dresese

I totally f$%^&^% agree. I go there sadly but I think 24 hour sucks. I was going to sign my girlfriend up there, but the customer service was so rude and has no respect. Don't worry your rant paid off, my girlfirned is not going to go there. Those bastards!!!

John

I was going to use a ten-day pass a friend of mine gave me but was asked by the manager if I that was my first time with 24 Hour Fitness. I said I was a member (of 24 Hour Nautilus) some ten years ago but I left because I wasn't too happy with the location/etc. Then he said that the pass was good for first time users only. My membership at another club just expired and I was looking into another gym close by comparable to my old one. The manager wouldn't let me work out. I either had to pay $15 for that visit (which I didn't) or given a tour and still not allowed to work out. I was a potential customer that they just lost. What would they have lost had they let me work out at least for one evening? NOTHING! What could they have gained? Oh, just another member who could have been happy or satisfied. There you go! 24 Hour Fitness is only concerned about making money and nothing else. Customer service is nowhere to be found and I hope/wish they go down the drain. There are other clubs out there who actually care about their members as well as making profits. I will try Gold's Gym or another instead of their arrogant corporation.

My old roomate and I signed up for a family membership a couple of years ago after being told by the person at 24 hour fittness that " this would be the best way to sign us up". The guy who signed us up said there will be no problem when we move out and split off seperate memberships. A year later and I'm still trying to get those pricks to fix the problem. I have been beeing charged for 2 people for over a year now. Not to mention that they are also charging my old roomate for the cost of his own membership. The membership services department will not give a refund without documented proof from their employee that this change was made. After I finally get her to break my membership to "single" status, I ask her for "confirmation" and she tells me that there is no written documentation they provide for this......Does that seem kind of ironic??????

That stupid one day free pass is only good for residents within a 25 mile radius. So in other words, People that are recruitable. What if your siblings or guests come into town? Well then it will be 15 dollars for them to have the privelege of working out in the crappy gym.

I used to workout at Gold's Gym and was happy, as well. I reluctantly quit the Gold's in Mountain View about 6 months ago, due to a change in jobs. I say reluctantly, because the staff was so friendly and the equipment was always available whenever I was there.

I decided to join a 24 Hour Fitness because it was close to home - at the discouragement of colleagues and friends!! But there are few choices in the San Mateo area, so in a way it was 24 Hour or nothing. Well...I learned my lesson. Everyone here who has posted is absolutley right! 24 Hour is only out for the money and have no interest in their clients whatsoever. The machines are always occupied, the staff is hideously rude - and no circulation in the building whatsoever. Luckily, I only bought a 3-month trial membership online, so after 3 months, you better believe I never stepped inside there ever again. In fact, I think I stopped going there after the 1 month mark.

And they're so disorganized that I received calls to join even after I had already joined. UGH. I am thoroughly unimpressed with the chain and would like to discourage all who are considering it...please don't do it!

I agree with all of you. I used to work at the Gold's gym in Oakland. Now I've worked for 24hour fitness for about 2 years. I totally agree with you, we are rude to you and for the most part, the company doesn't give a rats @ss about it's members. The way the buisness is run is this. Members cancell, and resign at a higher rate. The employees get treated like shi!!!! too. And although I am a manager, I really don't get paid that much. I use this company to travel, (as i can transfer anywhere with a guarantee of a job) SO I'm milking them myself,ha I dont even work out here. I work out at golds

Fellas, your rants are not wasted. I did a search on Google for "24 Hour Fitness and Gold's Gym" because I live close to both and wanted to find out what America thinks of them before I sign up. Even though 24-hour is about a mile closer, I'll go with Gold's based on the astute observations I've read here. Thanks for your public service.

