What’s the most extreme client excuse you heard as a trainer?

Human imagination is limitless, especially when it comes to coming up with excuses. Many trainers have spoken out about their clients’ most extreme and unbelievable excuses just to veil their laziness or unwillingness to train. This is sometimes hilarious, but more often annoying – tardiness causes more administration for you, or what’s worse, a loss of income as well. 

But those who are the most talented in forging excuses do not realise how they impact your business, nor do they understand that by constantly lying they are also thwarting their progress towards their goals.

Let us show you a couple of the extreme excuses – at the end of the article, we will also list a couple efficient methods you can use for defending you and your business against such clients. 

The list of excuses is endless

It’s fairly typical that a few months after New Year, most people’s enthusiasm wavers regarding exercising. New Year’s resolutions are in shatters, and suddenly chores and errands become more important, or simply laziness conquers diligence. But how many reasons are there for those who are lazy or too busy to arrive in time to your training, or even decide to skip it altogether? 

The list is – obviously – endless.

However, there are several excuses that seem to be more prominent than the others – these are the ones that are so extreme and hard to believe that they’re on the verge of surrealism. We’ve collected a handful from each category – who knows, you might’ve heard some of them during your career as well. 

I couldn’t come because…

  • My cat got sick

Our pets health is of paramount importance – we treat them as if they were a family member in their own right. However, the fact that the kitten has got sick just an hour before the training, requiring urgent medical assistance is – let’s admit it – not only a bad excuse, but also far from a plausible one. It’s not that a pet can’t get sick – it’s actually very important to get it to the vet even if there is a training sessions scheduled for the afternoon. But suspicions grow as there is a brand new excuse each week – and each is related to the cat. Getting a shot? Cat allergies? Eczema? After a while, the cat can’t take the fall for your client’s tardiness. 

  • The door was jammed

One of the weirdest excuses we heard while making this compilation is the curious case of jammed doors. A client couldn’t get out of the flat because of a broken lock – but does this mean the training can be skipped? Naturally, the question begs to be asked – if the client could call locksmith, why couldn’t the trainer be notified that such an unfortunate event would prevent them from attending given day’s training? Sounds weird enough, but to be fair, our decision-making works differently under stress. By the way, any domestic accident can be mentioned as an excuse – leakage, fire, broken ceiling – you name it.

  • My car broke down

A car breaking down right after leaving from home or having it serviced are classic examples – we’re sure many trainers have heard them at least once. The first scenario is a bit more plausible – if the vehicle breaks down in the middle of traffic, getting to training is probably not going to be a top priority. But those who say that they had left the car at the repair shop are a little harder to believe. Are they playing hooky at work as well? Is public transportation strangely unavailable for them? Taking a walk can’t be harmful either – just like a regular training, going on foot is also a form of exercising, as it’s beneficial for the body and the soul alike.

  • I forgot to set an alarm

People usually work out to improve physically while also making progress mentally by becoming a more balanced person. If you constantly oversleep and arrive late, you won’t pose as the epitome of a goal-oriented and reliable person. Surely, we all make mistakes and we do forget to set an alarm sometimes – but once it becomes a regular thing, maybe it’s time for your client to re-assess their ambitions and long-term goals. 

  • I still have muscle strain

This is probably one of the funniest excuse we’ve heard. One trainer told this story that he’s had several clients cancelling training because they’re still suffering from muscle strain, with their legs and arms being in excruciating pain. For one, this is pretty absurd as the point of a regular training is to constantly raise the bar so that you can take more in and progress steadily. Those clients who hide behind this excuse, probably haven’t heard that the best way of getting rid of muscle strain is by exercising more, focussing on the area that has been worked earlier. 

  • I’ve had a rough night

Again, it happens to most of us – we just happen to have a few more drinks than we should normally have. But having an all-nighter before each training only to cancel the class because of a terrible hangover is, simply put, lame. The only thing worse than this is when someone is physically unable to perform due to a massive hangover. A trainer from New York, Rob Sulaver, had a pretty personal experience, when he got a text from a client saying „Hey Rob! Sorry but I can’t attend today. Yesterday’s party was quite rough, I woke up in Berlin this morning…”Alcohol can influence us in weird ways, so better skip it next time, especially before training.

These are but a few of the most common (and extreme) excuses, but as you can see, creativity is quite frequent even amongst lazier people. Should they invest half of these creative energies into exercising, they could reach their long-term goals much earlier.

As sad as it might sound, it’s often the trainer who shows signs of tardiness – introducing novelties can be a daunting step, creating a huge dilemma for them. They are the ones who try to delay making a decision as much as it’s possible, disregarding the fact that it could pose a danger to their careers. 

And what about your excuses?

Spomoco’s scheduling app is a perfect choice to relieve yourself from the administrative duties. Spomoco does not only help you get rid of the administrative tasks, but it also saves a lot of time for you and your clients as well, preventing any potential loss of income due to cancellations. 

Using Spomoco as a trainer is just as hard as it is for your clients to get moving. Still, once you got into it, the application can save you a lot of time, and you can lure in new customers as well. Adopt the same attitude that you have towards sports! Just like you expect devotion towards exercising from your colleagues, establish similar expectations towards yourself. 

Remember – every beginning is hard, but if you invest a mere ten minutes to upload your schedule while allowing your clients to get used to Spomoco in the upcoming 2-3 weeks, the result will be just as spectacular as someone who is just getting the taste of exercising. This means more income, satisfied customers, becoming a reliable trainer, and having much more free time that you can use for personal development, leisure, or just relaxing. If you survive the early stages, you can only profit from the changes. So, it’s high time you got rid of your excuses and modernise your business! Now let’s get going!

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