Rocky Mountain PF, LLC dba Planet Fitness Pueblo, owned by Vincent and Carla Love, won two awards in the Best of Pueblo ’15. The local paper for Pueblo, Colorado, The Pueblo Chieftain, has a circulation of roughly 45,000 and holds an annual award for 100 categories, such as Best Gym and Best Boss. The people of Pueblo voted, and the winner of the Best Pueblo Gym for 2015 was Planet Fitness® and the second place winner of Best Boss was franchisee Carla Love! As nominees, the Loves were invited to the Best of Pueblo event at the Pueblo convention center to hear the official revealing of their final placing within the categories.
Rocky Mountain PF, LLC franchisees Vincent and Carla Love at the Best of Pueblo ’15 award ceremony.
The news of the two awards came as a happy surprise to the Loves, who opened their first club only a year ago and credit the gym’s success to the appeal of the Planet Fitness brand, their great staff and the member service and strong demographics. “It’s a small town, it’s by word-of-mouth and I definitely think the fact that we are a 24/7 club is very big here,” reflected Vincent Love.
Carla Love continued, “[It’s] the fact that we are value-driven with the lower price point but also offer something great. As far as the gyms here, we are the newest and the most affordable. We do pride ourselves in having a very clean club and going over the top with customer service and the energy. What I believe comes from the top down, and one of my beliefs is that yes, we can be clean, but we have to thank and keep thanking customers for their business, for coming in and to know their names as well. It’s the small things, but once you get them, you can keep them.”
Carla Love shows off the company’s nominations for Best Gym and Best Boss of Pueblo.
She went on to explain how they take pride in creating a Planet Fitness experience for their customers and strive to make it a community in itself within Pueblo. “I truly do appreciate each member and I really try to take every opportunity I can to thank everybody on an individual basis for choosing us.”
Members of the staff noted that some of her most admirable characteristics as a boss are her positive energy and passion. “I am very passionate about Planet Fitness, what they stand for and the Judgement Free Zone®.”
Before being nominated as Best Boss, Carla Love didn’t even know that it was a category. “My staff took the initiative to nominate me and that tells what kind of staff I have,” she said. “I really try to lead by example. So I was glad when they [staff] said, ‘She is a leader, not a boss.’”
Carla Love believes employees work harder for the people they like and respect. “I try to do the small things for them every chance I get. I tell them how much I appreciate them, when I get compliments from members I tell them and outside of the job, I try to help them. If they come and they love their work it will come off in the numbers.”
She concluded, “I try to set the tone for the gym. I hire everyone based on their energy and when I come into the gym, I try to promote that. I think that it is my staff that has made this gym successful. I want to and try to thank them all the time. They are the ones who keep it clean and see the members every day and deliver the Planet Fitness experience.”
L-R: Staff members of Pueblo’s Best Gym, as voted by the readers of The Pueblo Chieftain: Jacob Catano, shift leader; Nick Eurich, assistant manager; Carla Love, franchisee; Desmond Halstead, trainer; and Ryan Castillo, shift leader.