I have been to the San Mateo 24 Hour Fitness twice now. I got stuck with some salesman, sorry I mean "Fitness Counselor" named Hector who despite my telling him within politely that he was coming off way to 'salesy' and acting like he was trying to sell me a used car, he continued with the attitude. Maybe they got him from a timeshare comapany. More likely from what I've read above that it's the status quo over there. Despite my explaining to him that I was only going to be in town for six to eight weeks, he told me that the best deal for me was to sign up for a year at full price and then they'd somehow refund part for that after six weeks. He couldn't explain exactly why that was the best deal so I told him I wanted to do some research and shopping around. He told me specifically not to talk to friends who were 24hour Fitness members there in San Mateo because "what they pay isn't what we are offering you here and now". I couldn't believe this guy! When I told him that it wasn't about money, but about overall value, he became very dismissive. I came back again and told him that a friend of a friend had something like a 'temporary membership' which cost about $31 a month, he said "Oh yeah, we could sign you up for that." But he said despite there being no "signup fee" that there was still a $79 paperwork fee PLUS I'd have to pay first and last months fees on top of that. What a crock. No signup fee but a $79 paperwork fee!? And when I asked about the specifics of the first and last months costs, it turns out that they add another last month payment on and KEEP it with your actual last months payment as well. What I mean is, if I let them know that I want to cancel TODAY then they say, OK well your last month starts today so you have 30 more days to use the facilities and you get no last months payment back. Or in other words, you have to let them know an absolute minimum of 30 days in advance and even then you don't get anything back, you are just required to use the facilities for the following 30 days just to get what you paid for. Of course Hector didn't tell me about this at all until I specifically asked about it. I found out a friend didn't have to pay for the first/last and $79 costs for the temp memebership and asked about that, he rudely said something like "I know with you it's all about money" and started asking me how much I had in my bank account!!??? I told him AGAIN that I'd be willing to pay a lot for a good value and that it wasn't just about the cheapest price. I asked him why he was asking about my bacnk account balance, specifically I said it made me think that he could offer me a better deal than the $79+$31+$31 for six weeks. He said no way and that they only had specials for 2 days ending the following day (maybe he had forgotten that he told me the same thing the previous week). The previous time when I had said that the $1300 or so wasn't sounding like a good deal for six weeks even if I got half of it back, he went off to 'talk to him manager'. The whole place really feels like a scam. At this point I walked out and did some research on the web and foudn this site. I'm glad that I did. I'm going to do everything that I can to keep people out of that place. I'll probably sign up at the YMCA or something even though it costs more. It seems like a WAY better value and at this point it's worth it to me just since my experiance with Hector was so disappointing.
(I don't have time to proofread this so sorry if there are typos...)

There actually is a Gold's Gym in San Mateo now, near the new Whole Foods Market in the Bay Meadows development. I think there is going to be another one on 17th and El Camino soon. Yay!

Great comments guys. Peter FDA

I took a friend of mine into 24 Hour after she had lost 35 lbs. at home on her own and was looking to "graduate" to a gym. I knew that the salespeople were sleezy from my own experience, but we figured that a 1-day workout with me would be more comforatble than going on her own. After her mandatory tour, the sales scumbag took her back to his desk and gave her the price. She told him she wasn't interested. He told her she wouldn't be able to loose weight without joining a gym. She explained that she had already lost 35 pounds working out at home: His reply: "Don't you think you need to loose a few more?"

I went back later and had a talk with the guy about his sales technique. He was unapologetic and told me to screw off. His manager did the same.

If it wasn't for the fact that I am paying $99/yr for an all sport club membership, I would bail. I don't recommend anyone starting out to go to these guys. Their sales people are horrible, most of their trainers suck and the ones that don't are just there to get experience to go work at a real gym. Think hard before ever walking in.

It all began in the summer of '01...I took a little trip to visit some friends and family on the island of O'ahu in the state of Hawai'i. While there, a friend talked me into playing some basketball at a local 24HF that he was a member of. I unflinchingly agreed, thinking that I'd be paying some kind of minimal fee for a day's use. Oh, how naive was I. Just like you all have stated, I ended up coughing out waaaay more than I wanted just to play some ball for a couple of hours (I was only going to be on-island for a couple of days). After parting with my hard-earned cash, I took the dreaded 'tour' and listened to the required spiel. I finally drifted back to reality after god-knows-how-long and was directed to the basketball court...HAH! You call that a basketball court? I'm paying how much to play here?! Long story short, I ended up paying way too much to play on a POS court for an hour. I felt violated.

