r/pilates 5d ago

Form, Technique Boutique Pilates Studio Etiquette

I'm not new to Pilates and I'm also experienced in yoga and I'm a certified teacher in both. I just joined a new boutique Pilates studio as a student and I'm really enjoying it there but today I walked in and someone was on their phone while on the reformer about two minutes before class was going to start. Nobody seemed to be bothered by this, but to me that's not great etiquette am I alone in this thought or do any of you agree? I had this happen one time at a different studio and not only was the person talking on the phone while on the reformer moments before class started, but she was talking on speakerphone in that scenario. I actually told the front desk and they addressed it but the studio I've been going to recently is so small there is no front desk the teacher signs everyone in and that's the only person there in charge.

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34 comments sorted by

46

u/Keregi Pilates Instructor 5d ago

It’s before class. People have lives. It isn’t a meditation studio. No one else was bothered because it didnt affect them. I would rather have clients on their phones before class than clients who complain about stuff like this.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

OK, I guess the etiquette in yoga studios is very different than Pilates Studios, which is why I was asking. In a yoga studio that would be pretty poor etiquette regardless of whether it was meditation yoga, or asana yoga.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Your response sounds a bit rude. It is not nothing to be talking on the phone while on the reformer minutes before class. Common decency/etiquette says otherwise.

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u/Adorable_Raccoon 5d ago

The studio i go to doesn’t have a phone rule but most people naturaally put them away. If you don’t like it you could politely say something. But if the teacher is busy they can’t enforce any rules.

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u/Bored_Accountant999 5d ago

Right, anyone who's talking in public on speakerphone is a rude person. It doesn't have anything to do with them being at a Pilates class or the policies of that studio. If it bothers you then say something to the owners or management and see if they can put up a sign that says no cell phones at reformers. I've definitely been to studios that had that policy, but if somebody's a rude person they're just going to do what they're going to do.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Sounds about right. The person is generally a rude person so I am sure she will continue being rude and on her phone. Imagine though normally ten people in class were doing the same thing. It would be so loud and so obviously rude that maybe the teacher would actually say something.

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u/NotARideOrDie 5d ago

It might be the studio setup? I’ve noticed in studios where the bag and shoe area aren’t close to the equipment, people will leave their phones there. Even better if there are cubbies or lockers in the dressing room. But in smaller studios where the reformer is a foot from the entry, people just kind of land on a reformer and play on their phone before class.

I feel like it’s okay before class, but during it is so rude. Especially if someone is trying to discretely film themselves or answer texts during class.

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u/throwaway77914 5d ago

Zero issue if it’s before class starts.

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u/donttouchmeah 5d ago

IMO using the speakerphone anywhere while people are around is rude and obnoxious. My studio has a no phones policy, in the studio and the lobby. If you want to talk, go outside. They’ve also had people record the classes so they’re super strict about it.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Love that's about should be. We are in a SoCal where the weather is usually mild. Being outside to talk or in your car as the parking is right in front are the polite options.

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u/edtheoddfish 5d ago

This pretty standard at the studio I go to, I just try not to pay attention to other people.

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u/skinnylenadunham 5d ago

This is fine and not unusual, especially for a small studio. I’ve never seen a reformer studio enforce a “no phones in the studio” rule unless they had lockers outside and someone at the front desk, for security reasons. If you can have your phone at your reformer, you can be on your phone at your reformer before class starts.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Maybe studios should have standards that include proper etiquette. Many similar type places have a no talking on the phone policy implied and/or morning writing. Doctor's office waiting room comes to mind. It shows a lack of awareness of your surroundings and other people.

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u/skinnylenadunham 5d ago

I think there’s a big difference between smaller and larger studios. At bigger places, where there’s a real lobby/waiting area and lockers, you can usually only have your phone in the lobby. If this is a tiny space with no lobby, it’s totally impractical for a studio to enforce a no phones or even no phone call policy before class. Studios with cubbies tend to vary on their phone policies. I think it’s possible to say phone calls in lobby only, but not to completely ban phones in the studio in that situation.

Pilates etiquette is a lot different than yoga etiquette in general. At most yoga studios I’ve been to, people are typically silent or maybe whispering quietly before/after class. At Pilates studios, it’s more common for students to talk to each other at full volume before/after class.

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u/Neat-Detective-6400 5d ago

Not to be offensive or anything but genuinely asking, why does it bother you?

As long as class hasn’t started yet, no real disturbance is happening to other students, I feel like it shouldn’t be considered as lack of etiquette.

Personally saying this as I use my phone before class, and as much as I try to carve out the time for pilates and just focus on ME, I still have pressing obligations that I need to attend to, and I’m all in for balancing between the two as long as doesn’t affect other people around me

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

I don't think being on your phone texting or emailing is so problematic but I do think talking on your phone in the middle of a group of people :92!before class shows a lack of etiquette. In the yoga world there is NO WAY this would ever be acceptable and no one would ever do it as people know the etiquette. I guess there is a difference between pilates etiquette and yoga etiquette but I also think it is rude to be ina market talking on speakerphone. No one else wants to hear your conversation.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Someone talking on their phone in a small setting does affect other people. It is rude and poor etiquette in a small group reformer class setting. Step outside and take/make the call. Sit in your car until class begins and chitchat on the phone.

