MindBody or Zenplanner??

[Rob Hefley]

Last week I was on vacation in California and dropped by some Crossfits. I got some great information from Crossfit LA and Crossfit Hollywood. Thank you guys for being so helpful. One of my big questions, is what is the best software to use? Mindbody or Zenplanner? So last Friday my wife and I actually went to Mindbody's offices in San Luis Obispo, CA. They gave us a great demo of their products capabilities. I just want to hear from other owners? What would you go with?

[Matthew Wade]

We have been using ZenPlanner but have asked ourselves many times if MindBody would have been better. But then just today I had a question about something with ZenPlanner and called them. I ended up speaking with Ben the creator of the program for about 20 minutes. He walked me through my question, made sure I knew what I was doing and stayed on the line until I was sure I had my answer.
Maybe MindBody has some better features and maybe not but I'm now completely convinced we made the right choice with ZenPlanner.
If I was you I would call and talk with Ben and tell him exactly what you are looking for and let him tell you what ZenPlanner can do. Then decide.
On this board you will get many who will tell you MindBody is the best and many will say ZenPlanner and then Brian Strump will tell you to check out Rock Gym Pro. I think in the end whichever one you feel most comfortable with will end up working just fine for you.

[Brian Strump]

Originally Posted by Matthew Wade

and then Brian Strump will tell you to check out Rock Gym Pro. I think in the end whichever one you feel most comfortable with will end up working just fine for you.

I've never been one to follow the majority.

Personally, I've heard good and bad for all the software programs that most affiliates use. I think, more than tools, it comes down to the customer service you feel that best covers your needs.

[Matthew Wade]

Hey Brian hope you didn't take my comment as a jab, I've just read in several threads your recommendation for Rock Gym.

[Mike A Spencer]

A fairly new product for website, class scheduler, result database and member blog is called HiTechGym.com. The goal of this product is to take the most used parts of some of the others and put them together in one place with one login. I know some gyms are small and don't need something as complex as MindBody, so that's why we created HiTechGym. I've not seen ZenPlanner or Rock Gym Pro so can't comment on them. I do know that MindBody was too complex and expensive for our small box.

[Brian Strump]

Originally Posted by Matthew Wade

Hey Brian hope you didn't take my comment as a jab, I've just read in several threads your recommendation for Rock Gym.

Oh not at all, I was just reading what everyone's opinion on the software was, and then I saw my name; thought I was famous for a minute!

Still using that software, a year in and over 100 members. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles like some of the other ones, but does what we need it to do.

[Becca Borawski]

Different programs will have different features, no doubt.

But I can tell you the customer service and desire to fulfill the customers needs is WAY higher with Zen Planner. WAY higher.

[Damon Stewart]

We use MBO and have been very happy with them. As we grow (now 220+ athletes) and add different programs it seems like they have all the features we need. They also have several retention tools and financial metrics we've found useful. We've also used them to begin offering memberships online and it's been very streamlined.

[Conrad Schaefer]

We are switching to Zen Planner. I told Mindbody we would not renew with them after the middle of June but would finish our current service month. However, they promptly closed my merchant account with no communication. So that was quite upsetting.

[Bryan Hood]

I've been using ZP. The thing that really keeps me with them is Ben and his wife. I called and asked Ben if he could create a custom form for me. He did it while I was on the phone and posted it onto my site. It's pretty easy to set up and navigate. I have been in contact with the HiTechGym guys though and may try them. I'm a firm believer in KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).