training for idiots. And they have an Area Director, who sold a Curves to another owner. Like wow! This area director’s club, had holes in the ceilings, holes in the wall, tattered, donated furniture, wires coming out of the ceiling, and everything looked like it belonged in the ghetto. They have this AD doing training and as the facilitator, she talks about club image and appearance and how to manage that. How can I woman who could not clean up the image of her club, preach to others about club image?
Christina Russell along with other corporate employees, are very condescending and talk down to people. They are fake, hold shit back and only share what they think is necessary.
Lastly, Curves pretty much employs all white people. They don’t even bother to fill the minority quota. Go to their Conventions or meetings, and you will see I am talking about.
To those struggling, I empathize with you. It is not easy watching your baby sink. Those who closed their doors, consider yourself fortunate; you are no longer part of a system, that ultimately is in for themselves. You don’t have to deal with the corporate idiots, that act like they are their to help you and support you. They are in it for themselves.
If I knew what I now know about Curves, profit set aside, I would have never bought into the company.
Did you get SBA loan for Curves? Was the loan officer aware that SBA loan was not serviceable from the business income?
Kudos to you Pam!! Thanks for telling it like it is!! Buying a curves is nothing but a corporate nightmare….too bad, because the members are all so sweet! I did a survey on club appearance in my club, out of 105 surveys completed, 103 did not want anything to change in the club…they love the personal appearance, the pet bulletin board, the book exchange, birthday board etc….they feel its their home away from home, and they are very upset about the requirements to change it!! My club is clean, fresh paint, new carpet, no wires or holes etc…but we have our own special things too, however that all has to go away, even though its upsetting to the members! So much for loving caring support, which is what corporate says we are but doesnt do!!! Why dont they walk the talk!
Hope i have contacted the lawyer thru Dady and Gardner in Minneapolis. I just sent some paperwork over for him to review and i will be talking with Mr Ronald Gardner himself on Monday morning 12/18/12 at 11:00. I will let everybody know what i find out. Said he has done many Curves cases and is very familiar with the franchise agreements and all.
I love what all you said Pam!!! Thank you for sharing with us.
Hope my members also are upset over all the new changes. My club was freshly painted in the Curves colors again right before i bought it. The club always was and still is spotless. My members always comment on that. A few of members yesterday said they would write to Curves International on my behalf. Im sure all of them would. I haven’t told them yet that im thinking of closing at the end of February. Will give them at least a months notice. Just dont see any other way
I am so glad to hear from other Curves owners with respect to the new corporate executives, Curves Complete, etc. Our Curves is very clean and very well decorated. The paint is new, the carpet new, and every thing is color cordinated. Our members love the way it looks and smells when they come in the door, and all have expressed the fact that they do not want anything to change. We spent a lot of money making sure our club is a very pleasant place to exercise. We are very unhappy about the way we are being required to make changes, which we cannot afford. We are barely keeping the doors open and corporate is assuming that the franchises have the money to comply with their demands.
What a joke that Cleveland Clinic Certification is. Curves has always preached “keep it simple”. If I had wanted to be a phycologist I would have gone to school for that. That was a waste of time and, not to mention, money!
Has anyone been visited by the “secret spy (shopper)? That is also a joke. I for one could care less if they send someone to spy on us. I think corporate is continually trying to control us in a cult like manner.
One last comment. We had a lady visit our club and commented that it was the nicest club she had ever visited!
Connie, I was visited by a secret spy shopper and my AD told me I scored low, and this is after I spent time, money on all the paint and changes they demanded!! And I still scored low!! My members are soooooo upset with the changes, I had a100 surveys that said they did not want any changes, they loved the club…they have called corporate and filed complaints they have sent emails and corporate doesnt care…! My AD said that since I didnt score 80% they would be sending out another secret shopper and they will charge me 250 dollars!!!!!!!! This is insanity!!! Someone please stop the insanity!!!!
Hope:
Did they tell you why they gave you a low score? They are going to charge you $250 for the spy’s fee or $250 if you get another low score?
The majority of our members are over 65. They are not interested in Curves Complete. They are here to keep in shape, socialize and stay healthy. CI should have done some research in the small towns. I am assuming they only researched the cities with large populations, where it is feasible to get 66 new members a quarter. Not in my little town!
