Comments on: Boston Sports Club Offers Free Pool Hair! All You Can Eat!

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:05:02 +0000

dawn, thanks for posting a comment. see my comment above regarding other body hair. my belief is that i have opened the door and given bsc valuable customer feedback. if bsc was a smart, customer-centric brand they would address the issue. if they are a brand who thinks social media is just a medium for complaints, they will ignore it. i am happy to post an update to this blog as soon as i hear from them. still waiting….

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:45:31 +0000

As someone with very long hair, I have to wonder how I’d possibly GET my hair into a swim cap. Also, how do you propose to deal with those people who do have a LOT of body hair? How long is too long? I can understand your displeasure and truthfully, I have no idea why she’d do what she did, but I think this campaign you waged is a little bit… much?

Just my .02

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:37:21 +0000

veronica, the sad part about this is that if bsc used social media as a monitoring tool, they could have addressed the problem and nipped it in the bud. right now if you google “boston sports club swimming” my blog post shows up above the fold. i would be happy to provide an update to my post if bsc chnged its policy. still waiting to hear from them…bueller…anyone…

By: Veronica

Veronica — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:21:59 +0000

Hey Kel!
Love this story (although it sounds like a hideously gross experience) because it really shows how influential a consumer can be through social media. Because your own personal tweets (and blog post!) have brought this grossness to our attention, I doubt anyone who read them will be grabbing a membership at BSC in the near future. As a matter of fact, I’m looking for a new gym, and this is DEFINITELY no longer an option, regardless of the fact that I would probably never even use the pool. It proves that the consumer has power in the Web 2.0 world. If you had made a call to customer service or dropped a note in a suggestion box, not only would you have gotten lost in the clutter of complaints, you wouldn’t have been able to get the word out like you did. I hope hair lady got herself a cap…gross!

By: Kel

Kel — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:25:31 +0000

kara, i like your thinking: take a problem and turn it into an opportunity to make money! bsc are you listening? bueller…anyone…

By: Kara

Kara — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:05:15 +0000

Hi Kel! I laughed and gagged while reading this. Other people’s hair is definitely one of the grossest things to do deal with…and swim in. I belonged to BSC over the summer and I loved it, especially compared to my school’s gym. The one I belonged to didn’t have a pool, and now I am glad it didn’t. I honestly think hearing about your experience will make me think twice about using a BSC pool in the future. Eating someone’s hair is one situation I actively try to avoid. If BSC instituted a swim cap policy they could sell them at the gym and make even more money!..I think they should do it!

By: Kel

Kel — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:24:41 +0000

janet, your “hairtastrophe” comment made me laugh abruptly! seriously, that is too funny. ok, can we start with the fact that you used to be a synchronized swimmer! how cool is that? and how does someone get into that? the next time i see a rhinestone playing marco polo with a bobby pin, i will now know who to blame!

sometimes it’s amazing that brands will ignore the obvious when it comes to messaging. long ago, hotels got wind that cleanliness matters and now it is so over-messaged that it becomes white noise. however, i think you bring up a good point with health clubs. if they put a little effort into it, they could create a new category of club around cleanliness — i would choose better wording, but that is not likely to happen in the three minutes it takes to respond to this post.

happy swimming…

By: Janet

Janet — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:21:53 +0000

Hey Kel! Just to add to the gross factor of this public pool hairtastrophe…I used to be a synchronized swimmer. In order to keep our hair in those cute little bun thingys (accompanied by the requisite sequined hairpiece) we brushed on coats of Knox gelatin to seal the hairdo. So post-competition, the pool was a sea of bobby pins, sequins, rhinestones, hair, and yes, gelatin.

I’m sorry, world!!

But onto that gyms/branding topic…I’ve belonged to several gyms throughout my life and I’ve never once noticed one that really made an effort to include “clean” in their branding. I’ve seen “family-friendly” (YMCA) and “down to earth” and “cheap” (ala Planet Fitness, my current place) but I’ve yet to see anyone make that much of an effort to say, “hey, this is a really clean place and if you follow some rules we can all keep it that way.” Considering all of the sweaty, hairy, nasty possibilities of filth at health clubs, I feel like putting that sort of branding out there could actually be helpful!!

Oh well. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to that YouTube video!!

By: Kel

Kel — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:09:25 +0000

meagan, i have thrown my flip in my gym bag. i am ready to roll if “hair woman” shows up for a repeat performance.

By: Kel

Kel — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:08:30 +0000

jenn, maybe i will see you there this weekend. note: i will not be in the pool, but on the treadmill. haha!

By: Meagan

Meagan — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:39:41 +0000

Kel, this is just so, so gross. Personally, I don’t think I’d swim in a pool that didn’t require a pre-shower and bathing cap. Let the YouTube video roll! Reprehensible that in today’s climate, no one at BSC has caught on to “that Twitter thing” long enough to see that they’re being exposed for grossness. Next time, I’ll RT for you!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:34:10 +0000

Kel -

I have to workout in the morning or else I’m likely to bail on exercising. So I’m usually there in the pre-work hours or on the weekends in the morning. Love the facility, minus a few minor things.

