As an organisation, Slimming World is passionate about its members. They want each member to feel special, supported, and welcomed. All the consultants I have met also feel the same way. They want their members to have a wonderful time when in the group. Slimming World Consultants want their members to achieve their target and have the body they dream of. This is why I was shocked when I met a Slimming World Member dislikes her group.
Uphill struggle when a Slimming World Member dislikes her group
I was helping my friend in a different group this week. This meant I got up at 5 a.m. on a Saturday after working 65 hours at my regular job and helped her run this cover group. The drive was about 20 miles, in the next town, as a local group had lost their regular consultant a few months ago. All the consultants in the area are rallying around to help support the members to ensure they still have a group to go to. To help members stay focused on their weight loss journey and offer guidance.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not after praise. I offered to help my friend as she helps me in so many other ways. And she is a friend and that’s what friends do.
It’s an early start to support Members
Normally, when you arrive at a venue, the Social Team will usually help the covering consultant set up and pack things away. It makes life so much easier, and the volunteers on the Social Team are indeed sent from heaven for their help and support. Without them, the group would not run as smoothly. That’s me, sent from heaven!
With this group, as it is such an early start, the doors open at 8 a.m., means the Slimming World Consultant needs to be there at 7 a.m. to set up. We did all the heavy lifting together. We got 30 chairs, tables, the kit, set up the kitchen and prepared the hall for a warm welcome. The first member arrived at about 7:50 a.m. To be fair, she did help set up the remaining chairs and signs.
This was a double session, meaning the first group would arrive at 8 a.m. and the next at 9:30 a.m.
Members in the First group were a dream. They laughed and enjoyed the meeting, and four members came up after the group to thank my friend and said they now feel inspired and are looking forward to the week ahead. I was slightly chuffed for her and gave her a pat on the back. I won’t repeat what she said to me, but I am sure you can guess.
It’s the scale’s fault
The second group of members arrived, and the first few ladies were lovely. They came in and weighed. Chatted and welcomed us to their group. One lady sat at the weigh station and took care of all the weighs, and we had a good chat. Then things went downhill. One member arrived and just kicked off. She got on the scales, promptly got off, and said,
‘The scales are wrong again; I have been perfect on plan, and they are showing I have put on 3 pounds. That’s not right. I am fed up with coming to the group with different consultants who bring different scales each week. They put them in different places, and they always weigh differently. At home, I lost this week.
She continued:
‘It’s not what I pay my money for, and quite frankly, I want a better consultant’.
I have to be honest; that floored me for a few seconds. I had said hello to her moments before and she was very pleasant. This reaction was unexpected and a little over the top. I felt so bad for my friend. She smiled and tried to engage her in conversation about her week and what she had done. She wasn’t having any of it.
I over heard one of the other ladies in the group approached her, as I was dealing with another member and asked what she meant by that, and she replied that it’s not fair that we get different consultants all the time, and the scales are different each time. This knight in shining armour suggested that she think about what she has just said and that maybe she should reword her comments. She then changed what she said to the real meaning of her statement.
I am fed up with coming to the group and not being supported by a permanent Slimming World Consultant.
Slimming World Member dislikes her group and I understand why
I understand this. If it were me, I would be upset as a member if I had different consultants each week. This showed me that a Slimming World group is more than just a consultant standing up in front of everyone, asking how they are. It’s about creating a community. A place of safety where we can discuss our issues. This lady felt overwhelmed by the number displayed on the scale, but in reality, she was overwhelmed by the situation. My friend works so hard to ensure all her group members are heard all the time.
Life is hard, and what she is looking for is stability. This lady wants a place where she can go to, and be herself, where she is not a wife, a mother, a sister, or a daughter. She is an individual, and she wants to be recognised for her successes and wins. If she does put on weight, she wants to discuss it with a friend who won’t judge her and will support her. This is what a Slimming World group is all about. There is never any judgement within group. It is a place to be yourself; if you have a bad week, you can tell everyone they will be there for you.
When she left the group, she was smiling and accepted some tools my friend gave her. She had a plan in place and was looking forward to the week. I will see her next week if she turns up.
A New Consultant
There was also a discussion in the group about not having a permanent consultant, and she needed to hear an explanation from my friend, a Slimming World representative. She wanted to hear that she understood her frustrations and that although she was a good consultant, my friend is not her consultant. Which makes a massive difference. This group will get their consultant in a few weeks. She is currently on her training courses with Slimming World, so this matter shouldn’t arise again.
When we got in the car, I asked her about the situation; she was kind to the woman. She said that she was just frustrated with her weight increase, had gone off plan and was hitting out at the nearest obstacle. In this case, it was her, and she doesn’t take it personally.
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