Pole Control Studios

I’ve been taking Beginner 1 classes here for 5 months. What I love most is that it’s great upper body strengthening and it’s not boring.
Focusing on holding onto the spinning pole while you attempt the various moves is entertaining and funny. It’s perfect for me because I hate the gym. Doing time at the gym is monotonous and no one is there to push you, except yourself. Every class I keep trying the moves until my arm and hand muscles give out. I have noticed muscle definition in my arms.
Be aware: the sport is not for wussies. You will get bruises all over your self each time you get familiar with a new move. The teacher has the moves broken down in code letters and symbols on the monitor in the studio. The first 15 mins of class time is for you to stretch. The rest of the class you spend time on a few combinations moves depending on her ciriculum slides.
You have to pre-​purchase classes and there are almost always some deals on the email newsletter. Right now I am using a set of 15 classes that expire at the end of June.
The way it works: you sign up for the class online (in your designated skill level) and the system emails you your confirmation. You can’t cancel without losing that class if it’s down less than 24 hours from your class appointment/​time. She also has a «Mindbody» app that also gives you a way to sign up for your class.
I recommend going twice a week to really improve your ability.
Parking is the crappiest part of this studio. On Pratt or some of the neighboring streets it’s free at night. You have to do a lot of parallel parking when you do find a spot. There are parking garages around the studio but who wants to pay for parking for an hour?

My overall review of Pole Control Studios has gone up to 3.5 stars because while my experience was less than optimal, I did receive a note from the owner/​manager thanking me for my Unilocal feedback and assuring me that they will do a better job of ensuring that all customers feel valued. He appears to be conscientious and I expect that with a bit of staff training customer experiences are likely to improve. The classes themselves are great as I stated in my previous review so I am pleased that at least some attempt is being made to bring the customer service up to the same standard.

DON’T GO!!! Exteremely rude & poor customer service. Very unprofessional.
Groupon refunded the full amount I paid.

Pole Control Studios is a lovely-​looking place ruined by horrible management. I tried this place for three months and I just hated dealing with John and «Hollywood».
John handles a lot of the front-​desk and finances. Hollywood teaches many of the classes. While I was charmed into a long term package at a reasonable price, once I signed the credit card slip, things weren’t so charming anymore.
The pole classes were exciting at first. You learn about 10 short dance combinations. Then, it became exceedingly redundant and slow paced. They don’t encourage learning moves outside of the dance combos. Repeating the moves built muscle but lacked the dance element that other studios emphasize. Hollywood is upbeat and generally positive, but I have heard her give some backhanded comments and try to pass it off as a joke. Unacceptable.
John is just unpleasant. He speaks to customers as if they’re unintelligent and in reprimanding tones for not understanding the rules (their rules are extensive and not easy to find).
While these may not seem like huge deal breakers (I honestly didn’t have too many conflicts with them personally), the icing on the cake is their online presence/​customer service. If you google the studio, you’ll find numerous reviews (I’m actually surprised there are none on Unilocal). I have reason to believe they rigged their rating to be higher than real user submitted reviews. Many of the reviews are poorly written, in standard PCS fashion (their emails and online comments have grammatical errors all over). One fishy reviewer gave 1 stars to all the other pole locations around Connecticut but 5 stars to PCS. The one VERIFIED business response to an upset customer, who happens to be «a dancer», is laughable. Once you read it, you’ll understand how their lack of professionalism makes you want to avoid the place.
«Response from the owner
unfortunately we are not a stripper college. Women who have this misconception about us will not respect our rules, regulation and policies. We have members that travel from all over the New England area and find a way make it to class on time. Strippers who work all night long grinding laps will have a hard time making it to a 2pm class. Alcohol impairs judgement. When we get a phone call 10 minutes before a scheduled class, with a drunken stripper claiming she is too hung over to make it to class. It’s a lack of respect for our instructor and other students. You will be charged for the time and space you lack respect for. This is a business for empowering women through alternative fitness not for embracing the career choices of the lazy masses. Sorry Ladies HollyWould will not sell her soul for a dollar. Good luck in Westfeild.»
Sorry for the rant. Just trying to help you ladies avoid a potential nightmare. For the record, I really enjoyed the other instructors and the classes they taught (non-​pole). I just cannot support a business that has such immature people running it.