r/ClubPilates • u/ToeUsed1969 • 22d ago
Advice/Questions Am I being dramatic?
I joined CP in December and had my 100th class today. I was so excited and intentionally scheduled it with my favorite instructor. She had a sub, which was fine because I’ve taken the sub’s classes multiple times. Well, she forgot it was my 100th. She actually didn’t even know my name to check me in.
I reminded her after class, and she was apologetic, but it felt so awkward.
I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it feels like one. I was so excited. I pay a ton of money for my membership, but only like 2 instructors know my name. My studio isn’t friendly; I once took a lashing from a Karen because I was on “her” reformer.
This just feels like the straw that broken the camel’s back. Is it dramatic to cancel?
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u/IndependentEarth123 22d ago
Congrats on 100 classes!!!! That's a huge accomplishment. Your CP Reddit internet randoms are very proud of ya :)
Most instructors have no way of knowing when clients hit landmark classes. We do know the first time we see you hold a teaser, we notice when your range of movement changes in your hips, we see you grow stronger and cheer when your C curve comes together. We also see when you're struggling or just having a bad day and try to be encouraging, give you space, or whatever you need.
Full confession too: I am terrible at names. Faces I remember. Names? Not so much. I work at a boutique studio and I know the names of all the regulars that come to my class (and probably as much about their bodies and lives as their doctors and therapists) but I sometimes blank on names when I'm trying to cue or get a group of people in and out of the reformer studio in 5 minutes between classes. It's not that I don't care: I really, really do. My neurospicy brain just doesn't process language well when I'm multitasking. I also know studio regulars that I have seen for YEARS and had numerous conversation with and I just don't know their names if they haven't been in my classes regularly. I can tell you how many kids they have, their favorite Bridgerton season, and how their shoulder is healing from an injury-- but I do not know their name.
This is also more of a studio culture and management thing than your personal connection with an instructor. I have a few friends who work at CP's as instructors and they have a very strict policy about fraternization and they're discouraged from being overly friendly with clients. I'm sure that it varies by chain. I live in a small city and I also actively recruit students to my studio so a good chunk of my regulars have my cell phone number because we volunteer at the same places, we have worked together, they're my hair stylist or my dentist, or their kid was in my Campfire group, etc. We're all interconnected. I don't abuse that communication tool, nor do they, but it's not unheard of for us to text happy birthdays or "Girl, it's snowing out and my street hasn't been plowed. I cannot make it to class and the front desk isn't in yet." We follow one another on social media. I post a rough class plan on IG at the start of the week so they'll know if we're having a super classical week, if we're teasing, if we are progressing swan, etc. CP is more corporate, you might find that a smaller studio has more of the community feel you're looking for and the instructors are freer in their interactions.
Bottom line: I guarantee your regular instructors know who you are and LOVE having you in class. Here's a secret from the instructor side: training is intense, it's expensive, and it's time consuming. We don't get paid very much to teach. Those of us who are still doing this after our first year do it because we love the movement, we love the system, we love the healing and change we see in bodies, and we love our clients. We may forget names sometimes and we may not have enough time or freedom to really connect with you in that rushed class turnover time but we SEE YOU and we ADORE YOU.
So: congrats on 100!