CURVES: Robert Lay’s Story
The American dream of owning your own successful business seems to be going up in smoke for a lot of the Curves Franchise owners. The story you are about to read may seem like a Steven King horror novel but it is a real story that has happened to my wife and I. To all of the past, present and future owners of a Curves franchise please take the time to read the whole story as at the end we explain what we plan to do and how you as an ex or present owner may want to get involved.
My wife and I had owned and operated our own business for over 20 years and had been very successful at doing so. While we were making a great income from our business there was something missing in our life. Neither us felt that we were contributing to society but just taking and we decided to make a major change in our life. That was when we heard about Curves for Women. It was a new franchise that only had 300 or so clubs and for the first time in years we both became excited at the prospect of actually helping people reach their goals. We bought our first club in 1997 located in a city of thirty thousand. From the first day it opened it was more successful than our wildest dreams. Not only were we making excellent money but the personal rewards helping people better their lives was a truly rewarding feeling. I can still remember as if it was yesterday the first time a Dr. of one of our members came in to check out what we were doing as he couldn’t believe the ch
anges his patient had gone through. She had gotten off her high blood medication and had lost over 40 pounds in 4 months. It was truly amazing and over the years we have seen it happen numerous times over and over.
We sold our first club in 2001 and bought two more franchises. My wife became a mentor for Curves International around this time and I was helping to sell franchise for Curves International as so many of are members wanted to own a club. It was at this time that we started to see problems arising with Curves International but we attributed it to the fast growth that Curves was going through. In 2002 we bought two more franchises but this time they were in what was called a metro-area instead of city under thirty thousand in population.
The first problem we encountered with Curves International was in early 2003. Curves sold a franchise that was a corridor of land between one of our franchise’s and the next city 8 miles from our southern boarder. It was obvious to us that the territory didn’t have the necessary population to support a facility and that Curves International was selling any location just out of greed and the fact that there were so many people who wanted a franchise. The people who bought that franchise tried to open up on our border but it had always been an unwritten but followed rule of Curves International that you open in the middle of your territory so that disputes between owners over stealing members from your territory didn’t arise. We immediately filed a complaint with Curves International and they stopped the new owner from opening at that location. Unfortunately for the new owners there were no other commercial locations between the two cities so they were forced into selling that franchise back to Curves International for a loss.
It was also at this time that Curves International started to change personnel. The employee’s who we had a personal relationship with that had started Curves International with Gary Heavin were leaving the company at an alarming rate. Seven employees that were the top management of Curves left or were forced out because of Gary Heavin’s greed. They ended up filling a law suit against Curves which was later settled out of court. It was at this time that Diane Heavin became involved with Curves and a whole new history was being written about how Curves was started. The original Curves member guide which was written by Gary Heavin and June Manley was taken off the market and the new Curves book authored by of course Gary Heavin was on the top 10 of the Times best seller list.. To make sure it was on the Times best seller list all the clubs had to order at least on case. That is when we as owners realized Heavin was a manipulator and not the born again Christian he portrayed to be. It was also at this time that the price to buy a franchise more than doubled in price. This came as quite a surprise as Heavin had always maintained that he would never ever increase his franchise price and he even swore on the bible in front of a group at club camp that he would never break his word on that. Well as we all know he didn’t keep that promise for long, which just shows his greed.
At this point my wife and I became quite concerned and even considered selling our business but other problems arose concerning Curves International that demanded our full attention. In 2004 another Curves location located on our boarder of one of our metro-areas hired two of our employees and stole around 15 members from our club. Both employees had signed the anti covenant not to compete and in our state those agreements are strictly enforced by the courts. We considered going to court but since it was another Curves facility we decided to file a complaint with Curves International. And to let them handle it. What a mistake that was as they did nothing. We transferred the members files but refused to transfer the money for the members dues until such time that Curves International responded to our complaint. We were told by the area director, which was a new position at Curves International, that we were trouble makers and he refused to send any of are clubs the members appreciation bags. Shortly thereafter Curves International resold the corridor of land that had been sold back to them at a loss from the previous owners and they allowed the new owners to open up in nearly the same location that they had refuse the previous owners only a year and a half before. The new owners advertised in our area and ended up getting 10 or 11 members to transfer to their club. Again we held their monthly dues but did transfer the members files. We immediately filed a complaint but again got the same response nothing. It didn’t take long for most of the members who transferred to come back to our club as the other location was small and in a very run down area and to this day that club has not shown a profit and has been sold numerous times over the years for little to nothing.