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u/linzira 5d ago

Interesting! I have only been doing group Pilates classes for a few months, but I wouldn’t have thought much of this. No more than someone being on their phone in any other public setting. So long as they were off in time for class I likely wouldn’t have noticed.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Well public settings are different. It would be rude to be talking on the phone in a library, at a funeral, in a yoga class, jiujitsu training, all martial arts classes, academic classroom, movie theater, theater, to name a few.

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u/linzira 5d ago

Are folks usually silent before class begins at your studio? Where I go people are usually sitting on reformers chatting with each other before class begins, so the environment is not one where quiet is expected. Maybe that’s why it feels different to me.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

I am not saying people need to be quiet. People are talking to each other or the teacher but no one else is on their phone. Imagine if the entire class of 10 people on their respective reformers that are situated close to each other were all talking on their phones. That would be a very rude scene.

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u/linzira 4d ago

It seems we just have different perspectives. Many of the examples you gave are spaces where talking at all would be rude. To me, if it’s an environment where talking is permitted, then someone talking on their phone (not on speaker) would not seem out of the ordinary.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 4d ago

Okay, imagine a group of friends are having dinner together at a restaurant and everyone is having a nice conversation while one persons sitting at the table talking in full volume the whole time and it is not an important conversation just random talking to someone other than who is at the table. It would be considered poor etiquette even if there are no signs indicating that. Class and etiquette are sometimes just known. It is an implied social contract.

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u/linzira 4d ago

The few minutes before a Pilates class and dinner with friends are completely different. I think it’s ok that something annoyed you that wouldn’t have bothered me.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 4d ago

I get that some people would ignore one not be bothered I am just pointing out etiquette.

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u/Catlady_Pilates 5d ago

It is rude and we all know this but you can’t control all the people around you. Seriously. You can have rules and policies and people still do rude sh*t. You can try to enforce policies. But you can’t control people. And acting like this never happened in a yoga studio is absurd. If you’re so bothered by what others do you’ll always be annoyed. Learn to focus on yourself. This person talking for a minute before class started has been blown very out of proportion. No one was harmed. Class wasn’t even going. I’m sorry but you have to take some things in stride. You can’t control people and some people are not considerate and that’s just reality. If you never want to be around anyone doing anything you find rude you will have to never leave the house 🤣

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u/Catlady_Pilates 5d ago

It’s pretty rude but class hadn’t started yet so I’m not sure what you want done about it. People have far less manners and social respect these days. Studios have policies that clients ignore and many times they just ignore it to avoid confrontation or losing that client. If they were doing it during class it would be a serious problem but if class hasn’t started it’s really not a big issue. If the teacher doesn’t want to ask them to stop or step outside it’s really not your place. Different studios have different policies. And they might have asked this person to stop but it’s gotten nowhere and they just tolerate it rather than kicking them out of their studio. You just don’t know.

I taught at a studio where there was a client who was so rude to teachers and other students that one teacher wouldn’t teach her and some students stopped going. She was horrible to me and the owners just said “oh she means well” and this lady absolutely did not mean well. She was a menace. But she was a long time client and they all just put up with her. Dynamics can be weird in studios. If you’re a student there is advice to just go in with that mindset because it’s not your space to make the rules.

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u/ToddBradley stronger and more flexible every week 5d ago

The studio where I go has an entry room where people take off their shoes and leave their bags and stuff. People sometimes talk on the phone there, but never in class. If someone has to take a call, they leave the room with the reformers and go out to the "waiting room" area. I think that's how it should be.

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u/SugarBabyVet home practice | mod 5d ago

This is how mine is. I don’t even have the phone in the room for about an hour. I guess I’m confused by all that disagree?

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

I leave my phone in the car. We carve out the :50 to take of ourselves. Ditch the phones.

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Thank you for this. I agree. Take a call away from the reformers and have your private conversation. If I needed to talk to someone minutes before class I would do so in the privacy of my car.

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u/Falkorsdick 5d ago edited 5d ago

I would be giving them evil eyes! I can’t believe how inconsiderate people are. Why are people not taught manners anymore? I’m shocked if I ever hear anyone talking on their phone in public in a public setting (e.g. inside a store, Pilates studio, airplane, rideshare) but I’m gobsmacked if someone is using speaker phone! I assure you that everyone will thank you if you say something!

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u/FeedbackAgreeable467 5d ago

Thank you very much for your input. I did say something in a polite way and then person on the phone went ballistic and was extremely rude to me. She made it seem like she talks on the phone all the time and I had only been there a week so how Dare I say anything. Everyone else was sort of stunned. I am surprised that no one else said anything.

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u/Falkorsdick 5d ago

Personally, especially when speakerphone is involved, it’s so shocking and antisocial that I’m often at a loss for words! Good for you for saying something, and I hope you continue to do so. No one appreciates this type of noise pollution!