Gym Story - Proxy Blog
I have a friend, Jerry K, who does not have his own blog but sometimes wishes he did. Not sure why he doesn't create one, he knows how, but at any rate here is "his" first entry.
He and his wife are members of a local gym (Leader Heights Fitness). It's an OK gym, but he agreed that my gym is probably better (LA Fitness). The big issue was money. He thought (and may have been correct at one point) that his gym was cheaper (once you include the child care portion), and that the two gyms were close enough in features that it wasn't a big deal. I can understand that.
I found out the price of child care at my gym... turns out that the two gyms were the same price. Hmmm... now that the price is the same, maybe he'll think about transferring. Upon investigation at his gym, his month dues will increase unless he signs a new contract (my gym keeps the same monthly price for life as long as you stay a member, but you can cancel at any time, and not pay any cancellation fee).
Turns out Jerry gets into a slight fight with the evening manager at his gym over this price increase, and pushes him toward visiting my gym. Upon visiting (and probably before) he decides that he wants to join my gym. But before he joins, he wants to make sure his current gym membership is over -- doesn't want to pay for 2 gyms. He knows that his current membership is almost up, in fact he's under the impression it had already expired.
So yesterday he called... His current gym has a copy of a new contract effective just a couple of weeks ago. He didn't sign any new contract... it's not like a gym contract is an extremely important document, but then again, it's not like you forget signing a contract.
I believe he has requested to see a copy of this contract... I'll keep you informed as things develop.
He and his wife are members of a local gym (Leader Heights Fitness). It's an OK gym, but he agreed that my gym is probably better (LA Fitness). The big issue was money. He thought (and may have been correct at one point) that his gym was cheaper (once you include the child care portion), and that the two gyms were close enough in features that it wasn't a big deal. I can understand that.
I found out the price of child care at my gym... turns out that the two gyms were the same price. Hmmm... now that the price is the same, maybe he'll think about transferring. Upon investigation at his gym, his month dues will increase unless he signs a new contract (my gym keeps the same monthly price for life as long as you stay a member, but you can cancel at any time, and not pay any cancellation fee).
Turns out Jerry gets into a slight fight with the evening manager at his gym over this price increase, and pushes him toward visiting my gym. Upon visiting (and probably before) he decides that he wants to join my gym. But before he joins, he wants to make sure his current gym membership is over -- doesn't want to pay for 2 gyms. He knows that his current membership is almost up, in fact he's under the impression it had already expired.
So yesterday he called... His current gym has a copy of a new contract effective just a couple of weeks ago. He didn't sign any new contract... it's not like a gym contract is an extremely important document, but then again, it's not like you forget signing a contract.
I believe he has requested to see a copy of this contract... I'll keep you informed as things develop.
Labels: jerry's blog
posted by Rich B | 9:56 AM
2 Comments:
We are members of LA Fitness as well. It's a great gym and I have no complaints.
As an FYI, their prices aren't set in stone. When we were looking for a gym to join I told the guy at LA Fitness we were just looking. I toured the facility and listened to his speach but walked out saying I'd think about it. He called me at home a few hours later and cut the price in half.
Here's an email I just sent to the owner:
Dear Steve Menges,
I am writing to let you know about a situation that as an owner I believe that you should be aware of.
My family and I joined Leader Heights Fitness club shortly after the club went private. We have always enjoyed the facility and our kids enjoyed the use of the pool. On our drive over to the club we pass four other gyms on our way. Many of which are cheaper and more convenient. But we felt that your facility was better and we are not people to hop around just to save a quick dollar.
Our annual membership ran up at then end of August. Our youngest son was getting into fall sports for the first time and with both kids doing many activities we were unsure if we would be able to get to the gym enough to make it worth while, but we wanted to give it a try. So, we stayed on a month to month contract and did not sign up for a year contract. I understood that if the monthly rates would go up for the club, then my rates would go up.
At the beginning of October, Tiffany was nice enough to inform me that if I didn’t sign a new annual contract that month, then my rates would go up in November. If I did sign up for a year I would be able to keep my current rate of $89. Over the next few weeks, my wife and I discussed this and we decided that we would sign the contract and stay on board for another year.
During the last week in October I caught up with Tiffany before my workout and she said that she would get the paperwork together and I could sign it right after my workout was done. When I went to sign the paperwork I was surprised to find that the annual rate increased to the rate of $98. I explained to Tiffany that this is not what we had discussed. If I wanted to pay $98 I would just stay on a month to month, but the whole point in her telling me and me decided to sign was to keep my current rate. She told me that she never told me that and for me to suggest it was a lie. Things at this point became a bit heated. I couldn’t believe that she was treating a customer like this, especially in front of my four year old son. She was completely arrogant and refused to have a civil conversation about her mistake. She then told me if I didn’t like it then I could go to another gym. I told her fine, I will. I talked to a number of members outside who asked what had just happened. They told me I should just call Sheila and she would straighten out the situation. At that point, I just wanted out. We had been a loyal customer for YEARS and I was trying to CONTINUE my membership. There are plenty of other places that would want my membership.