Then in 2005 the real problems with Curves International started that we are still contending with today. In one of our metro-areas a competitor by the name of Ladies Workout Express opened up right across the street from our location. Unknown to us they had hired our manager and one other employee from that location and when the employee’s left they had stolen off our computer our member files. They ended up stealing over two thirds of our membership with in a week. The employees had signed the covenant not to compete so we immediately hired a lawyer and prepared for a lawsuit. As I stated before in our state that agreement is strictly enforced but it took four months to get it into court. During this time that location was losing so much money that we decided to move the location next to our other territory so that both clubs could stay open. We sent in the required change of location form to Curves International but never heard anything back from them so we went ahead and relocated in late 05. The owners of the Ladies Workout Express eventually went broke because of the lawsuit and the fact that they would end up owing us monetary damages. They filed for bankruptcy to prevent us from collecting any monetary awards in Dec 05 but we did have the satisfaction knowing that we did what was right
In early 06 we were informed by Curves International that because we abandon that location they were terminating all of our franchise agreements. We immediately requested mediation for all of our clubs which is authorized by our franchise agreements with Curves International. We never heard back from them so we hired a lawyer in Waco, TX to represent us. He proceeded to send them a letter requesting the same mediation process and they did respond to him. They sent him letter stating that it was premature to go through the mediation process at that time as they were in the process of researching our reason for moving. Curves International continued to debit our account for the franchise and advertising fees for all the other clubs we owned but stopped talking the fees for the one territory that they stated we abandoned. The lawyer had us send Curves International a check for the fees and a new authorization form for them to deduct it from our account. Neither our lawyer or ourselves ever heard anything back from Curves International so we all assumed that things were back to normal.
In the spring of 07 we made the decision to start selling off all of our clubs and to completely retire. It didn’t take me long to sell the club we owned that wasn’t in a metro-area and I agreed to stay with the new owner’s to help train them how to run the business. We sent all the documentation into Curves International and the sale was completed by January 08. That freed my wife and I up to concentrate on our metro-area clubs and to get them ready for sale. In Feb of 08 we heard that a Curves club was opening in one of our territories within a mile of our current club. We could not understand how Curves International could do such a thing. We again filed a complaint by phone and e-mail to Curves International and several weeks later we were informed by e-mail that they didn’t know what we were talking about. We were told we didn’t own any franchises and hadn’t since we were terminated in 05. That came as quite a shock to my wife and I as our franchise and advertising fee’s had been deducted all along from our checking account and we had just recently sold a club that they were telling us we never owned. We had a local lawyer send a letter to the new owners explaining the situation and that we would be seeking legal recourse against Curves International and depending on the outcome they were opening themselves up to a potential lawsuit. During this time we had bought and paid in full for the Smart Equipment for Curves International and were waiting for the installation which was scheduled for the June 24th. On June 20th , a Friday we received a phone message telling us that the Curves Smart Installation was canceled and that we had to call Curves legal for an explanation. We left messages both e-mail and phone every 30 minutes on Monday June 23rd and finally late in the afternoon we received an e-mail stating that one of there lawyers would be in touch with us before the end of the day, They never sent an e-mail or a phone call as was promised but by mid day the next day they did respond by e-mail. It stated because of the problems with the members transfers, the fact that we abandoned a franchise, and that we had interfered with the opening of the new franchise located in our territory we weren’t approved for the Curves Smart. Yet in late May they had sent all the promotional ad material for the Curves Smart and of course we had gone to a considerable amount of expense for training the employees, advertising and promotion of the Curves Smart equipment. It was at this point that my wife and I decided that drastic action had to be taken against Heavin and Curves International.
