Regus - Business World - Any reviews?

[Faevilangel]

I am at the stage I need to get an office but don't want to burden myself with a long lease, so looked into renting space from office rentals like regus.

For £19 a month I can drop in at any of the centres in my region and use the business lounge for free, from 8.30 -6, and if I want an office I can rent one per half day or full day.

It's perfect for me as I like to be out and about and can drop into a centre and work for the day with no outlays, I can arrange meetings in an area and meet them at the regus office.

Has anyone used this before, or still use it? How did you find it and would you recommend it?

 

[Ernie_wise]

We used Regus when we first started up. We rented a desk in a shared office during 2010. As an organisation I found them to be sneaky, and I would not use them again.

The thing about Regus is that the deals look good at first glance but when you delve a little deeper you'll find out that absolutely everything is extra and it aint cheap. The costs really really mount up so forget about that £19 because it covers very little. I need to delve into my figures but you'll be spending well in excess of whatever they originally quote you

The business lounges sound great and I used a couple. You get basically a comfy chair and a TV in them. You can't really work or meet clients in them because they're not designed for that sort of thing... just lounging. Also you have to book in advance and it's not as convenient as it seems and on top of that you'll be paying for everything.

Also the most important thing to remember is that you have to give three months notice and pay a three month continuation fee after you've moved out, which really stings. What is it for? Forwarding your mail/telephone calls. How much? 3 x full month's rent.

Finally my final issue with Regus was that after three months they stopped forwarding my (important) mail and telephone calls, i.e. anything I forgot to forward. They will not let you setup Royal Mail forwarding and I can only assume that they were trashing our mail and denying our existence to callers.

PM me and I can forward you some real figures/examples.

 

[Ernie_wise]

Having thought about it a little over the past year... If I was in your position I'd approach local businesses and ask if they have any desk space free that you could rent on a short term basis and set up a private agreement with them. You won't get the x number lounges that Regus claim they have but they're honestly not that good. And you'll be puting something back into the local economy.

 

[S-Marketing]

Having thought about it a little over the past year... If I was in your position I'd approach local businesses and ask if they have any desk space free that you could rent on a short term basis and set up a private agreement with them. You won’t get the x number lounges that Regus claim they have but they're honestly not that good. And you'll be puting something back into the local economy.

That's exactly what I did when I first had employees that were office based. I paid 200 a month for one desk and then when I got more staff I paid £400 a month and had half the office. This was inclusive of all bills and I could walk whenever I wanted with a months notice. No silly contract, just all agreed on a handshake.

 

[MikeJ]

My experience of Regus isn't good. I needed a meeting room in Amsterdam on a Saturday last year. I left three messages with them before I got anyone to call back.

When I finally got to speak to someone, I managed to book a room. Then two weeks later, they called back to say the price had gone up 50% because they forgot the Saturday surcharge. By then, I'd managed to find somebody else, so I just cancelled the booking. Oddly enough, cancelling didn't seem any problem at all!

 

[Gabriel_Regus]

Hi Faevilangel

My name is Gabriel and I work for Regus. I saw your post and I wanted to clarify what a businessworld membership entails.

For a monthly fee (this is dependant on region, but for the whole of the UK including London this is £25) you get access to the lounges where you can use the Regus Thinkpods, get free WiFi and refreshments.

In order to use the business lounges or the thinkpods there no need for a booking, they work on a first come first serve basis. If you require an office or a meeting room, these obviously incur an extra cost and depending on availability, it’s always best to book in advance.

Ernie_wise MikeJ – I’m sorry to hear you feel that way, if you have any issues I can get customer services to look into the issue. We will need to have some of your details to get in touch etc. You can either send me a private message or you can submit them at regus.co.uk/customer-service/customer-query.aspx

Thanks

Gabriel

 

[TODonnell]

I guess we're a competitor of Regus. We don't offer meeting rooms, as yet. I don't know what use a 'business lounge' or a 'thinkpod' would be.

Surely small businessmen want a place they can meet clients in? They want to look more professional than they can afford, if you follow. You can lounge and think at home.

 

[Method Man]

What on earth is a "Thinkpod"?

 

[captaincloser]

What on earth is a "Thinkpod"?

I think it's a typo. They clearly mean THINKPUD

 

[Method Man]

I think it's a typo. They clearly mean THINKPUD

Ah haa - that's clearer now thanks.

Just to add my £0.02 to the fray, I ran a print related business from a Regus office once for a company in administration. They (quite rightly) asked for the new agreement to be suitably guaranteed and so, in turn, I asked for a detailed contract setting out costs and charges etc.

We were to be charged per desk and I seem to recall there was a £75 cleaning fee per desk when we left! We had eight desks!

On top of all the other costs and charges asides from the pure rent we opted not to use the office and instead sourced temporary facilities via the Chamber of Commerce / FSB.

They suit some businesses perfectly whereas the opposite applies to others. I suppose it just depends on what you're looking for and are prepared to pay.

 

[FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper]

What on earth is a "Thinkpod"?

A comfy chair?

 

[Faevilangel]

What on earth is a "Thinkpod"?

A thinkpod is a "pod" in the business lounge which you are in a confined space with a chair & table which you can knuckle down and work, the rest of the lounge is made up of armchairs with laptop tables which would be for the more relaxed person.

 

[british steve]

[FONT=&quot]Have you tried your local town or city council? They normally have small business units to rent on an easy - easy out basis. We started with an office that only required us to give one months notice when we want to move out, it also meant we could upgrade office size quickly and easily when we needed more space. Have to say, where I am Plymouth city council seem to have 100's of small business starter units!