Connie, I was told that because I fell below the 80 percent required on the scores they would send another spy to see if I did the things they marked me down on and because they are having to send another one to see if I did the changes I would have to pay 250 dollars for the spy! I was marked down on my staff not wearing a name tag, not having the curves logo on the wall and no posters…however I was still waiting for those to come from curves. I had to wait 3 weeks for the logo due to back orders! So I lost 14 points on those items, which I couldnt help!! They also said my staff didnt greet them within 5 seconds and they werent in the center circle another 10 points deducted. My staff always greet, infact she was the previous owner for 11 yrs from the first day the club had been opened…she trained me, I have only been the owner for 1and half years, so for them to ding her and tell me I need to make sure my staff is trained is hilarious!! If she didnt greet someone within 5 seconds it would have been because there was a phone call or a bathroom run!! Also our club is the same as yours, our members are older women, many have been there for 10 yrs, they all know each other and all are very upset about the changes. This is a nightmare!
I agree with you Hope, this is a nightmare and I too would never have purchased if I had known what this would turn into. I feel strongly that this was a bait and switch…that corporate knew where this was going (Curves Complete) at the time I was ‘vetted’ for my purchase (January 2012). I had lawyers look over my contract at the time and nothing was mentioned about major changes (like the entire focus of the club being changed from a fitness center to a diet center with fitness)…believe me, this would have been a huge red flag for me and I would not have gotten involved! Since my purchase I have developed a severe case of Anxiety Disorder. I am holding on in hopes that I can find someone who will be willing to be who they want as an owner because honestly I am not that girl. I was a member of over 6 years when I made the purchase and have over 200 lovely members (only 3 of which are on Complete)….I know what I believed to be true of Curves and now I know that this is not based in reality….Curves does not give a shit about us curvy girls at all! They basically suck! ~Jackie
ps, Hi Patti….xo
Hi Jackie! Everything you said about not being the right girl for this, boy do I hear you!! And the anxiety disorder, yes!! I started having panic attacks, went on meds! Now I am at home sick, and I know when I am under stress my immunity drops, so now I can offically say curves is making me sick! Ive been communicating with Patti also….gooooo Patti!! Take care Jackie!!
Hope: How did the “spy” present herself? Did she just walk in or did she have an appointment?
We will get a zero score cause the only thing we have are the posters. The banner isn’t even up. Our sign people are dragging their feet. We don’t stand in the middle of the floor and we don’t wear Curves shirts in the winter, it’s too cold.
Wonder what punishment we will have to endure? I say, bring them on!
Hi Connie, I dont know for sure which one it was…we only had a few unknown people in the month, the two I suspected the most were different, 1 was an appt. the other walked in, yet my AD said no it wasnt those 2…but of course she is going to deny that, but I cant say for sure….I get the impression it can happen either way. Anyway yes they will score you low, I had done alot and still didnt make the score!! We also have gotten curves mail leads and they are bogus, no number or another number thats across the united states and when we call there is no person by that name at the number….or they dont show etc….nothing has been of any value…let me know how you are doing
I also received my logos late. Five weeks late! And my order was incomplete. I told my AD what was going on, in regards to the vendor being late on the orders for the logos. And if their vendors were late getting our shipments out, how would this impact our secret shopper programmer? Her response: NONE! She completely did not address the issue of the vendor causing delays and the issue behind incomplete orders. I can tell you, I found a contact at Ferrari Color, and they completely, 110% blamed Curves International for the fiasco. My contact told me the way Curves approached it was very disorganized and a disaster waiting to happen. She told me that she understood we were underneath the gun, however, it was worst for them. This contact spoke candidly and openly about Curves needing to get their stuff together.
It is insightful to hear they are charging people for the Secret Shopper program. That is not the picture they painted at Convention. What a scam! But does anything that Curves does at this point, shock any of you? So I get it, you have to be greeted within five seconds and you should be in the center of the circuit. What if you are in the bathroom? On the phone? Or better yet, with a sale? Does the count against you also? I personally now feel, that they will intentionally score most owners low, so this way they can scam you out of more money. They have to keep their profits up right? Why else would the AD not address the concern of the vendors shipping late and the impact/consequences on the secret shopper program.
May I ask Hope, what state or area you are in? And yes on the leads being BOGUS! We receive many of them, no contact info. And over 90% of our so called appts that are made through the call center, are no shows. I actually stopped printing the leads up and send them back as fraudulent. What a joke! My staff and I tracked our leads and the conversion and it is small.