Yet, that isn't the end of it. Tonight, I get a call from another friend who has a corporate 24HF membership. Dude wants me to play some ball with him at a 24HF in Beaverton, OR. Fine, I say, since I'm not a member I'll print out one of their 'FREE' 10-day trials online and we'll be in like Flynn. Heeeeelllll naw!!! After driving 20 minutes to get there, I eagerly plop down my printed out coupon for entry into the gym. And where does that get me? Nowheres. And why? The time is 10PM, and if I had happened to read the microscopic, 6 pt. type at the bottom of my coupon I would have noticed that the dang coupon is only good between the hours of 8AM and 9PM. What the fizzle?! Yup, I guess that's when the vultures are allowed to feed. And since there were no 'sales associates' around after 9PM they couldn't let me on the court. 24HF employee says that their network shuts down at 9PM so they can't even check-in guests if they wanted to. Yeah, I'm sure that's the reason...So I ask 24HF employee why it doesn't state these rules clearly somewhere on the website before you actually print out the coupon. He simply gave me a dumbfounded look and the "hey, I just work here" routine. I know it's not his, or any employees fault. It starts at the top, right? Anyway, I'm definitely glad that I found this site as it's serving to vent some of my pent up frustration. It also gave me an idea to start a website dedicated to people like you and me.....
http://www.24hourfitnessrocks.com
A place where all of us haters can go to do our thing. Also, you peeps will love this....I did an online domain registry search for 24hourfitnesssucks.com, and guess who owns the rights to that name? Sneaky bastards...see for yourself:
http://www.register.com/whois-results.cgi?aab6fab43f453714ee09439d5bd9388347a0072319cd2b95dc6ce4784e30d879085b8b71c09f3f6c3a8bdce82be5c22942009c07a0b9e23e

y0sh

As a former employee of 24 hour fittness, I can say that the company only cares about one thing; MONEY! Customer service is about the worst I have ever seen. This is consistant at any one of they're locations. With meetings three times a day discussing how to increase revenue, I found that the company has no real intrest or care for its members at all. Expect of course if there is an opportunity to sell something.

I forgot to mention, thats what led me to quit.

24 Hour "Criminals" is more like it. I have had a horrible experience with them trying to cancel my wifes membership. She was apparently on a month to month contract but when she went in to cancel 6 months later they told her she was in a year contract and that it would cost over $200 to cancel which is more than the remaining 6 months of dues. This was a complete lie but since she did not still have a copy of the contract she assumed they were telling her the truth and so we waited 6 months and then cancelled. When cancelling, we were told that she was on month to month and should have been able to cancel 6 months ago without any cancellation fee. We moved too far from the club for my wife to use it so we wasted 6 months which added up to $162 that we wasted or rather they stole. The kicker is that after cancelling 5 days ago they just billed us today. I called and they said you have to cancel within 10 days for billing to be stopped. Comeon you lazy a-holes does it really take 10 days to cancel billing?! I run my own business and I do not charge people for a service they don't use and I sure as hell don' bill a customer after they cancel. Even if they cancel the day before renewal, if they are accidentally billed I give them a refund. 24HF policy is pretty much to never give a refund under any circumstance. Must be why they have such a bad record with the BBB. They also lie every chance they get. I was lied to repeatedly by the superviser. They said they had no corporate number but they do it's on their website. She also said they don't have cancellation fees even if you are in a year contract. I find that hard to believe. Either she's lying or the person we tried to cancel with first made up the cancellation fee.

DO NOT TRUST ANY 24 HOUR FITNESS EMPLOYEE!!! DO NOT SIGN UP WITH 24 HOUR FITNESS!!! STAY AWAY!!!

I WAS A MEMBER OF 24 HOUR FITNESS FOR 3 YEARS.AT THE TIME WHEN I JOINED I DIDN'T HAVE A CREDIT CARD,SO WE USED MY MOM'S.MY MOM HADE AN ANYUERISM AND TWO STROKES,SHE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL AND WE DIDN'T KNOW IF SHE WAS GOING TO SURVIVE.AT THE SAME TIME,HER CARD HAD EXPIRED,AND SHE WAS ISSUED A DIFFERENT ONE.WHEN THEY WENT TO DEDUCT MY DUES THAT MONTH IT DIDN'T GO THRU.THEY CALLED AND ASKED ABOUT THE PAYMENT.I EXPLAINED THE SITUATION TO THEM,WITH THEIR TOTAL LACK OF COMPASION THEY SUGGESTED I HAVE MY STEP FATHER LEAVE MY MOM'S SIDE AT THE HOSPITAL AND COME DOWN AND STRAIGHTEN THIS OUT.YEAH RIGHT!!!FINALLY I CONVINCED THE WOMAN ON THE PHONE TO WAIT A COUPLE WEEKS FOR US TO GET THRU THIS CRISIS AND WE WOULD STRAIGHTEN EVERYTHING OUT.AFTER ALL,I HAVE BEEN A MEMBER 3 YEARS.THE NEXT DAY I WENT TO WORK OUT,AND WAS DENIED ACCESS.I TRIED TO EXPLAIN THIS LONG STORY AGAIN BUT THE GIRL WOULDN'T HEAR IT.BESIDES' I REALLY NEEDED A BOX OF CRAYONS TO DRAW HER A PICTURE.SINCE I WASN'T ALLOWED TO WORK OUT I ASKED IF I COULD TAN,I HAD PAID CASH FOR MY TANS.ONCE AGAIN I WAS DENIED.THEN I ASKED FOR A REFUND ON MY TANS.AGAIN DENIED AND WAS ASKED TO LEAVE.I REFUSED TO LEAVE WITHOUT MY MONEY.I ENDED UP LEAVING IN HANDCUFFS.THIS IS HOW THEY TREAT THIER CUSTOMERS.I NOW GO TO BALLYS AND LIKE IT MUCH BETTER.