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I too had a bad experience with Regus - never again. Most expensive cheap office I have ever had.[/FONT]

 

[Mike at Axiom]

I'd like to reiterate the concerns expressed by others with regards to the services of Regus. I signed up for a 12 month contract, after which time I was told the contract would either be renegotiated or continue on a flexible basis. When I came to cancel the contract due to a move overseas some 18 months later, they wouldn't let me do this. They had apparently sent me an email to tell me they were changing my contract to auto-renew for a further 12 months! This either didn't reach me, got lost in the chaos of the move or otherwise amongst the volumes of irrelevant junk mail you get from them.

The bottom line: Their customer services are great when they want you to buy their services. Otherwise, in my experience, their conduct is questionable and their customer care for existing clients is completely lacking. I'll caveat that to say that I found the local contacts great. Unfortunately, they seem rather powerless on matters of importance.

If you use them, do it with caution and make sure you are very aware of what you're signing and any changes they slip through - it's very easy to miss these when you're busy running a business.

I'm grateful that I now live somewhere where companies like Regus are few and far between and business is conducted much more with the customer in mind. I will never use the services of Regus again.

 

[Jet Virtual]

I guess I am probably biased and do not like to put down competition (even thought I don't see them as a competitor) however, when someone asks advice I feel the duty to inform.

Basically the feedback that I have got from many small business owners about Regus has mainly been negative.

I think the problem is the same with many large businesses. You lose the personal service you get with smaller companies. Can anyone else relate to this?

 

[Talay]

They are fine for people who are not personally paying the bills, just as 5* hotels are great when you are not paying. But when it is your money, your business, your cash on the line, you scrutinise way more than some employee lifer who signed a supply contract with Regus where their costs just become part of the end customer's bill.

I agree with the "everything is extra" comments. I'll add the lack of transparency in their contracts. I have tried to do business with them but it seems as though they are set up to milk the gullible or the corporate account.

As to desks, near where we are there are some offices in town on apparently very flexible rents at less than £100 a week.

 

[10032012]

Yeah, I would recommend everyone to avoid Regus. (I have bad experiences of them. I have posted about this before. I recommend searching forum for Regus)

Talay sums this up well.

 

[mikmac]

this is what happened...

To whom it may concern


I am writing to inform you of my continued dismay at my experience with Regus. In August 2012, I came to view the campus office in Glasgow and decided the next day to sign up for 3 months and got a month free. The contract was not to start until 1st October 2012. The day after signing the online contract, I discovered that financially, it was just not feasible and requested to end the contract (that I had signed the day before, 3 months before it was due to begin.)


After much backwards and forwards, I was told be (manager), that as a gesture of goodwill, her manager would cancel the contract which I appreciated. That was the end of the situation as far as I was aware. Two months later, no deposit had been returned and I emailed to find out where it was. Lee informed me that her manager had changed his mind and I was now still in the contract and had to pay the full amount for the three months. She said she had sent an email two month before and 'had found it funny I didn't reply?' How funny indeed that every other email had reached me and not this one.


So I decided to try to make the most of it and use the space for a couple of weeks, but no phone use was allowed, there was no printer (unless I wanted to pay 20p) - but all of these things were minor. Eventually, after using the office sporadically over a 2 week period, we abandoned ship as it was just not possible to work in a silent environment - we could have gone to the library. I have now moved everything out of the office and the contract should end on 31st Jan. I also just discovered that I am to be invoiced now for the 'free' month at the end of December??


This has been a complete nightmare for us from start to finish. We are a small company of yoga teachers, we don't have a lot of money and we do not have a lot of time or respect for people who act in such a dishonorable manner. I don't know if these are your organization's ways of working or the acts of certain individuals but I am appalled. I work with hundreds of women entrepreneurs from across the EU (I teach and train women's yoga) and will be making a point of advising anyone with a business not to use Regus offices due to my experience. This has given me sleepless nights as a small business owner and cannot emphasize my disgust enough. If you need any proof of any of this I have the whole host of emails here.

 

[GeorgeM]

Regus - Business World - Any reviews ?

The OP asked about the above service, and generally I have found it to be very good to date, in relation to their Business Lounges.

These are shared lounges, where you can work in comfort and access the internet using WiFi for as long as you want (you'll need your own laptop generally). Tea / coffee is also available which you just prepare yourself at no additional charge.

I have used several lounges across London, and found most to be very good and would recommend the service, if you just want a drop-in area to work, as an alternative to using coffee shops etc or having your own office.

Also useful if you move around the country and want somewhere to work whilst travelling.

 

[Salman Afzal]

Regus is one the worst service provider i have ever signed up with, their aim to just ripoff their customer by all means, once you sign up they will send you an invoice 60 days in advance of the month and will ask you to pay in 10 days, otherwise you will incur late payment charge of £65 on an invoice of £123 ridiculously rippingoff , we have reviewed the contract but cannot find any payment date in contract. moreover If you have moved your office within the same Regus building, they will charge you £240 of cleaning charges, even for a hot desk. they will also charge for tea and coffee up to £70 pounds a month without mentioning, until you discover in your bill, i ended up paying thousands on additional charges and amgoing in court against them, I STRONGLY SUGGEST TO EVERY ONE, PLEASE GO TO A TOM DICK AND HARRY BUT NEVER SIGN UP WITH REGUS THEY ARE A COMPLETE RIFF OFF AND A DESPERATE COMPANY.