Curves International presented themselves under this new deal with NCP as a way to help their franchisees. I call bullshit. But at least they managed to make people believe that they are supportive and helpful. Thinking long term, does Curves have staying power? Will anyone know what Curves was, 15 yrs from now? Also, even after have their clubs closing, Curves say they cut a profit. Anyone question, with half their franchises gone, how Curves is still showing a profit?
Please share feedback ladies. Keep your chins up, their is always light at the end of the tunnel. :)
Pam, Im on the west coast…and I also let my AD know I was waiting for logos, curves shirts, and that I couldnt order shirts for my one employee because it was out of stock! I was also waiting for name tags, I told her that these things I couldnt control and should not be docked points….but it didnt matter I waa docked anyway….then, I was docked points for my staff not doing the 5 second greet and not having a name tag….what a joke, my staff always greets unless they are in the restroom, or sales call!!! So yes you are right, how can they be in the circuit every second!!! It is a scam, and none of the leads have ever come through for us! I just wish there was a way to find out how many of us are out there, because I think there is a lot!! I would love to know how many there are in comparison to how many total clubs they still have open which is dwindling every day, what a shame.
Pam feel free to connect with me on email through admin if you want. Take care
Hi everyone: The leads we get are 90% bogus or no shows. I have written CI about this but, of course, no response.
It is my understanding that they will withhold lead information if we don’t meet some of their demands. Who cares? It is a waste of time trying to confirm or set an appointment.
I too would be interested in knowing how many franchises are still in operation. I know in this area, at least 3 have closed in the last couple of years. I would close this one but I can’t afford the fees they charge when you close before the agreement has expired. We have 2 more years to suffer.
Connie, I have longer than you to get through, I dont know if I can survive it…the demands are going to get worse as time goes on, they have more in store…these demands are only the bottom of the tier, we are just bottom feeders with these current demands. They are going to be looking at our individual clubs revenues and sales, and I know more is ahead….the pressure has only begun
Does anybody know if anything came out of the group law suits mr Gardner? My heart breaks when i read all the stories. They’re my story. aAthough some have had the luck of experiencing peak moments with the club and the memberships. Unfortunately with me that never happend. after two years i am still struggling with a very high attrition rate. Of course Curves points at me – we do not follow the system. yeah right. But almost every member that cancells tells us ‘it is not you – we love you guys!’. They just don’t want to prioritize excercise. (Most of my women are quite young, working full time, with kids from 1 to 11 or so) And if I would leave them alone, they would just pay their dues for years on end. But my fantastic Curves system tells me to contact them. And I do. Knowing that somewhere in the next days I will receive a letter or a mail cancelling the membership. Believe me, I do feel it’s still the right thing to do. Life is expensive enough as it is. But with such a high attrition rate it’s undoable to reach a healthy membership level. Especially considering the organization cost. Curves approved a location that was way too expensive. They knew. I did not. I am heading for bankruptcy. Even though I have been doing everything in my power to improve the results. It’s devastating. I love my club. I love my members. But I know I will going to have to say goodbeye to them soon. That’s why I am really interested to know if anything came out of the law suits. Does anybody know?
Dear flabergasted, I know that one club is currently using
attorney gardner right now. It is still in process and there hasnt been any final outcome yet. This is the first case of dealing with the new company so it is a different ball game. If you want to contact admin on this site and get my email I can keep you informed as to how this is going. I know what you are going through, i bought in at a bad time, and like you I havent enjoyed any good times either…also I feel I wasnt given an accurate picture regarding the memberships on the books or curves demands and expectations, if I had been given the facts I would not have purchased it!! It is heartbreaking to see all the devastation that continues to go on for years in the lives of these owners.