I can't believe the service that they provide. I travel all over the country and thought I would try them out. Shit 15.00 bucks for a workout? I paid the "blood money" and worked out just to find myself waiting for equipment all evening or some pretty boy to get off it.. Heck I want a gym to work out and not be bothered. If I want to pick a sweety to take home then I'll hit the nearest bar..

Rip off all the way..

24 hour fitness sucks indeed! The one in San Leandro blows particularly. This has got to be the only gym in the world where the personnel pass the buck on simple matters such as equipment chaeckout. I approached a trainer to check out an "abdominal ball" (which already mekes me look like a schlep). Seems like a simple request. The guy looks at me, shrugs his shoulders, kind of shakes his head no, blinks, mumbles, and points to the front desk where there stands another employee on the phone. So, assuming that means to ask the front desk I ask the young lady if I could checkout an abdominal ball. Her response was, "How am I supposed to checkout a ball for you and I gotta stay up here? You need to go see a trainer." And points at the guy who just dismissed me (coincidentally he happens to be standing in front of the Ab Balls.
I say,"OK, but he just directed me to you."
She says,"He's an idiot. He knows I gotta stay up here."
Then there's a two second awkward silence
Then she says,"Holdup."
She gets on the phone and picks up the P.A. system and announces, "Trainer to the front desk..."
She turns to shuffle some paper. I stand there. No one comes. I ask for a manager and he never comes. I get bored and go home.

Hey - stop cryin- teens work at the front desk, and make mistakes, just like they do and you did at your first job or second or third. None of you smucks own a business or you would understand that at a point- when you get big enough, and hire and fire hundreds a month- you are bound to get some idiots. In terms of the money making side of it- what would you do if you owned it- let everyone in your private gym for free- whats the point, well if you dont like the product dont subscribe to it. The problem with that is, you do like the product and just want it for free or on your terms- boo hoo

If you have no better alternative but to join 24, note, if you bargain hard enough, ie to the point of walking out the door, they will pull out the "special binder" under the desk where they have special pricing for the really difficult potential customers. About the trainers, my friend is one. I asked what his qualifications were, he told me they had to take a one day course, ONE DAY! I dont think that would qualify anyone to guide anyone through any exercise. Some of the class instructors are ok, most aren't great though. And the facilities are often filthy, some more than others. (Daly City is REALLY gross) I dont even use the bathrooms there if I can help it. there's often toilet paper, used Q-tips and tampon wrappers all over the floor and huge hairballs in the showers. They dont supply spray and paper towels to wipe down equipment and arent firm about everyone having a towel to wipe down.
SOOOO nasty I can't believe they can operate legally.

I had better luck trying to buy a used car than getting a honest deal here! They wouldnt tell many any prices or info. unless i filled out a form with my name and address, etc.. I refused and they called a manager, after speaking to a sales person, trainers, manager, several kiss ass members and taking the tour and wasting 45 minutes I was running for the door.

Whoever made the above comment signed "the man"
left out the obvious fact that he is also not an owner, instead he is a company brain washed idiot,
who is oviously oblivious as to how a real health club should operate. 24 hour fitness is the k-mart of health clubs. One club was so filthy
there was an actual layer of dust about an inch thick on the treadmills. The managers response was
"we dont have enough payroll to hire more than one
porter" The problem is that the way these clubs are marketed,you would expect a top notch facility.Instead you get a second rate club, overcrowed, dirty, managed by kids who are still there because they are dumb enough to keep buying that old corporate story; "You'll own stock one day" It is clear how the company treats theyre employees, all you have to do is look at how the employees treat there customers.
Mark M.

