I am a member of Planet Yoga Tsim Sha Tsui, and I highly regret it. Please don't make the same mistake as I did. I strongly advise against Planet Yoga because of the following reasons:
1) Phony yoga classes (I'm sorry, but Yoga Combat, Yoga Punch, etc. are not yoga classes, they are just aerobics/taebo -ish classes!!) You can't just attach the word 'yoga' to anything, geez.
2) Over-emphasis on INDIAN instructors. Planet Yoga loves to tell prospective customers "Over 80% of our instructors are REAL INDIANS!!" But, just cuz they're Indian doesn't mean they are the best Yoga instructors. In fact, their English is quite bad, so instead of hearing inspiring words of encouragement during ur practice, you just get, "Up, breathe, more down, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1" repeated a gazillion times, making you feel absolutely BORED AS H*LL.
3) Extremely hard salespeople who keep selling to you everytime you come in. REFER FRIENDS!! WIN PRIZES!! GET A FREE UGLY ORANGE BAG/BOTTLE for doing so!! (Um hello, I DONT GIVE A SH*T!)
4) Lukewarm "HOT" YOGA classes. The temperature should be 38-40 degrees, but in their hottest class called Agni Fire Hot I swear I hardly break a sweat. It's outright yoga for wimps.
5) Never being able to get in a class! So, you're supposed to book each class by calling in, but 90% of the time, they're full. That means you gotta go in, get changed, stand in a line and *hope* that someone didn't show up. But let's think about it. If there are 20 spots and the class is full, why do you get 30 people to queue up in the waiting list?? Obviously 10 people aren't getting in, so just tell them to go home!
Problem is they keep signing up more and more members, and the classes get more and more full, so it becomes a major hassle to a) actually take a class and b) try to use the showers or 1 of the measly 3 toilets inside of the ladies' change room.
I suggest you try a place like PURE, where the environment is serene, clean, professional and pleasant. I'm not sure how their classes are, but already I think it's worth the money to NOT feel like you're walking into a cage of monkeys everytime you go to yoga.
Image courtesy of: Planet Yoga
17 comments:
What a bad experience!There must be some nicer ones out there, change place and make your money worth :-)
I totally agreed with Miss Fong. I used to be Bikram Yoga's member, but it changed to Planet Yoga in 2007, so I have to stick with Planet for another 2 years...! (I signed for 5 years)
In additional to Miss Fong's comment, the receptionist and sales people are so inexperience and not very polite.
I agreed with u. But u have yr choice to find a better ones and make yr good decision!!
I totally agree with you.......and have you noticed how personal these instructors get with the members. I used to be a member of pure and there's a vast difference (pure instructors are so professional) they know their limits. Planet yoga instructors are always off for coffees, lunches, dinners, movies etc with members; not to mention all the gifts passed on-I've never seen that happen at pure. It's a mad house and I always call it a fish market there.........too many people and whats with all the dancing?? I mean Pure has dance too but to the limit!!
It's only getting worse.....all the good instructors are leaving, classes are just being canceled without much notice........I rushed in one Sunday morning to find that the class (5 classes to be exact) had been canceled! I'm just finishing off my free months then am back to Pure.
absolutely bullsh*t ~ PLANET YOGA ! I was a member in CWB one for 2 years and finally finished my membership and now changed to MYOGA, cwb. Like you, I hate the hardselling people there..all they do is to grab all ur money from ur pocket and they dont really give a sh*t about you here. The most important is, you can never ever make a booking ..it is full always and forever! Teachers are not professional, and who need REAL-indians? that is racist you know if they tell me that..i just want a decent yoga class with professional certified yoga teacher that communicate fluent English. Btw, I also hate they hired these mandarin yoga instructors that barely speak cantonese and called their class as Cantonese Class. It is confusing and their accents is disgusting, sorry! I rather they speak mandarin or, if English..because I know many mandarin speakers speak better english than cantonese locals.
I even wrote a page in my blog complaining Planet Yoga and Modern Beauty! These two are real SCAMs!
I paid for two years and I think I really actually spend two months there.
For anyone who seeing this, Do not go to Planet Yoga or Modern Beauty!
Hi
i m not form Planet Yoga. But today i saw many comments about Planet yoga.
i m also yoga Teacher ... that's why i want to tell u ... something about yoga practice .
if u want too get physically and mentally benefits so ask many question from ur yoga Teachers ...
what kind classes we are doing ... if u have any physical problem ...so ask ur teacher what kind of posture good for us and which kind of postures are not good for us.... ask about food what kind of food we should take ... what is the proper relaxation , and how to do .. breathing practice what time we should do ... , in postures how we know we are doing write or wrong ...
how we know we are doing more than our capacity .
after knowing many question i m sure u will find ur practice become better than before ....
for example i m telling u ask ur self .. what's a difference between simple sleep and Relaxation ....
people when the feels tired .. they thinks they should go for sleep ....they are thinking they will get relax after sleep .... wrong ...
bcoz if u r going to sleep with many thought i m sure when u wake up u will find tired ...
before sleep we should do 3 or 5 min relaxation .... than go for sleep... after wake up u can find the difference ..
in yoga everything is practical ..
and remember without good practice u will find nothing ...
it's a fact
Namaste
I have tried both clubs, Pure and Planet Yoga.