Hi everyone, have been reading your stories and thought you should hear mine. I bought 4 curves right at the beginning and enjoyed about max 3 years of profits and great times, after about that long things started to go bad. I started to get loans to pay curves what they demanded then I had to start selling my properties to try to keep up with it all. I tried very hard to sell 3 of them and couldnt. I then started to beg curves to let me shut down 2 of them (as I managed to sell one in the end.) the 2 clubs were bleeding my dry and also my club which was doing well. I think for 3 years I beg them to let me shut down but I just got the same old letter if I pay xxx amount I could. I also told them I was a single mother and had lost everything, that didnt matter at all. Last year I had to sell my home of 30 years to pay the leases which I had to renew as I couldnt shut down. The best is yet to come because I havent been able to pay the royalties, they, last week cut off my ezidebit and ezdebit allowed them to do it, woke up one morning and all the members had been cancelled out of my system, I hadnt been informed at all that this was going to happen, I was on holiday when my manager had to call and let me know. My one club has over 300members and is my life line but that was to be shut down IMMEDIATELY not in one month or 2 weeks immediately!!!!.
I now had to borrow more money from a friend to get the good club up and running so that I might have a chance to sell it and get some money, even if I wanted to keep it Im not allowed as I MUST sell in 3 months or they will shut me down again through ezidebit.
I have also written to Ronald the lawyer and I hoping he will take on my case and sue them. I got a letter from Amy telling me to pay out a member and when I do I have to cc her so she knows what I wrote. Of course I laughed as I said “HOW you cut off my ezidebit” !
So has anyone else been cut off from ezidebit also Today tonite has contacted me and wants to a story on franchises if anyone wants their story to be told please email me. The devastation will continue in my life forever.
Hi Hope ezidebit is a company here in australia which members send the money to and they process it and then put into my account. Its the best way to do direct debit here through this company. They work for me and I pay them for what they do.
They have nothing to do with curves at all. Im off to a lwayer on monday to see what can be done about them. I dont know your payment system but if its anyhting like this and curves knows it change companies now. I owed 6000$ and thats what they have done. One club pays all my bills, rent, wages and mortgage etc and it was shut down over 6000$ hhhhmmm yes Hope its only going to get worse. try and hang in there, its funny but its a great job if we only didnt have curves attached
Hi Sharon, wow, it just goes on and on this nightmare!! You are soooo right about it would be a great business if it werent for curves corporate. No matter what country we are in its the same story! I am so sorry for the stress you are under, and I am wishing you the best with your meeting with the lawyer. Keep us informed! I hope you have peace and help soon!!
Does anyone know why Diana Petrovich-Tao, Pres. of US franchise operations is no longer workin for Curves? She seemed like she was going to be a little more helpful with the franchise owners, maybe i just answered my question??,but then again she worked for Corporate!!!
Honestly, I dont think any of them in corporate can be trusted. It does make me wonder what is going on…..she wasnt with us very long, and it doesnt look good.
We were not visited by a secret spy/shopper but received a 95% score! We have not painted, we have decor on the walls that is not Curves, we do not wear Curves shirts in the winter, and we do not stand in the center and coach. We feel that the spy is either one of our members or a stranger that decided not to be bothered with this nonsence. We received a congratulatory letter from our AD and from Diana. Lucky us!
We learned today that a club in another state received a 0% score. She has not heard from Curves. I will be anxious to know what they do to clubs that do not meet their demands. Does any one know?
With the sudden step down(?) or removal of Diana, it sure makes me wonder what is next. All I know is that many had been banking on this new way of doing things to torn clubs around…and now this.. What does this mean? What is next? Was all the painting and such in vain?? Ouch.
Dear Lucked out, wow thats interesting!! I thought the process was biased! I received a 68% and I painted, and did most of the changes, however a few things like, posters and logos I was waiting on delivery, they came 3 days after the first of Jan. and they were 3 days after my spy. So I was dinged 20 points, which a few days later I had completed!!! So because I scored with 68 and knew I was compliant by the time I was told my score, I explained to my AD that I had completed it all and that my score was in the high 80s at the least. I told her I was waiting for my delivery and that I had it all completed. I was first told I would have to pay 250 dollars to have another spy come and re-score me!!!!! I was furious! I spent a lot of time with emails and phone calls fighting this! Bottom line they said they would send someone and not charge 250. However I question the whole thing, why isnt my word good enough? Why do I need another spy? The hard work I did, the time, the money all to be harrassed and threatened. My understanding is there are potential fines for not doing what they want, and also they remove clubs from the curves locations site as a penalty…I havent heard of anything else yet. I also know of another club that hadnt painted and they were not in any trouble, no issues for them, I knew then that favortism or something was going on…I knew it wasnt all fair…which your story confirms. For your sake I hope you continue to luck out, be beware!