Do any of the 24Hr gyms clean there equipment? The place I have been to, in Mountain View, CA, has digustingly dirty equipment. Of course, they also don't provide any cleaning solution or paper towels to clean the machines. The equipment sticks to your hands if you don't clean it yourself.

I brought in some antibacterial wipes to clean the stair machine before using it. You wouldn't believe how mach crap was on it. It took three towels to get it even close to being clean. It's obvious that they do not clean their equipment.

Avoid this place!

Yet another 24 Hour Fitness Complaint here...I wish I had seen this site before joining! Well I had a bad experiance at the Gym in Walnut Creek, California. Im not gunna go into the whole story because there are so many others to view :). I decided to cancel my membership within the first 3 days. It states that if you cancel withing the first 3 days you will recieve a full refund. Well when I signed up I signed up with my sister under a "buddy account". Basically under one credit card and we are both members. We canceled within the 3 days and my sister recieved her refund with a few days. Here it is 10 days later and no check for my portion.hmmmm...So I called the corporate number in Carlsbad,Ca and asked what the status was of my refund. They said there was none because my sister never canceled the account. But it did show that my sister recieved a refund for canceling the account...What? So it showed that she cnceled but then it doesnt show? Im lost and apparently out 286 bucks. I am re-faxing the cancelation forms today but the operator told me there is not much they will probably do since the new date of cancelation will be today instead of the original on the paper Im faxing. Arrrggghhh.
Well just one more things guys. Ballys is awesome. Went and joined with no problems was 29 dollars to join..no enrollment..no processing fee. And 29 dollars a month every month.They want you to sign up for 36 months but have about 7-8 ways to get out of the 36 months if you need to. Easy ones. And maybe its just at the gym Im going to in Pleasant Hill,Ca but the people at the counter...actually know what they are talking about. :)
P.S. Did anyone else out there want to take that calculator the 24 fitness sales ass used to quote the rip off deal and shove it down his throat? I really hate that calculator. Even know I can hear his fingers tappin away on it rippin someone else off.

I'm so glad I saw this sight today and glad to say I used them a couple times on free passes only. I was thinking of treating myself to a personal trainer and joining a new gym. I was going to check out 24 only because my friend goes there, butt now I will gladly seek elsewhere : )
D.C. 24 hr is overcrowded and it stinks!

Here is a letter I recently submitted to 24-hr fitness.

I am a member of your 24-hour fitness club, and have been for the past 15 years. When I became a member, the club was actually called Family Fitness.

For the past 15 years I have religiously paid my dues month after month, thinking all the while that I was a good client.

The funny part about that is that I have not actually used your gym facilities for the past 9 years or so. Many times along the way I thought about canceling my membership, but felt that the rate I had because I was such a loyal, long-term client was worth paying every month- so if and when I began to go to the gym again, I could with no hassle. After all- I have an all-access membership. I can remember back in my actual exercise days- going to one of your facilities in Las Vegas, while traveling, and one in Beverly Hills while visiting a friend. I had also experienced some moving around with my career, and felt great about the fact that wherever I went- wherever I lived- I would always be able to go to the gym.

During these years, I have moved from San Diego, to San Jose, to Sacramento. I have had twins, had two of my children diagnosed with Autism & dove into the world of coping with special needs children, traveled the world as a Corporate Event Planner for a company in Silicon Valley that I am still employed with, and started my own business as a Salon & Day Spa owner in the Sacramento Area- which I still currently own. I am a strong believer in customer service and donate my time- even though I have none for myself, energy, and as much money as I can to various different causes and charities. I am a true American, who has always supported the small business & corporations in this wonderful country I live in.

During all of these times- I continued to support your corporation with not only my monthly dues- but also that of my husband and brother-in-law, all three of these memberships coming out of my pocket. Although it is no one’s problem but my own- my brother-in-law has never paid me for his membership since he signed up as a package deal with my husband- under me, approx 6 years ago, due to the fact that there could only be one checking account given for both of them.

Through my pregnancies, and various other life experiences, I had even contemplated freezing my account- but didn’t even do that. So your corporation has collected my money- as little as it may seem- every single month since the day I originally signed up back in 1991.

Here is what brings me to why I have written this letter.

