71–80 of 172 posts
Probably a worthwhile addendum that they had a "restructuring" in May, laying off 15% of their staff, ~400 people, and their CEO stepped down. They've yet to find a replacement CEO, still running under interim leadership.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think by “capitalism” they mean this pervasive attitude of trying to extract money to customer in every way possible.
As long as the government allows it, greed will make corporations try to grab more and more, especially since the finance/MBA types have taken over. It's not strange to call that capitalism, since it is in its very nature.
They are losing money still so desparate moves like this I guess make sense, but adding friction to the new subscriber workflow just seems wild. There's a reason why just about every subscription out there offers free trials/discounted first months. It's to get you in the door. It's not even as if the bike is disabled when bought used, you can just use it like any other spin bike happily. This ONLY effects people who…
I mean, just the idea of paying for a subscription to ride a stationary bike is wild.
You're not. Like was said above, you can ride it as a stationary bike for free. You're paying for the video content put out by Peloton which is added to daily, like a tv station. I can't help sounding like a sales person at this point but I'd also point out you get access to all their old content plus the fact that all this content is tied directly to your bike and the social network of other peloton riders.
Peloton is both a product manufacturer and a service provider; setup fees are common with many service providers. For example, if you bring a phone you bought elsewhere to your carrier, they'll charge a fee to activate it for their network.
I have literally never had this experience with a mobile carrier (Canada). There is an account activation fee (usually waived if you sign up online), but once the account is activated you can freely swap the SIM between as many phones as you like.
Peloton had a golden opportunity to change consumer behavior during the pandemic. They should’ve just given away their bikes.
Peloton is both a product manufacturer and a service provider; setup fees are common with many service providers. For example, if you bring a phone you bought elsewhere to your carrier, they'll charge a fee to activate it for their network.
And if I sell my phone to someone else do they have to pay the fee again even if they stay with the same provider? This peloton fee has no good reason to exist. None.
Next up: fixed-term contracts, impossible-to-cancel membership fees, and variable pricing via salesmen.
Peloton is both a product manufacturer and a service provider; setup fees are common with many service providers. For example, if you bring a phone you bought elsewhere to your carrier, they'll charge a fee to activate it for their network.