While we still love the concept of Curves we feel that because of the deceptive and we believe fraudulent business practices that Heavin has allowed under his management Curves will eventually end up in the toilet so to speak. After spending many hours on the internet we have found that there are many lawsuits against this man and his company. Just read some of the post’s that are on franchisepick.com from owners concerning the new ten thousand fee if your club goes under and closes to the vitamins that were sold in Feb and March by Ideas in Action at a discount to owners without telling them that they would expire at the end of May. The lack of support and communication from Curves International that all of us owners are going through is intolerable. It is impossible for an owner to get through to them on the phone and good luck if you expect a call back in a timely manor. The fact that we as owners pay a lot of money for our advertising fees and have no accounting of where it is spent and a quite frankly we never see many ads in our area.
I have taken the time to do the necessary research to find several good lawyers who handle franchise law who are more than willing to help Curves owners who are having similar problems with Curves. I for one am going to go after Curves International and Gary Heavin in a court of law. These are not class action but group action lawsuit and if you don’t understand the difference contact me and I will explain it to you. There have been over 200 such lawsuit filed against Curves in the last several years and while some have been settled in mediation others are in the process of going to litigation. If you are a past or present Curves owner who has experienced these problems and want satisfaction whether it be monetary or revenge please contact me. We have several options that we can go and I for one am positive we will win as the other lawsuits have been successful so far and have set a precedent for ours. It is time for the owners of Curves franchises either past or present to stand up together and put a stop to Heavins’s ramped destruction of peoples lives just for monetary greed.
Thanks for reading our post and God Bless you all.
ARE YOU AN CURVES FRANCHISE OWNER OR FORMER CURVES FRANCHISEE?
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CURVES FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY?
PLEASE SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Hello Geoff,
Thank you for the info. That number comes from the Curves website. I am having a database created from it. That was the count they have posted to the public, I think it is fairly accurate but will have my researcher start to sample clubs.
The disclosure document filed March 31, 2010 stated 5200 clubs at the end of 2009. So it looks like closures will be in line with last years. That number may start to slow down as larger cities can cycle through the population more time. My database will analysis those figures.
I’m with Geoff on this one. Their website is not very accurate in many ways when it comes to club numbers or actual locations. I’ve had many members who travel tell me that they they tried to go to a location they found on the site and when they got there it was closed. They didn’t show up during closed hours, the club was literally no longer there. They have one club listed as 20 miles from my town (about a 1/2 hour drive) when in reality it is more like an hour and a half and 60 miles away.
At the beginning of October I was curious about the number of existing clubs and the number of them that were for sale so I went on the site state by state and came up with 4238 with 505 of them listed on the clubs for sale site. That was on October 4th so if the 7748 is anywhere close to accurate that would mean a 54% loss. Here’s the information state by state – accurate as to what was on their site, but probably not accurate in reality. I found it interesting that Texas had the highest percentage for sale (23.10%) with Arkansas running a close second at 23.08% and the overall average being 11.92%. And this doesn’t include all the ones who won’t sell and are just biding their time until their agreements are up.
State # for sale # in state for sale percentage
AK 3 13 23.08%
AL 5 61 8.20%
AR 2 35 5.71%
AZ 6 70 8.57%
CA 51 427 11.94%
CO 13 90 14.44%
CT 1 42 2.38%
DC 0 3 0.00%
DE 2 15 13.33%
FL 24 180 13.33%
GA 12 111 10.81%
HI 2 21 9.52%
IA 4 70 5.71%
ID 5 32 15.63%
IL 23 198 11.62%
IN 11 121 9.09%
KS 4 40 10.00%
KY 16 74 21.62%
LA 12 71 16.90%
MA 14 83 16.87%
MD 6 87 6.90%
ME 4 26 15.38%
MN 7 116 6.03%
MO 7 103 6.80%
MS 3 29 10.34%
MT 1 17 5.88%
NC 17 146 11.64%
ND 0 14 0.00%
NE 3 36 8.33%
NH 2 33 6.06%
NJ 11 81 13.58%
NM 5 36 13.89%
NV 2 25 8.00%
NY 37 190 19.47%
OH 26 219 11.87%
OK 6 38 15.79%
OR 9 79 11.39%
PA 17 237 7.17%
RI 3 17 17.65%
SC 6 77 7.79%
SD 1 20 5.00%
TN 13 92 14.13%
TX 67 290 23.10%
UT 1 41 2.44%
VA 14 130 10.77%
VT 0 14 0.00%
WA 10 103 9.71%
WI 12 135 8.89%
WV 4 33 12.12%
WY 1 17 5.88%
Total 505 4238 11.92%
Wow, that sure didn’t transfer over very well – there were actually spaces between all those numbers but with a little work you can still read it. Sorry, I’m just not very good with computers.
