Good way to get a gym to replace broke stuff?

[kwerk]

Hello, Coach! I've recently moved off to college and I'm now training in the weight room/fitness center on campus because it's close and it's free. The problem is that all three barbells in all three cages are horribly bent. They're unusable for anything except squats and front squats. I e-mailed the director of the gym about it, who forwarded it to the manager of the weight room, however she was resistant to fix the problem because even though the bars are bent, she seems to think that bars bend through normal use over time and as long as I use the collars I'll be fine. Obviously not someone who trains.

~$1000 for three bars doesn't seem like that much of an investment to me.

How do I force them to do what I want?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Tell them you'll quit if they don't.

[frosty-g]

unless he pays more than a grand a year membership they'll probably let him go. and he might well be stuck in a contract anyway.

OP- tell them about your health and safety concerns, about how a bent bar can cause all kinds of injuries and accidents... that's the kind of thing she might well understand, the financial consequences at least. you know what universities and commercial places are like about health and safety (well uni's are pretty commercial but you get my point) $1000 might seem a lot less money and new bars much more necessary.
just make sure you word it correctly and suggest a decent bar that shouldn't be as likely to bend so they don't go and ban barbells. try saying that curling in the rack is a major cause of bar bending, they obviously wouldn't know the difference anyway and might ban that with any luck.

best of luck!

[Simma Park]

I'm going to be nice and assume the OP is very young. Because I never fail to be amazed at the way some people seem to ask Rip to think for them.

When I've wanted gyms to change stuff, I usually make a case for how the way things are is unsafe. And therefore the gym is putting me at unnecessary risk by not having the equipment set up/maintained to be as safe and efficient as possible. This is almost always the truth, since equipment that is undamaged and set up in an environment such that it is conducive to maximum efficiency for training is almost always set up to produce the safest training conditions.

Those bent bars could injure someone lifting heavy. And since I've alerted them to the problem, if something were to injure him or herself because of it, that could make them liable. That usually gets managers' attention right away.

[stonerider]

"moved off to college" might have been a clue as to age

[Alex Willess]

I'm going to be nice and assume the OP is very young. Because I never fail to be amazed at the way some people seem to ask Rip to think for them.

When I've wanted gyms to change stuff, I usually make a case for how the way things are is unsafe. And therefore the gym is putting me at unnecessary risk by not having the equipment set up/maintained to be as safe and efficient as possible. This is almost always the truth, since equipment that is undamaged and set up in an environment such that it is conducive to maximum efficiency for training is almost always set up to produce the safest training conditions.

Those bent bars could injure someone lifting heavy. And since I've alerted them to the problem, if something were to injure him or herself because of it, that could make them liable. That usually gets managers' attention right away.

That is also a good way to get them to get rid of the barbells, squat racks, and power racks altogether and ban anything barbell related. I would just become a sore in their side to the point that it is easier to buy at least one new barbell to make you happy than to actually deal with you. When people who are ignorant are in charge of safety expect the new rules to be in step with their perceived knowledge of the subject.

[Kostas]

If your gym is free, you have already avoided a major cost.

Set up a little fund and ask people to contribute. If you can get just 15 people to give just 20 bucks each, you can buy a B&R or Texas Power bar, both very good and cheap. Donate it to the university, and tell them that if it is ever bent, you will stick it you know where.

[Mac Ward]

Buddy of mine was bench pressing about 15 years ago with a bent bar. Took it out of the rack, bar rolled over and it dropped on his face (went right into his mouth). According to him, 3 months later he could chew steak again...he has a reconstructed jaw and a whole new set of lower teeth.

USMC sued the gym, it was subsequently shut down (or so he says).

I imagine you could google this and find all kinds of examples.

[apparatus]

Tell her if you or other people constantly use collars and they end up getting stuck at the bottom of a squat or (god forbid) a bench press, that due to having the bar collared you will almost guarantee an injury, if not a fatality. If it's one thing I'm sure we've all heard about and have seen happen, it's someone dropping the bar on themselves while they're benching. Possibly also the only death directly attributable to weight training. In a facility like that, it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Especially with what someone might call "subpar" equipment.

She will be solely responsible for a dramatic rise in the bro death rate.

[sappbe]

were to injure him or herself because of it, that could make them liable. That usually gets managers' attention right away.

Bold for emphasis, assuming the OP is young. Unfortunately, this seems like your best bet. Managers like money, and dislike liability suits. It would be nice if you could appeal to their pride and sense of responsibility to gym and its members, but the fact that they are either unaware or unwilling to replace the damaged equipment speaks volumes to their lack of of those traits. Anyway, good luck to you.