Not only do we have all the painting etc that we have done…but if you notice there are numerous levels to their plan…what we just did was only the bottom tier…there is more coming and now we have a 5 hours required action group meeting discussing profitability….and Monty said they were going to be looking at each clubs revenues, sales etc…..there is no coincidence that this required action meeting is coming and its 5 hrs long….the heat is going to only get hotter….it wouldnt surprise me to see sales quotas set with penalties if you dont reach them, auto shipments of curves complete kits according to those quotas which you will pay for and receive even if you dont want them or didnt sell them…..its possible, all I know for sure is there are things going on and this is only the beginning.
I have just been reading the latest blogs on this page and I am so glad that I have got out of Curves. I knew that there would be worse to come and I was right. This sort of spying and fining hasn’t reached us in Australia yet but I guarantee it will come. You can bet your bottom dollar that sales quotas will come as well even when I had my club my AD was always on my back to get out in the community to get new members. The bottom line is the more members your club has the more royalties CI receive unless you were one of the fortunate clubs that had their royalties at a set rate.
I just happened upon this on a search engine and have read through a number of the comments. I hate to hear that so many of you have had a hard time with the transition. We have actually gladly welcomed the changes. The only thing we had to really do though to abide by the guidelines was change out the old posters for the new ones. The paint choices only change every few years so before we painted 3 years ago we went with the suggested paint choices, which are still in effect. I’ve been with Curves for over 10 years now have always been happy with the way they have updated over the years to keep up with new demands and trends without changing our machines. Also, we are having great success with Curves Complete. As for the secret shopper, we were able to tell exactly who ours was by looking back at our no sales file and received a 96 only because I did not have my name tag on because I took off my jacket to exercise. I really hope things get better for everyone and an sad to hear you’re all having a rough time.
Wow Jenn, thanks for sharing your perfection with all us imperfect ones. I would gladly sell my imperfect club to you so you can make it perfect. Let me know if you would like to save my club.
Honestly, I dont know how you thought your comment was going to make any struggling club feel better. Im happy you are doing well wouldnt want to wish you anything but the best, but some have lost everything and your gloating doesnt help.
ditto to Hope’s comment.
Wow! I need to catch up with all the posts. Will be reading them all within the next few days.
Whilst I was going thru the closing bullshit with CI I became very angry with all the procedures that CI wanted me to do especially the part relating to the equipment. As I have said before we all paid thousands of dollars for them so I didn’t just want to dump them, so for a brief moment I thought about opening up another gym and calling it something else, so I got in touch with Mytrak and received a quote from them for the success coaches and all the other bits and bobs that made up CS. Imagine my surprise when the quote came thru and it was only $3123.80, I had to get a loan to purchase my CS equipment as it cost me $15,000.00 boy did we all get ripped off. Once again we have all been sucked in by CI.
I closed at the end of December. I recently got a letter from CI asking for 48k+. As I am going bankrupt due to the failed business, I have simply turned it all over to my attorney. They said I “abandoned” my business, despite the fact that they were in the loop since the decision to close. i did NOT do everything they requested, as it would have meant staying open a couple more months, and there was simply no money for that.
I dont regret my decision to close, but I do miss my club. It gets easier, tho, as time goes on and its really wonderful to not have the stress hanging over my head as I did.
How is everyone else doing?
Hi Carol Joyce, Im glad your attorney is helping with this and that you are getting some relief from the stress. Please keep us informed as to how this ends for you. I wish you more relief a head.
Carol, how many more years did you have on your contract?
Patti, I had 3 more to go. I am doing a business bankruptcy to wipe out the huge debt Curves says I owe them.
Even with that, I am definately far less stressed and financially already recovering.
Other than the initial bill from Curves, I have not heard anything. I do know my attorney is in contact with them, however, and they shouldnt be in contact with me at all, at this point.
Those of you that have closed your clubs, please let me know what you did with the equipment. Also, the fees Curves imposes when you close the club seem to vary. Have you all (that have closed) paid a fee (assuming you closed before your Franchise Agreement was up) to Curves? If so, if you care to share, I would be interested in how much, and what Curves did to enforce that paymet. Thanks for your sharing the information.
