MindBody, a popular class booking software used by most fitness and yoga studios, unexpectedly crashed the morning of April 5th.
The patience of its users was tested when the system wasn’t available in the early morning hours, when many people prefer to book exercise classes for the day. MindBody is a major software program used by ClassPass and popular fitness schools like YogaWorks, FlyWheel, and PopPhysique to help their clients book space in upcoming sessions, bypassing the need to arrive early to secure a spot.
Several hours later, the issue was fixed and MindBody’s system was available on mobile devices but still unavailable for desktop, the platform where many users prefer to book.
Fitness centers and yoga studios were frustrated, too, as they weren’t able to see their class rosters and know how many people to expect, or if anyone at all had signed up.
The problem was much worse for independent studios and fitness instructors who rely on MindBody bookings for business. Many of their customers thought that since the MindBody platform was down, there were no classes available.
“This is such a mess. I’m out so much money because everyone thinks the studio is closed. On the heels of you gouging our prices, too,” wrote blackbird_yoga_studio in the comments of MindBody’s Instagram post announcing the crash, as relayed by website Mashable.
Of course, customers can still reserve a spot in a class the old-fashioned way, by calling their gym directly and booking it over the phone.
MindBody has been a helpful tool for many studios looking to advertise their offerings and make sign-ups as easy and convenient as possible for customers. In addition to booking classes, MindBody users can look up last-minute deals, book spa appointments, and get fitness tips on the fly. For those who don’t have a gym membership, the platform can help you locate classes near you so you can try new fitness routines or check out a new yoga studio, offering more convenience and choice.
“After a very difficult day, MINDBODY’s platform is being restored to full service levels,” the company said in a statement. “The MINDBODY team takes our system reliability very seriously, and we invest tens of millions of dollars each year to prevent system interruptions like the one we had today.”
MindBody has since resolved the problem, pointing to a glitch in the loading process when people searched and tried to load new pages.
“Our earlier issues with blank pages when loading the MINDBODY Web Software are now resolved,” the company wrote on their website. “All services have been restored. If you are still experiencing related problems, please contact us at support.mindbodyonline.com.”