Karen, I forgot to mention that I would love to see a copy of the email you received from CI regarding the 10,000 population. Could you post that here?
This is comment 1,004 on this post. This is the first UnhappyFranchisee.com post to surpass 1,000 comments.
While the subject matter is sad, it is great to see the extent to which ex-Curves owners and those who have closed are willing to lend guidance and support to those still struggling through the process. At least you are there for each other…
The UFOC discloses 9882 club in the US as of the end of 2006. If the internet is correct that is a loss of 56.4 %.
I have a PACER account and I read that the Zarco case is scheduled to select the December. Will keep those interested informed.
Does anyone know if CI is actually filing judgments against franchisees who “abandon” their territories. My situation is very different than most, but I have a collection from Serota & Assocs for $100K+ for 2 territories we sold in 2005. We don’t have any assets so it would be moot for CI to sue us…I don’t see alot of judgments filed against franchisees on Pacer…any thoughts are appreciated.
In order for Curves to write off the loss and offset income taxes they need a judgement to validate the loss, at least on the old agreements. The new ones have a promissory note in them for the royalties; so I am not sure if it is required under that agreement structure. That’s more for a tax lawyer, but I am almost certain that they need a judgement.
What about the arbitration and mediation clause in all the agreements. Doesn’t that supercede the lawsuit? I know mediation is very expensive (we had an atty quote us $30K). I just don’t see where CI has filed a many judgements. Am I looking in the wrong place. Also, right now Serota and Assoc has the collection, does this need to revert back to CI for them to file the judgment lawsuit?
Remember one thing. The only think worse that Curves are the lawyers that tell you you have a chance in court. Everyone in that ZARCO suit took it up the you know what by ZARCO. They will be the ONLY winners. The Lawyers. If I were you ignore all communications from Curves short of a summons to court.
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Has CURVES Become the “Trailer Park of Gyms”?
Has CURVES Become the “Trailer Park of Gyms”?
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CURVES Franchise Lawsuit Settlements
CURVES International 2010 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)
I feel bad for Curves franchise owners but blaming the company and trying to sue them because your concept is outdated seems rather silly.
Did Blockbuster franchisees sue Blockbuster because people stopped renting movies from stores? Why would anyone go to Blockbuster when they can get unlimited dvds from Netflix for $8.99 a month, no late fees, great service.
The Curves by my house is a room with a few flimsy machines for $30 bucks a month, very limited hours, and extra charge for classes. LA Fitness is huge, modern, with a swimming pool, tons of machines, free classes for $29/month no contract. Planet fitness provides a ton more than Curves for $10 a month.
I just don’t think Curves is viable. Is it really the franchisor’s fault that the concept you all believed became a dinosaur? Can you blame them for getting what they can out of it before it all disappears?
LA Gurl, Curves cultural environment may not impress you with a quick look in the door, but it’s different enough from the big places you mention that the attendance rates are incredibly higher.
For the 8 years I had my Curves clubs, we had monthly attendance by at least of 60 to 70% of the members and an overall (annual) average of 2.1 visits per week. That’s 25 times the national average of 8 visits per year (to a health club).
Health Clubs/Gyms are notorious for keeping these numbers secret, because they are so low, but the thing to do is to ask former employees. They’ll usually be honest about it because they’ll be so disillusioned by it.
