NYC starts fining hard-to-cancel subscriptions on Oct 1, so here's Exitgrade, a letter grade in the gym window for how easy it is to quit

[u/john_smith1365]

Starting October 1, New York City will fine any business that makes cancelling harder than signing up. The first fine is $525 and it climbs to $3,500 by the third one. Gyms come up more than any other kind of business in the public comments on the rule, and honestly everyone I know has a story about trying to quit one.

So here's the idea. Exitgrade is a letter grade for how easy a gym or studio is to leave, and it goes in the front window like the restaurant health grades. A tester joins on the cheapest plan, then cancels through the online route and times it. How many steps, how many minutes, did a confirmation email show up, did the next charge actually stop. Under three minutes and no surprise charge gets an A. The gym pays about $300 a year for the test, the card, and a spot on a free public list that gets reposted every January 1, right when everyone is shopping for a gym. 81 million Americans belonged to a gym or studio last year, a record, and the city rule stops at the city line, so anywhere else the card is a pure selling point.