Regards, Connnie
Thank you for all your input I too have been sucker punched by the previous owner with all her lies of members etc., to find out we had a lot less than what we were told. I have spent a year and a half rebuilding a club. We too are the Curves colors from 3 years ago and I DO NOT intend to change the colors at this time as we purchased the paint and have done touch ups.
Questions I have is were are most of you from? Are you in the mid-west, east, west? Also what is the update on the attorney, my feeling is we due not have a leg to stand on as we signed the agreement and it does state if Curves changes ownership we are still under the new owner.
I also agree with you that it is so stressful being in the circuit and keeping up the smile etc., when you are exhausted from the hours you work.
Appreciate anyone getting back to me regarding where you are from and also with Connie on how you closed and why the payments are different.
Thank you, Linda
Dear Linda and Connie, you are correct in that the fees vary…one thing I am aware of is that those who have used a really good attorney have been more successful in negotiating lower fees, and those who dont get served with papers to pay the highest fees. Also its impossible to get details on the outcomes because each person is told by their attorney that they can not talk about the case…so there isnt any details given as to how much they paid. It seems that those who start out on the site openly share until they connect with an attorney and then you dont hear much anymore, so there arent any clear answers. Im on the west coast…and I am still going in the hole and stressed to the max as well. I wish you the best, and like you wish there was more answers to be found here.
Thank you Hope for getting back. It is frustrating and sad as Curves works for the woman it is Corporate who makes it stressful.
We were informed by a video that the West Coast was doing well with Curves and Curves Complete and that the East Coast (where I am) was not and they were trying to figure out why one was doing better than the other. Do you know Hope if there is any truth to that, meaning the West Coast is doing well?
Thanks for your time, wish you the best also – Linda
Curves franchisees and former franchisees:
It’s really time to bring Curves’ closing practices out in the open and put a stop to the insensitive and unethical way Curves continues to treat its failed and failing franchisees.
While there are not a lot of comments lately, make no mistake – this is not a “dead” thread… there are a tremendous number of franchisees reading every day as they search for answers and help… they just aren’t posting.
I need to hear from you. I need to hear your stories – what you have gone through and what you are going through… What Curves demanded from you and what they settled for (if you’re already through the closing process) I would like to get copies of correspondence that they’ve sent you. I will keep it confidential and won’t post anything without your consent.
If you can provide me with some current demands, especially from the current owners, I will reach out to franchisee attorneys and others in the hopes of getting some assistance pro bono or on contingency. I will also try to reach out to the company to get them to change the practices and policies toward those who believed and invested in their brand, and have lost enough already. I believe Curves & North Castle Partners will be better off taking a more enlightened approach, rather than face a national PR campaign and petition to stop their current tactics.
Please send an email to UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com if you wish to share your story, information, documents, or even if you just wish to receive our email updates (no spam). If you have items to mail, email me for the address.
Thanks,
ADMIN
UnhappyFranchisee.com
UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com
Dear ADMIN, thank you thank you thank you!!! Yes what you say is true, there are many suffering, broken owners and we all need each other! I have communicated with you previously as well as provided you with some of the new requirements, Im not sure what more you need from me…however I am with you and will share more if you know of anything I can do. If you need me to write my story and send it to you or anything else please email me your address. I hope that all the others will do the same, I appreciate your site and your communication.
Dear Linda,
I can not believe you guys on the east coast were given a video message like that!! No the west coast is not doing great…I know of others who are failing and if you check the curves for sale for california theres a truck load that are trying to sale in hopes of getting out….rest assured they rarely sell and then they close, so its not over! So from east to west its a nightmare!!
We are closing our club very soon and have contacted a lawyer. We’re still not sure what we have to do with the equipment but I would love to auction it off to members who would like to buy a machine for their personal use. It would help to offset costs of closing. The lawyer did say that the bankruptcy language in the contract is not lawful, if that is helpful to anyone. We haven’t gotten any further than that as yet. Hoping to have more answers soon. I looked online for a current number of clubs and it looks like less than 2500 as of January 2013. Also found a site that showed that the numbers have been going down about 1000 per year in the last several years. Hope this helps. If anyone knows anything about the equipment it would be great if you would let us know!
The Curves FDD filed in May, 2012 had these numbers listed for franchises open at the end of each year:
2009 5214
2010 4387
2011 3523
Net change
2009 -1041
2010 -827
2011 -864
At that rate, it could be down to 2500 locations. What websites are you looking at, Getting Out?