Good studio; improvements needed
TL;DR
Pros: amazing workout; a few superb instructors; wide range of classes and times
Cons: slow technical progress; not all instructors equal; often sharing equipment for same price; privacy issues with booking website; poor response from owners to legitimate feedback (e.g. about their booking website storing my card details without consent and there being no option to remove)
Note: I wrote to the owners to advise I would be sharing a fair and honest review of my experiences with their business. A polite reminder to the owners that personal data (example: the name I provided when booking classes) should not be shared here.
I had planned to review Leeds Pole Dance Studio (Bramley) at some point but was motivated to finally do this by recent communications with the owners. I had to feed back about a privacy issue and the owners’ responses were unexpectedly defensive and dismissive. I will increase my rating and edit my review once I can see that the privacy issue with online bookings has been resolved.
I booked a class online and opted to pay by card. To my surprise, the payment went through with no further input requested. Not even my security code. I never store card details online, having worked in IT in the past and therefore having a basic understanding of the limitations of encryption. It is never possible to 100% guarantee the privacy of data online. I have some experience designing websites with payment gateways, so I also have some basic knowledge of how this works and what is expected of business owners when it comes to protecting personal data and following the DPA (GDPR). I was never asked for consent to store my card details and there was no option to delete my card. I thought it would be simple to rectify with a quick email to the business owners.
Essentially, the owners shirked all responsibility for the issue, telling me only that I had agreed to their booking provider’s terms when providing my card details. I was directed to their website provider. I had already told the owners of LPDS that I’d been in contact with their booking provider. Bookeo had already replied stating they have nothing to do with the processing of payments. Most people are aware of some of the absolute basics of DPA, including the right to request the erasure of data. It was only when I escalated to a complaint, that one of the owners investigated and found that he was indeed able to remove my card details from their system. I had already reported my card as stolen due to the initial lack of cooperation. The tone of each response was unreasonable and unnecessarily defensive, with comments like “I assure you we are well-versed in how our system works” – whilst confirming in the same email that they had initially failed to delete my card details because they were not, in fact, aware of how their system worked. I also received – in the same email – an unsolicited description of the operating practices of businesses offering subscriptions and memberships. I was informed by the owner that those businesses also store card details. LPDS does not, to the best of my knowledge, currently offer subscriptions or memberships and if they do: I haven’t signed up to any. So, I’m still perplexed as to why this information was considered relevant or why he felt I needed it explaining to me. As best as I can tell: it seems to have been a misguided and defensive attempt at justifying the storage of my card details for one-off purchases via their booking website, without my consent. I informed the owner that the companies he had described require signed agreements in place for automatic, repeat payments (example: direct debit; continuous payment authority). Again: this was an unnecessarily defensive response. I’d expect better from a business interested in providing high-quality customer service.
I truly do not believe there was any malice intended. Everyone makes mistakes and that’s fine. Until you become defensive and hostile when customers bring these mistakes to your attention. Then, it’s not fine. The owner was adamant that he was entitled to store card details with the current setup of his booking website, but also stated that he was now checking with the provider of their payment gateway, why there was no prompt for consent. This is contradictory and confusing. Either your booking website is operating within all known laws and guidelines or you need to investigate and confirm. It is not appropriate to defensively insist you have done nothing wrong – dismissing legitimate concerns raised by customers about the privacy of their data – whilst simultaneously confirming you are checking if your website is operating correctly.
I intend to edit my review to describe the studio itself (& increase the rating) once the data issue is resolved.
Miss L.