Over the next week I discussed it with my wife. I looked at a number of other gyms and decided to cancel my membership with Leader. On Monday November 5th I called into your outsourced billing company to cancel my membership. They informed me that I had just signed a year contact in October! I informed them that this was completely inaccurate and relayed the story from above. They said that they would escalate this situation to a supervisor and that someone would get back to me as soon as possible. I then promptly called the gym and talked with Sheila. To me, it appeared that Tiffany, in an act of spitefulness, changed my account or forged my signature on a new contract. I asked for a copy of the contract and Sheila said that she would get back to me the next morning. I then checked my visa online account and found that on Nov. 1 my card was charged $128!!!! At this point to me, it appears that someone illegally signed me up for a year contract and without my consent over charged my credit card. I called the credit card company and issued a compliant and refused payment for the charge.
Tuesday morning came and went and no one called me back. I called into the billing number and they informed me that it could take 3 to 5 days for a supervisor to call me back. Not the best turn around time, but I understood that the person on the phone couldn’t do anything for me. My next call was to Sheila. She wasn’t there and I left a message explaining that I was expecting a call from her in the morning, and never received one.
Wednesday afternoon I got a voicemail from a Mange (not sure on the spelling) at the billing company. I called back and talked to a front line person who said she was unavailable, but could look at my account. He informed me that the notes said that I was now on a month to month contract and I could only cancel with a sixty day notice. Not only that but I was required to send a certified letter to have it cancelled. I was furious! I didn’t have a copy of my original contract, but to me a month to month contract is exactly that. I could understand having to pay out the current month, but that’s it. Additionally, being unable to cancel on the phone is unbelievable. I can cancel any of my utilities or credit cards with one phone call, all of which are more sensitive than a gym membership. I asked to speak to a manager. He shortly came back and said no managers were available. I told him I wasn’t hanging up until he found one. Amazingly, he was able to quickly find Mange. Mange got on the phone and explained that the certified letter was not a requirement, but sending a letter via the postal mail was. She also said that the notes were wrong and it’s a 30 day notification. All I wanted to do was to cancel on the phone right then and there. I asked if I could email or fax a cancellation. She said no and that they weren’t her rules, they were the club rules, and they didn’t even have a fax machine. I then requested that she conference in her contact at the gym over the phone. She said she couldn’t, so I gladly volunteered to. She didn’t seem too happy that I had the ability to do that. Once we got someone on from the gym I was informed that the best they could do was for me to come to the gym and fill out some paperwork and that they could fax it in. I still found this completely unacceptable (although it was amazing that the billing company suddenly has a fax machine!). Everyone’s story continued to change and it seemed as though they were more interested in making it as difficult as possible to quit. They refused to give out even your name as club owner when I requested that information.
That evening my wife went to the gym to fill out the paperwork to cancel. Tiffany was there but refused to come out of the office to talk to her. One of the front desk girls had to go back and forth. My wife filled out the paperwork and then Tiffany refused to send it in because my name is the first name on the account. We wouldn’t even trust Tiffany to send in the cancellation anyway. She’s the one that forged our contract and then over charged our credit card. Interestingly enough, while my wife was explaining the situation to the staff member at the counter another gym member chimed in “Oh, you’re talking about Tiffany aren’t you? That’s not the first time that she intentionally over charged a customer”. My wife left with a copy of our contract, the paperwork to quit, and your contact information. Six phone calls and one personal visit and our account is STILL not cancelled.
To summarize for you, you had a loyal customer who had been with you for years, was treated poorly by your sales manager who then acted out against your loyal customer in a potentially illegal fashion. On top of that you have a billing company that is under empowered to properly take care of your customers. Additionally, Sheila has never called me back and I am still trying to get my membership cancelled. Any help with getting it cancelled would be appreciated.
I am telling my story to all of my friends that I’ve made over the years at Leader. As long as Tiffany is employed at your company, their personal information and credit cards are at risk. You need to properly deal with her or you will continue to lose good customers like ourselves. We enjoyed working out and swimming at your facility. It is a shame that this encounter with this one employee has ruined our impression and satisfaction with it. We would never recommend Leader Health and Fitness to others after this.
Post a Comment
<< Home