Curves clubs (were/are) places where communities were built and thrived, making it more likely that a woman would follow thru on her plans to exercise. That was our success. However, as simple as it is, it’s hard to market an intangible like that, especially in the cut-throat realm of health clubs. In recent years, Curves International itself seemed to have a hard time remembering that focus, and kept redesigning itself to compete with 24hr Fitness (et al) instead of keeping 24hr fitness (et al) competing with our successes. That’s one of the major reasons why so many of us are unhappy and feel they did not fulfill their part of the bargain.
Justine Curver:
Thanks for your response.
I’m not clear on why marketing your results would be difficult, as what you said about your club doesn’t seem intangible at all.
I would definitely take notice if I got a postcard, email or flyer from my local Curves that said their monthly attendance was “60 to 70% of the members and an overall (annual) average of 2.1 visits per week. That’s 25 times the national average of 8 visits per year (to a health club).”
I think that would be very powerful, especially since they’re across the street. Why wouldn’t someone walk across the street and tell me that before I went to LA Fitness?
I suspect that Curves couldn’t do that on a national basis because of the varying results of different clubs but why don’t clubs like yours do that?
I don’t mean to be negative, but I wonder how many clubs that are struggling and blaming the corporation are like the club across the street from me… I’ve never so much as gotten a flyer or doorhanger from them, much less a personal invitation. If my business was failing, I’d be out in the neighborhood going door to door, not waiting around for someone else to get word to my own community.
LA Gurl
I don’t think many if any of the Curves owners are suing because of it being an “outdated concept” as you mentioned. The concept itself isn’t outdated – there are hydraulic circuits everywhere and although it may not look like much, they do work. About 60% of my members have been members for at least 5 years and they still come in faithfully 3-5 times a week partly because of the relationships built with other members and employees but mostly because it makes them feel better and gives them the energy to get through their day. Of the other 40%, 25-30% also come in regularly so I only have 10-15% of my membership that is really irregular in attendance.
I think the bigger problem is that Curves International oversaturated the market in larger areas affecting membership numbers in many clubs and sold franchises in areas that are too small in population to support a women’s only facility then charged them a $10,000 closing fee and future royalties for failing prior to the end of their agreements. This, after having received little or no support from CI.
We pay good money every month for advertising, 3% of our income and get very little in return for it. I for one pay them about 4% a month because my membership numbers are so low that the minimum advertising fee is more than 3% of what I bring in. Royalties included they get 9-10% of my income every month and I’ve gotten 1-2 new members a year who say they heard about us from national advertising campaigns. Not a very good return on a 9% investment. Local advertising is something I would love to do, but I have nothing left over to advertise locally. Even doing something cost effective like doorhangers or flyers does cost something and many of us can barely pay our rent and utilities after paying our franchise fees.
I partly blame CI for selling the franchise in this area to begin with and I partly blame myself for not doing a better job of researching the numbers prior to buying it. I blame them only because they had the knowledge, but chose not to share it.
Can anyone answer this question. When I search Pacer for cases involving CI, there are not many lawsuits filed by CI against franchisees. There were over hundreds of franchises closed in 2009 and many of those abandoned. Have all of these franchisees proceeded to arbitration and mediation or is CI just not pursuing the lawsuits. It just seems strange with that many closed franchises there aren’t more lawsuits.
CI tends to file lawsuits against franchisees in the 170th and 414th state courts. Not sure why, does anyone know? Perhaps it is becaus decisions are not on pacer. A court reporter will provide the transcript for $4.25 per page. I went thru a reporter at the 170 th court and only one went to trial, defendent didn’t show. The rest are either pending or resulted in dismissal due to bankruptcy lawyer notifying the court of bankruptcy so there was nothing for CI to claim.
Where CI is the defendent I have yet to find a trial that went ahead. All were dismissed out settled out of court. There were 9882 clubs at one time and now about 4300 (if the internet is correct). 5500 club have gone down in the US alone and there are no case transcripts. WOW! Would love some insight on that!
What has happened to everyone, last post Decd. 2nd?
Well, if you look on PACER the group action lawsuit has been settled.
For those of us who do not axcess pacer could you tell us the outcome. Thanks!