Jenn

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:42:02 +0000

mike, after your description of “marinating in a cesspool of primordial soup” i think i will switch to duathlons that don’t involve a swim! seriously though, i agree with you. however, to me there is a certain risk associated with any action you take in your life. eating sausage, peppers & onions from a street vendor at 2:00 a.m. has a high risk factor, but sometimes it is just too damn good to pass up. i think the difference here is that there is an element of minimizing an unhealthy situation that can be controlled by bsc. they certainly can’t guarantee no hair will be floating in the pool, but they can completely remove the risk associated with the biggest hair source on a body by requiring bathing caps. it all goes back to owning the brand experience beyond messaging on a website. as far as the question on bathing — i have no idea. i actually don’t even blame her. i doubt she had any idea that what she was doing was nasty.

By: MikeM

MikeM — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:40:36 +0000

Hey Kel,

Great post! I hear what you’re saying, but how is this different that any other body hair… like armpit hair, unruly eyebrows, and hair… well elswehere? Surely we can’t expect people to put caps on all of those areas. Although you could argue that my brows are bushy enough to warrant little bathing caps.

In addition, what about the multitude of bodily fluids likely circulating through most pools? It’s probably more common than clumps of hair. Pools are a nasty environment. You’re essentially marinating in a cesspool of primordial soup. Some pools are a lightning bolt away from creating new life. But most of this stuff isn’t visible, so out of sight out of mind.

That said, I still agree that clumps of hair floating in the pool is nasty. And your description of that woman gave me the willies. Do you think she was bathing?

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:41:40 +0000

sonciary, that is so nasty. why am i not surprised the bizunite boys still eat there! sorry ben. tee-hee.

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:40:37 +0000

christine, funnily enough there was a band-aid in the pool. all things being relative, i was happy it wasn’t something that floated out of a diaper! haha!

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:38:50 +0000

amen sista’ jenn! i agree with everything you said. for the record, while there is a sign requiring a shower before swimming, that policy is rarely enforced. for the record, i love the peeps that work there. with one exception, they are great faces of the brand. corporate owes it to them to help deliver the brand experience the member is expecting, so the employees don’t have to deal with these types of issue. btw, how come i never see you over there?

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:34:38 +0000

ben, you always make me laugh. while we aren’t close enough for me to know whether you are one of these hairy men, i do know you are way too metrosexual to not address the issue. see my tweet about the mangroomer. ha!

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:33:02 +0000

kaen, you bring up an insightful and witty point. how could a brand so aligned with health make a corporate decision not to mandate bathing caps? love your comment!

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:31:08 +0000

johannes, they didn’t respond. you are right — a simple monitoring of twitter would have turned this into a post about how a brand addressed an unhappy customer and nipped the issue in the bud. instead it has turned into a hairy mess.

By: Sonciary Honnoll

Sonciary Honnoll — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:38:18 +0000

I can’t get over the mental image of hair plastered to your goggles.

There’s this local Manchester food joint that the BizUnite boys love, but I refuse to go there since I saw the sweet cook wiped her nose and then assemble our food. Gross. Now, when I think of their food, I think of snot.

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:30:22 +0000

So funny! I swim at the Boston Sports Club in Wellington and fortunately have not had a similar experience. I am more disgusted by the amount of bandaids that seem to find their way to the bottom of pools.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:19:09 +0000

I’m a member of the BSC-Westborough. Haven’t been in the pool, but am really surprised that they do not have a bathing cap policy. Especially since they have a policy requiring swimmers to shower before entering the pool.

BSC-Westborough is a beautiful facility. I hope it stays that way. But I also hope it isn’t just a “corporate” gym. I see the same women every day in the locker room. There have been a lot more complaints of late – broken hair dryers, missing clocks. Little things that aren’t related to exercising but can make the entire gym experience must less enjoyable. I think BSC-Westborough benefits from its location and due to the fact that there aren’t a lot of similar venues in the area. But, with a premium price tag, they need to consider the little things or else members will move onto experiences.

By: Ben Carcio

Ben Carcio — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:18:27 +0000

No doubt gross. But, I’ve seen some hairy dudes who would need a full body cap.

By: Karen Lynn

Karen Lynn — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:16:56 +0000

I noticed your tweets–and agree–Yuck. Funny– the irony that a “Health Club” is allowing a practice widely perceived as “Unhealthy.” There are hats & hairnets in foodservice, I figure the same logic would apply for a pool. You should have a bathing cap on unless you’re in a natural body of water or in a private pool. Well stated!
–Karen

By: Johannes Booy

Johannes Booy — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:02:45 +0000

Did BSC pick up on your tweets and respond? A simple search in twitter and response to you would have saved them a bit of a PR headache. Whether or not companies are on social media, or use social media themselves, they have to acknowledge it exists and needs management.

I think the only people who might appreciate hair in the pool would be the bald

Great post as always.

Johannes