While I don't go to that gym anymore (it's expensive, more than double $50/mo), it really was a great service for what is an otherwise average experience (going to the gym).
I've occasionally wished for some kind of certification program that works as follows:
1. I take a test that proves I'm not an idiot on the subject of consumer product category X, and that I know how to do basic troubleshooting on problems in category X. I've given a certification in this.
2. When I call support for a problem in category X, I can tell them I'm a certified X consumer, give then my certification #, and they can verify it.
3. They then skip past all the "is the device plugged in?" and "have you tried rebooting?" and so on crap, and forward the call to a higher level tech who knows how to work with customers who know what they are doing.
'Hi, I was just running through the troubleshooting steps with one of your colleagues and I got cut off. He said he was just going to put me on hold to [order new router|arrange engineer|whatever you think is needed after your own troubleshooting]'
This works for me 95% of the time.
I don't consider this particularly sleazy because you can usually get the discount anyway if you haggle, but it saves a lot of time.
Check out ConsultingMD, consultingmd.com. It's a great perk startups can provide their employees.
Like a CSA?
http://www.organic-market.info/web/Europe/Denmark/Denmark/22...
http://future-farmers.net/from-the-field/denmark/aarstiderne...
* A full-program fitness regimen with tailored diet/nutrition/recipes and work-out regimens. I keep keep them up-to-date on the progress using my wirelessly synching Withings weight.
* Great, fresh fruit and vegetables sent to me every one or two weeks.
* Maybe a service where I can text legal questions (with a quota) to someone who can answer them - or find someone who does - for me.
* A decent internet connection where I can talk to support staff who can actually tell their ass from their elbow.
* Not for me, but I think there is a great business plan lying around for the person who has a big backlog of recipes. Recipes As a Service could be pretty interesting where all recipes and information are in the cloud.
* A gym that actually cares about my activity and commitment. Normally, the ideal customer to gyms is the January guy whose new year's resolution is never going to happen. A gym that actually nudges you and cares about your activity would be interesting. They can send me a poke, if I haven't visited the gym in a while, or if my weight hasn't changed for the better. Since a lot of this can be automated, it might not even take that much effort.