Always read the fine print
I work from home and so does my husband, so space is tight. I endured it for years: frequent interruptions, my husband loudly cooking pasta at 2pm while I'm on a call, random drop-ins from maintenance workers. I noticed my productivity was dropping. So, a few weeks ago, I decided to look for a coworking space.
I've used WeWorks in the past, but there are none in my current city. What few coworking spaces we have are usually in the downtown area, about a 15 minute drive from me. One of the major perks of freelancing is not having to sit in traffic while driving to work, and I'm not doing that again. So, that leaves only two options in my area: an overpriced coworking space down the street with limited options, and a Regus.
If you're unfamiliar with Regus, that's a good thing. Cause it means you haven't been scammed by them yet. They're a massive company, with offices everywhere globally. They surprisingly have five locations in my city, including one conveniently up the street from me. And with an affordable price of only $100/month, choosing them was a no-brainer.
I scheduled a tour and right away something felt off. I'm used to WeWorks that are expertly designed to look "cool" — beer on tap, street art on the walls, trendy furniture, etc. Regus looked more like an office straight out of Severance. Just blank and white, with long, meandering halls that led from one door to another. Even though it wasn't "cute," I told myself that at least it was cheap and had, like, one window.
When I got home I decided to research the company, which was where I ran into my second red flag. Most reviews are always mixed (lots of vague 5-star reviews with a couple of essay-length negative ones related to some personal issue on the reviewer's part), but Regus' reviews weren't like that. They were all negative, with most of the reviews screaming about how the company was a scam and how "you should run away now."
Now, that was pretty alarming, but I figured, hey, you get what you pay for, right? If I wanted top-notch service, I would pay the extra $60 for the other place. So, despite my apprehension, I decided to move forward.
However, because of how scary the reviews were, I read the contract carefully. At first, it seemed standard (payment is due at the beginning of the month, to cancel a contract you must notify them 30 days prior, blah blah blah), but then I got to the page on "rules and terms." As I was skimming it, I came across a line that said, "All members have access to high-speed internet for an additional $10/month. You can opt-out of this service via the member portal."
I was like, "Hole up...I gotta pay for internet?" And then it got worse. There was basically a fee to use literally anything in the office, even the coffee! If I opted out of everything, I'd be paying $100/month to basically have access to a black desk in a white box, shared with four other suckers, and that's it. Not to mention all the setup fees, the deposit, etc. It was laughable.
I emailed back the guy and told him I changed my mind about renting the desk. The following week I checked out the more expensive coworking space and mentioned Regus to them. The lady was like, "Oh yeah, I've heard horror stories about them. I also heard that, once you sign the contract, they trap you there and drown you in hidden fees."
So, I ended up going with the more expensive place, even though it's not quite what I wanted. But I would rather spend an extra $60 than deal with whatever bullshit I almost signed up for.
Read your contracts!