They don’t state the settlements, just that the case has been dismissed as of 12/8/2010.
For the past month the Yahoo Curves Owners group posts are from Curves that are closing. Seems like they are closing at a really rapid rate. I just can’t imagine that there will be many Curves still open by July 1st of this year. Very few are renewing their franchise agreement when it is up and the few that are are just renewing for a year at a time. This is so very, very sad. CI sure dropped the ball on all of us.
The only thing worse that the franchisor are the attorneys who give false faith in order to bilk their clients out of money in order to sell hope. We paid thousands of dollars to the attorneys. They were the only winners out of this whole process. Never believe a franchise lawyer when they tell you you have a chance in court against a franchise system. You don’t read your franchise agreement and understand that it will stick.
He’s worse than Heavin Never believe a franchise lawyer. They are all liars.
I closed in 2009 and did not pay the $2,500 CI wanted from me. Now of coarse they say I owe over 27,000 in future franchise and advertising fees. I have just ignored the whole thing and the only one I have heard from is Serota, Avis & Assoc. I went on line and found out they a just a glorified collection agency trying to get whatever money they can. I was told by Robert Lay that in the state of Texas it is illegal for CI to collect these fees after you have closed. He also said that if they continued to harass me that I would file a lawsuit against them and Curves.I have ignored the phone calls and the last one I received I informed them I would not speak with them. If you look them up on the Internet they are real idiots and are out of Illinois. Has anyone out there know what happened to Robert and why he does not post anymore. I feel like the one person that I thought was on our side had abandoned us. Where did he go????? Can anyone give more info on what is happening with the past Curves owners. Where has everyone gone and why are we not giving each other more updates. Someone please respond. To the last post what happened to you?? Thanks in advance for any info you can share.
I always thought “unhappy” was the screen name Robert Lay used on this list serve. I may be wrong, but look back to Admin.’s post of Sept. 10, 2010. And I also heard from another source that Robert’s wife was seriously ill and that he wanted to concentrate on getting her well. But, I too, wonder why there aren’t more posters here. Maybe everyone that is closing is getting smart and just ignoring CI’s threats.
Tickedoff and Undecided, and others who wonder what happened to Unhappy, (who, yes, is Robert Lay) — if you look back around the July 2010 timeframe or even before, there was a person posting by the name of JD. He was very irritating to all of us, many felt he was a “mole” for Curves International. He consistently was a thorn in our sides, his comments were much like kicking us when we were down. Unhappy ended up not posting much after that and an explanation why might be found with ADMIN’s comment on September 4th. He is definitely missed by all of us, as he was a wealth of information.
I also do not know why people have slowed down in the postings. It may be that time is passing and we are finally moving on with our lives without Curves. In our case, we ignored all their threats, did not pay the $10,000, nor later, the threat of over $42,000. It has been two years since that time and nothing has come of their threats, thank goodness. I wonder if the people who are involved in the lawsuits maybe aren’t supposed to be posting what is going on with their cases or the results?
As we are in the last stages of closing our curves and losing all the money we invested we find out how it is being spent. Check out this clip on youtube of the new show Secret Millionaire airing on ABC April 3rd. Check out the Heavin’s digs and they have it because of our hard work.
http://apps.facebook.com/uchannels/channels/view/CurvesChannel/ByyKVPu_31o
Would love to hear from any one else closing before franchise is up!!! What did curves have to say. Are they threatening you?
I was thinking about all of the bankrupt people thanks to CI. When I bought my first Curves, I did not know that the founder had gone bankrupt himself. It was not until I went to club camp when I found out. We can look back at that now and we can see he did learn his lesion from his bankruptcy. Get someone else to take the fall…
Well Heck… I should have used spell check…Sorry.
More members left high and dry: http://adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/523035/Two-local-businesses-shut-down.html?nav=5017
Well, you say that fitdude which I am sure is not a dig at the owner, but when there has never been any support from the management with these clubs, it is no wonder that members are left like they are. Most of the time you can not even turn to other owners in your area, because you are so darn close to each other you are competition. We never should have had to compete with ourselves but that is greed for you….
