I hate missing a Weightwatchers meeting. I really hate it. It throws my whole week off. I feel the same way about missing my weekly meeting as some people feel about missing church on Sunday.
I'm on vacation here in Arkansas, leeching off my annoying neighbor's unsecured wifi, and having a great time hanging out with my husband's family. The icing on the cake was when i discovered that WW has a meeting here out in the middle of nowhere, as i wasn't happy about having to miss my meeting this week. It was on a Monday, but that's alright, at least i was going to get to go (i usually go on Thursdays).
So yesterday, my MIL drove me to the place where the meeting was being held. It was at a senior citizens center (no surprise there, considering this is largely a retirement town) on the west end of town. We went inside, and the place was HUGE! And there were so many people! My meeting is very small, with 11-17 people normally in attendance. Very personal. But, hey, you can't have everything, and i was just grateful to get to go. So i got in line and waited my turn to pay. I'd never been to an out-of-town meeting, so i did a little research beforehand and discovered that this meeting does not accept the Monthly Pass. This kinda sucks, because it means i paid double for this week. I got over it, though.
So as the line advanced, i saw a woman pacing around and decided to ask her for information about how they process out of towners. She looked at me blankly and asked: Is this your first meeting?
Me: No, i'm a current member, but my normal meeting is in Indiana.
Her: Oh, i don't know if you can attend with us then.
I was absolutely stunned! I had already talked to my own leader, and she had told me that she's never encountered a problem attending an out of town meeting, with the exception of having to conform to that meeting's payment policies. And here this woman was, trying to turn me away!
Me: What do you mean?! I'm a current member. I consulted my leader and she assured me that i could attend any meeting in America as long as i paid my weekly fee.
Her: I'm afraid not. Your leader must be mistaken.
Me: Is there someone else here i can talk to?
Her: (grudgingly) Well, i can ask one of the receptionists, but i'm pretty sure you can't attend.
Me: I'll take verification over "pretty sure", if you don't mind.
So she walked over to the receptionists (which kind of boggled me, because i thought she must've been a receptionist herself) and talked to them. She walked back over to me and asked if i planned to weigh in. I told her i did, and she went back over to the receptionists and talked to them some more. She finally returned to me and told me i could stay, but i had to pay the fees. I indicated that this was acceptable to me, and she looked at me and said: ALL the fees.
Me: What do you mean? There's only the weekly fee i'm aware of.
Her: Well, since this is your first week with us, you'll have to pay the $40 fee associated with first-time members.
Me: But i'm not a first time member. This is my 28th week. I'm not paying you $40.
At this point, the receptionist stepped over and said: No, honey, just the $12 if you're a current member.
Me: I'm a current member (i pulled out my stamp card and gave it to her).
The other woman gave me one last nasty look and stopped talking to me. I didn't pay her any mind.
The receptionist started to process me, and i gave her my credit card as payment. The nasty woman said to me: There's a $22 minimum for credit cards. Flabbergasted, i pointed out that the sign said the policy for CHECKS is a $22 minimum. There was nothing said at all about credit cards except that they couldn't be prepaid. At this point, i was seriously considering leaving. The nice receptionist apologized and assured me that the same policy applied to credit cards, but she hadn't had the time to update the sign. Annoyed, i grabbed a box of Peanutbutter Bliss minibars (which were ridiculously overpriced at $11/box). I was processed and was allowed to walk over to the scales. My MIL and i started heading over when Miss Nasty barked out: Hey! What about her?
Me: What ABOUT her?
Miss Nasty: Is she a current member?
Me: No, she's my mother in law. I'm visiting her and she just drove me here.
Miss Nasty (smirking): Fee for first time members is $40.
Me: She isn't a member at all.
Miss Nasty: Well, she'll have to come back and pick you up then.
At this point, i'd had it with this woman. I walked back over to the table and handed the receptionist her box of mini bars. I then demanded my sales slip be destroyed as i'd changed my mind about staying.
Me: My meeting wouldn't make anyone leave just because they're not a member. In fact, OUR first meeting is free. It's hot outside, and gas is expensive. If she has to go sit in her car and let it run with the A/C on or drive around aimlessly waiting for this meeting to adjourn, then i'm not going to support it.
The receptionist gave the woman a What IS Your Problem? look and assured me that my MIL would be welcome to sit inside during the meeting, and i proceeded to weigh in. I'd lost a pound and a half, but after my experience with that woman, i could barely summon the energy to be happy about it. Little did i know, the biggest shock was yet to come.
I went and took my seat at the back of the room, as i was in no mood to actively participate in this meeting. After everyone'd finished weighing in, Miss Nasty went up to the front of the room and began to speak. My jaw dropped into my lap. This was the group LEADER?! How could such an uninspiring, unsupportive bitch EVER gain a leadership role where caring about people was such a vital part of the role?? After i got over my initial shock, i began immediately comparing her to my leader. I won't give a play-by-play, but Miss Nasty's approach to leading a meeting seemed to be "Raise your hand if you did exercise this week", and "Raise your hand if you lost weight this week", and "Raise your hand if you hit a milestone this week" while walking around and distributing stickers. After that, she read cue cards to us.
In contrast, my leader opens every meeting by asking us to share noteworthy stories or moments we had that happened over the last week. Then she starts a conversation about a topic she'd picked before the meeting and we discuss it amongst ourselves for a half an hourish. At the end of the conversation, she does "celebrations". If a member had lost their five pounds for that month, she'll call out that member and ask what they did this week. That member responds that they lost a pound, putting them at x pounds lost total, and they receive their recognition and reward (the reward, of course, depending on the achievement). The point is, every person is recognized and praised for their achievements individually. I always leave my meeting with the feeling that my leader genuinely cares about me and helping me achieve my weightloss goals. I left this Arkansas meeting feeling like i'd inconvenienced this leader's day.
Even though it really sucked, I really valued this meeting experience for the eye-opener it was. I had assumed that all leaders were like mine, and now i understand and appreciate that i have an awesome, caring, supportive leader. If i'd had a Miss Nasty as my leader, i can honestly say that WW would not have worked for me. Kudos to you, Jen, for making it look so easy.
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