I finally, at the age of 35, decided that I needed to take care of myself just a little for a change. I turned over a new leaf- started eating healthy, and made a strong commitment to go to the gym and work out. It had taken me 9 years to reach this determination- and will, and ultimately to be at a point where- finally- I could actually take a little time for me.

I couldn’t wait to go to the 24-hour fitness near me. I summoned my dead-beat brother-in-law to go with me. Then I had the big decision as to where I should go……the one on Wallerga Ave. or the one over by Car Max……two facilities very near my house- one of which I drive by everyday on the way to my day spa. They both looked very nice, and I ultimately decided to go to the one on Wallerga Ave.

I made sure I had my membership card- the one that your corporation sent me a few years back- which was a nice up-dated red, white, and blue one. I also made sure I had my I.D. so they could know it was me- because after all- my picture was not on my newer card.

When my brother –in-law approached the front desk with his card he was scanned, processed and sent on his way. I excitedly mentioned that this was my first time at the gym for a very long time, and I was sure they needed to take my picture for my new card.

It was then that I was told I wasn’t eligible to work out there. I thought- there must be some kind of mistake. I assured her I was a 15-year client that had never missed a single due- and furthermore was an all access member. This is when she went to get the General Manager.

This is when I was whisked over to the “desk” area- where I had been hard-sold on “Family Fitness” a.k.a. “24 hour Fitness” to pay my $250 initiation fee to become a member some 15 years ago. Which- by the way, is a lot of money for a poor student.

I’m also watching the clock tick away- my one-hour window of free time….my big day at the gym after 9 years…..while desperately trying to comprehend what was being said to me.

The general manager informed me, that unbeknownst to me, although your corporation had helped themselves to my piddly little dues every month for years- what I was paying you for had totally changed. Now, apparently you had added some extra words to the end of your business name- such as “Sports Facility” or Fitness Facility” that made these “all access locations” not accessible to me- a person who has paid month after month for the past 15 years. A person who felt as though they were a dream client- very appreciated. That all the while you were doing your automatic debit from my checking account, and could send me the up-dated card and guest passes- you could never send me any letter stating that these corporate changes had taken place. Never were these things disclosed to me so that I could weigh out whether or not I wanted to continue to pay every month for all of these years. Because believe me- I had considered it many, many times. And it is a huge slap in the face that for the very reason that I continued to pay- in the hopes that I would reach a point where I could begin going to the gym- was what I was restricted from.

I was then told that if I wanted to work out I would have to drive to Howe Ave in downtown Sacramento- which is a 45 minute drive for me each direction- because it didn’t have “group exercise and a pool”. You have got to be kidding.

I have my own pool-, which is ironic- as most people in Sacramento do and have never utilized any of the pools at your facilities anyway. But I used to be able to work out in a facility with a pool, and classes to choose from….even though I never used those services. I was informed that it depends on the square footage of the location now. Please explain why I care to hear that? Please explain to me why I have an all-access membership that doesn’t allow me to go to either of the two 24 hour fitness gyms 10 minutes from me- but that I would have to go to another city to use my all access membership? Please explain to me that although my brother-in-law who is signed up under me- and signed up at a gym where all able to work out at was allowed to work out on the membership I PAY for at this facility- but not me? The person who not only pays for his membership, but also signed him up, and has been a member for twice the amount of time he has? Please tell me why I have toted this membership card around in my wallet- sure to not lose it for all of these years?

So as I sat at the GM’s desk, I was told- of course- how I could work out at that facility. You guessed it- more money. I could pay another initiation fee- and have my monthly dues nearly double. And- not only that- but I would have to pay more per month now than my husband and brother-in-law. How can that be? Don’t you find that to be a little backwards?

I just want to use some Nautilus equipment and try a yoga class for Christ sake!

Please understand, that it was not about the money- and I am a very reasonable person. But this is just not right. I have been really taken advantage of by your corporation, as I feel many other people have. And something even funnier, is that I recently received an offer from your corporation for my employees that stated no initiation fee and $19 a month. This is better than what I- a 15year client, was offered today in your gym. So in reality- I have paid every month for all of these years for absolutely nothing. I could have canceled years ago- and then signed up without paying a dime and have a smaller monthly due than the option I was given today in order to up-grade to something I thought I already was.