I know that just closing one day is not how I would want to do it, but when you come to the point that you can’t pay the next month rent then what are you supposed to do? Your landlord will just come an shut you down anyway. I am just saying the members look at me and say O she has got a lot of money. Really, I drive a car that is 10 years old and can’t fix the broken window, because I sunk myself with Curves. They don’t care about me and CI doesn’t care about me. So who cares? Just other owners who know my situation because they are their themselves. REMEBER CI DOES NOT CARE AND 90% OF THE MEMBERS DO NOT CARE!
Drove by the site of one of our old closed Curves to find a NEW fitness franchise has opened two doors down from our old location. The franchise is called VIBE. Anyone ever heard of it? I wish I could have warned the owners not to buy a fitness franchise.
■Next Step,
We feel Your Pain!! We are closing our club ASAP. After asking Curves for help and receiving none we informed them of our intent to close. Here is there response.
Curves International, Inc. (“Curves”) has received your communication regarding the struggles you are having with your franchise. Please be aware that closing at this time is not an option. In order for Curves to consider any course of action in regards to your franchise, you need to provide all the information requested in the attached Club Worksheet and Expense Report. Please return the completed Club Worksheet and Expense Report to Curves in the next two business days by return email or by facsimile to (254) 751-3035. Curves will attempt to respond to your initial communication within 5 to 7 business days from the receipt of the completed Club Worksheet. We look forward to assisting you in this matter.
Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew.
What a crock of S**t
Next Step,
Sorry if my comment came across as a dig against owners. That was not my intent; I was just taking a quote out of the article. I know of many Curves owners who probably cared too much for their members to the point of going deeply in debt to keep their club afloat. My grip is absolutely against CI corporate- a study in greed. They obviously care nothing for owners or members.
I know FitDude, that is why I stated that I did not think you meant anything against us. My only point was that the owners are the ones stuck in the middle and no one cares. I agree about how much we care about the members that is one reason I hung on for so long. Last year I was giving away the workout shirts when CI discontinued them. Of course the out cry made them bring the shirts back but it took 3 months to restock. My members were pissed at me and thought I was lying to them. I had people yell at me in the circuit. That is when I lost it, respect for my members and well I already did not like CI. Now it stays open because it is still break even, but I don’t care anymore! I will not be renewing this year!
As for RB, I had heard that they were telling you this stuff. Just remember don’t sign anything until a lawyer looks at the papers. CI will sue you. I know I just talked to one of them this week and they say they are suing for failure fees.
Sadderbutwiser
I really don’t know if another fitness center could not make it, I just think Curves did not change with the time, and that is one killer. Not to mention that we had a great concept, but the greed of CI dumped clubs right on top of each other. We can’t compete against ourselves. I know someone said other franchisors do this all the time, but we were not selling hamburgers. People paid us once a month not every other day.
I should be more clear about breakeven, we loose a lot of money every month. I can’t work a different job, but since I am there all the time we do have the money to cover the bills. If CI would not sue us and make us file bankruptcy I would have closed last year. After being yelled at I really don’t want to be there anymore. I am counting down the days till we can close and then I can finally get a real job.
When I leave Curves behind me I will still be 40,000 in debt, but my husband does not want to file bankruptcy, so I will pay it off. Of course my credit score is whole 400 (probably not that high), but he still has good credit. Nevertheless, I will be paying for this club for about 5 more years or more.
Just so everyone knows I think that CI is really pushing new sales this year. I noticed on cuves community that there is a lot of new stuff for new clubs. Also I think that is a reason they did the secrete millionaire show. To encourage new sales. Just came across the curves blog
http://curvesfranchiseblog.com/
Lots of crap, but there is a link to this page
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-most-brilliant-franchise-founders-of-all-time-2011-2#comment-4d65c1adcadcbbbf58040000
Here you can make a post so all of the would be victims of CI will know not to purchase a club.
