Last Tuesday was my first official day back teaching spin. There was a little confusion about how old babies have to be to go in the play center (12 weeks or 3 months? I thought the former and I was wrong) so I ended up bringing Gus to class with me.
Most of the people in my class were familiar faces and they were cooing and oohing over Gus. They didn't mind him being there at all. Although I do think his cuteness was distracting them from working to their full potentials.
About twenty minutes into class one lady packed up her bike and left. I came to the conclusion that she had a problem with me, my class or even my infant. Others I've mentioned this to disagreed. They offered other possibilities such as: she could have not felt well; she could have always planned to leave at that time; she may have suddenly realized she forgot to be somewhere.
But I know, after almost six years of fitness class instructing, how to spot a unsatisfied customer. Here are the facts:
--It's totally fine to leave a class early, especially if it's one of the reasons stated above. But twenty minutes in is an odd time to leave a class. Often people leave ten minutes before the end, maybe 15. They simply can't stay the full hour. That's okay. Another common check-out time is halfway, after 30 minutes. They figure they got in 30 minutes and now they'll either leave or go do something else for 3o minutes.
--Coming late is also fine. Some people feel bad about coming into a class late. They'll say, "I came to take your class but I got here ten minutes late and didn't want to disrupt it." I really don't mind people coming in late. If the class isn't very full, I'm happy to get more bodies in there. (It's not my favorite when new people come in late, though, because then I have to get off my bike to set them up and explain things which IS disruptive.)
--The main reason I know that this lady didn't like my class was because, as she left, she DID NOT wave at me. If you are leaving a class early for one of the above--and I'll just say it, approved reasons--then you would wave, right? You would give that polite little wave to the instructor that tells me, "It's not you, it's me." And then I'll know that you either: realized you had to be somewhere, only wanted to work out for a little while or you felt like you were going to die. All fine reasons to leave a class early.
The wave I'm describing is much like "the confident wave" I referred to in a previous blog. It's not a hand-flapping side-to-side "HELLO!!" kind of wave. It's not a baby-style up and down "BYE BYE" type gesture either. It's more like a nonchalant, cool wave: Hand up, couple of tiny shakes side to side and then you're out the door. A "Thank you" and a smile really seals the deal. Then we know that we're good, our class is good and our baby is good. Oh, and unlike the confident wave, you can do this one even if you're ugly.
Now, if you're leaving because class was tough and you're about to go to the hospital, I don't really have a wave for that.
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