I agree that Pure's environment is a lot nicer and the staff (front desk staff or sales) is more professional. I went to Pure's Mong Kok club. Sometimes I had difficulty in booking a class, even though I could book it online. Classes were usually full most of the time. So every class had around 40 people. I did feel a bit crowded in the classroom. But people there had very good manner. It's quiet in the room. I am a beginner and interested more in classes like yoga therapy or yin yoga. However, these classes were limited there. Pure has more instructors speaking Cantonese. I do not have language preference. I usually choose by teaching style. Different instructors have different teaching style and pace. Choose the one suits you best.
And I went to Planet's Central club. I did not have any difficulty in booking a class. More choices of beginner classes. Class size is often around or under 30. I think instructors' English is Okay. I don't see any problem if you just get simple instructions like up, breathe, more down. This is not a talk show, right? However, members there really have bad manners. Many people like talking loud in the classroom. Facilities are less decent than Pure for sure. And yes, people there are extremely hard sell and sometimes irritating. I also experienced class cancellation without prior notification, even though I booked the class beforehand.
If you are willing to pay more for a better environment, Pure is a good choice. Personally, I am satisfied with Planet with the money I paid. I can find instructors that I feel comfortable with. The pace and style suit me.
I used to be a member in 2005 but after reading all the comments, it sounds like it has gotten worse since I left. When I joined, my main complaints were that the service at the main receptionist were extremely bad. Just cancelling a class was a major pain in the a*se not to mention it took them over 3 months to give me a proper membership card. Then when you cancel a class with less than 4 hours notice, they require either a doctor's note or $150 dollar fine. But from the sounds of it, it appears that they have ditched that idea. A doctors' note-Come on, even work dont ask for it and I am no longer at school.If you want to find an example of how to piss off your customers, then Planet Yoga would be it. I ended up being so annoyed and angry at them that I ended up going to the privacy commission to report on them for continuing to call me when I have asked them not to.
I ended joining Pure which was more expensive but way better than Planet Yoga by a whole stretch. It was never a problem to cancel class even 30 minutes before. Just thank you and no problem from the receptionists.
Sales are never pushy and I havent had to fend off the carnivores sales that they have at Planet. I actually feel the benefits of yoga now that I dont have to get angry, stressed or pissed off everytime I have to book or cancel a class. The way yoga should be.
By the way, Planet Yoga does own a variety of Yoga centers such as Myoga, Yoga Yoga which has gone bust. Like everything else in HK, alot of things are owned by a few handful of people.
Wish I had read this 2 months ago. They have just gone bust today - notification by text message in the middle of the night? nice
They own Myoga too??? Oh nooooooooooooooo!!!!!
i just called to make sure if MYOGA still exist and they reassure me they are not belongs to Planet ..and i also registered a class tomorrow..so i believe (and hope) MYOGA still running normal as usual..
well they are gone. no more bitchin req'd
Anonymous said
It is fair to say we receive what we pay for.
My experience with Planet (an affordable club) as a beginner is not bad and I enjoyed the classes in Central and CWB. Now, we feel so lost missing our routine.
I visited Pure Yoga in CWB yesterday and the sales is VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. He actually said we don't have any choices but will be forced to join PURE after Planet closed down. I didn't enjoy my experience with sales at PURE when he kept labeling celebrities teachers and students. I merely want to practise in my ordinary low profile . . . . . I have my choice to practise yoga at home or pick other sports which doesn't require signing of long-term contracts lol
these guys have no integrity which is very disappointing for a yoga studio.
I'm a newcomer to yoga and was pissed off with the hard-sell treatment I got from them after they tricked me into coming into their studio under the guise of a '6 months of yoga for HKD1,000' (you can actually come 6 TIMES in 6 months).
i guess their karma caught up with them.
For all of you who just signed up with Planet Yoga and got caught in its closure...if you are paying by credit card, the bank cannot protect you or cancel the monthly payment because it is a deal between you and PY. So until the receivership finalise with all creditors, PY can legally and technical continue to draw down the monthly charge.
A simple remedy is to just CANCEL your credit card. Some banks are scared of loosing your business and they will then help you by terminating your monthly payment, others still stick to their policy but never mind - once you cancelled the card, then PY's automatic direct debit is voided and they cannot draw down monthly any further. Only down side is the hassle of getting a replacement card.
I was a PY member too, and this is what it takes to get them off my back. Very hard to trust any Yoga business now, as the margin is so thin depending on volume of membership and I don't think any Yoga business is immune to the usual business competition and economic cycle.
So be very careful, only go for monthly payments and for short terms, even though there may be a seemingly good deal if you join for longer period. In legal jargon it is the Latin word, "caveat emptor" meaning - BUYER BEWARE!
Steve
Hi Namastey,
this is Pratik Arya From India m also a yoga Trainer In New Delhi (INDIA)Trancefome yoga(www.dineshdagaryoga.com)
m completely agree with Linda's view.. we should ask many question from our Yoga Trainer...about the correctnes of yoga posture n boons..n about proper breathing..which is much more important while u doing yoga.....thnx...regards
Post a Comment