When posting on those sites, be sure to include a link back to this thread where the admirers can peruse more than 1000 comments from franchisees with a little different point of view about what constitutes a brilliant founder:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/curves-robert-lays-story/
Was looking into buying a Curves franchise and saw this website. I will absolutely not buy one now. I am so sorry for those who did buy one and who experienced the losses that they did. I hope you are all on the road to getting your lives back together and it pains me to read all of your stories. Thank you for sharing your candid advice to help the rest of us and again, i wish you all the best.
Why is it that as a society we recognize and admire those who have money, even when they get their money at the expense of others?
Pingback: Gary Heavin on ABC Secret Millionaire: What do CURVES Franchisees Think? : Unhappy Franchisee
Curves founder Gary Heavin and his wife Diane will be featured in an episode of the new “inspirational” ABC series “Secret Millionaire.”
We ask: Do Curves franchisees perceive Heavin’s Secret Millionaire participation as positive brand exposure that will benefit existing clubs?
Or is it an ego-fueled insult to the thousands of failed or failing Curves franchise owners who are now, themselves, suffering financial hardship?
Feel watch the promo clip and share your view here: Gary Heavin on ABC Secret Millionaire: What do CURVES Franchisees Think?
Placing comments on other sites is a great idea, especially if you link back to the thousands of comments and sad stories on UnhappyFranchisee.com. It’s easy to dismiss a single commenter as disgruntled, but not so easy to dismiss the experiences, stories and hardships Curves franchisees have had the courage to share here over the past three years. Letters to ABC and news organizations can refer back here as well.
Here are some examples of comments you can make, along with the top three links to share. Feel free to copy and paste:
– For the past 3 years, UnhappyFranchisee.com has been hosting the insider’s view of the Curves collapse from the viewpoint of those who know it best: struggling Curves franchise owners. Read the posts at CURVES: Curves Posts on Unhappy Franchisee
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/curves-unhappy-franchisee/
– 2500 Curves domestic franchises have failed in the past three years. That’s 1/3 of the total US clubs. Instead of the support and compassion the franchisees expected, Curves International unleashed a collection agency on the ruined franchisees for having the nerve to fail before their contracts were up. Here’s what they think of
Gary Heavin on ABC Secret Millionaire appearance:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/curves-gary-heavin-secret-millionaire/
– The millionaire has another, bigger secret. More than 1000 comments by Curves franchisees tell the real story behind the Curves hype:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/curves-robert-lays-story/
Writers and news media can feel free to contact the publisher of this site at unhappyfranchisee[at]gmail.com
If I was to tell our story to the news, what issues do you see this causing, and should I talk to a lawyer first?
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/curves-franchise-resale-buyer-alleges-fraud/
CURVES INTL Must Repay Members of Closed Curves Fitness Clubs
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/curves-intl-must-repay-members-of-closed-curves-fitness-clubs/
Curves franchisee sent this by email:
“I just went to abc.com and entered a comment. I suggested that just prior to the show they run a 20/20 segment on Gary and Diane and how they’ve made their millions and how they’ve treated the owners of closed Curves. Suggest you advise all of your mailing list to do the same. Told abc it would definitely keep people tuned in to see this GENEROUS and GIVING couple….”
Great idea. Don’t forget to link back to this post.
Cat wrote: “Has anyone thought about a Facebook campaign?
There is a Secret Millionaire facebook page that could be “Liked” and posted to, but probably not anonymously.
Just saw this article online about the Curves corporate office issuing refunds to members of 6 clubs in NY State left hanging when the clubs closed in 2009: http://pearlriver.patch.com/articles/curves-members-locked-out-in-brewster-pearl-river-pelham-and-beyond-will-receive-refunds-2. When I read the statement by Mike Raymond, I almost chocked on my coffee laughing!
“When it was brought to our attention that certain of our independently-owned franchises were not treating members in the same spirit of fairness we pride ourselves on, we took all necessary steps to ensure that such was corrected,”
It actually sounds like these “independently-owned” franchisees treated their members just like the Curves corporate office treated them- they were “pruned”.
Fitdude, see the posting by Admin on March 9th. It seems to me that the Heavins (et al) are just tyring to put a pretty spin on the orders they were given by the NY state AG, per NYstate LAW.