I began to cry in front of the GM of your corporation, which is un-like me, but I was so shocked and upset that this could be happening. I then went to my car and sat there on your 800 number for a good 15 minutes until I finally gave up. I waited in my car for the remaining 30 minutes of my free time for the day- for my mooch of a brother-in-law to finish his wonderful workout at your facility. All the while pondering what a truly un-fair world this is.

You may be rolling your eyes right now- or even laughing……if I were in your shoes I may too. But know this- what you have done is not ok. I may be just an ordinary person out there in the working world- but if I feel passionate about something- nothing or no one will hold me back from doing whatever I can to contribute. This is not a threat of any kind- but more a plea. A plea that you correct this situation- or at the very least give me an explanation that makes sense.

Regards,

Darla Granger

I was a loyal employee of 24 hour fitness in houston, texas for a few years. When first graduating from college i got a position in sales at 24 hour and was astonished as to how money driven the company truly was. When I first started I had no sales experience, now I feel I could con any person into buying a piece of shit for $100. This company is exactly what's going wrong with america and it's corporations. This company has 8am conference calls every morning to light a fire under the ass of the managers for the day and to make sure that the # is hit. The only thing that is important to these people is "THE GROSS"!!!!! What is sad is that 24 hour will hire people who have been in prison, who have drug convictions, anyone they feel that will be the one guy or gal who can "GET THE GROSS". Some of the people that work there are truly into helping people, too bad they are the ones who don't last. The reason they don't last is because they are not the hungry closer, the "RHINO" as called in the business that can close a 80 year old granny in a wheel chair on a $3000 training membership and turn around and laugh as she walks out the door not knowing what the hell she just got herself into.

I know that many of the people that go into these health clubs get pissed off at the workers for the horrible treatment they receive, but I plead with you not to blame them. The only reason they treat people the way they do is because this is the way they see the district managers like (HARRY REO) conduct business. If you want to change the business there is one way and one way only. DO NOT GO. Find another gym surley there is an alternative close to you.

good thing I found this site... had just returned from a 24-hour place since I was interesting in joing. You are right about the binder and that stupid calculor of them.
Spent about 30 minutes there in the office and it was good thing that I didn't bring my checkbook and credit card. Heck! when I said that I will need to check with my wife and come back later, the guy actaully picked up his phone and had me call my wife at the moment! very pushy salesfolks. good think that my wife was not at her phone.
Anyway will spare you the glory details on what went on... but I went in becuase it is very near work and plus few of my collegues had signed up 3 years ago with $900 for 3 years and $8/month thereafter for lifetime! just got curious and had decided to stop by there today.
Too my surprised... everything I had read about this fitness center is very true... every word!
I am actually had made an appointment with Milpitas fitness center in Milpitas since I live in south fremont. I will see if that place can match what the rate/plan of these 24hrs pushy sales fitness center!
Here is what they can offer me! The guy said that the offer had actually expired last weekend! Don't you hate this sort of sales pitch. I hated it... why can't they just come out clean and not con or lie to potential customers. This is why I tend to support family owned and operated business!
$800 signup fee (refundable if cancel within 3 days) this include 4 sessions of useless training from.
$3.45 /month lifetime or until you quit!

I will see if the Milpitas fitness center can match this sort of plan... if they can, I may sign up with them in a heart beat!

Well... based on what I read here and from today's experience... I may just look somewhere
else and just hope that words get around and they will have to "re-think" how they do their business.

robert

This is the best website ever. I can't believe how dead on these descriptions of this company are. I have worked for 24 hour for a few years and I agree with (former rhino) above, the only thing that is of concern is the almighty $$$ !!!
The crazy thing is, I am currently in Harry Reo's district in Houston, Texas and it's not just him b/c I have worked in a few other districts and the atmosphere is the same no matter where you go in this company. I believe it is because the company is full of Harry Reos'. Grated this is the most obnoxious, egotistical piece of shit salesman I have ever had the displeasure of being associated with. The companies bottom line is driven by them. The best thing you can do is DO NOT COME IN THE DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because the simple fact of the matter is, if you do, someone like Harry Reo is going to close you and take a shit load of money from you. I am so glad that I am not in sales (thank god for personal training jobs) Do yourself a big favor go run in the park because these guys are snakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a similar experience going into the local 24 hr fitness where I printed the 10 free days off the website to try things out. The mandatory "tour" was given and then when they sat me down at the desk, I was told some incredible story about how I could not get 10 free trial days because it was three days from the end of the month and the computer systems "turn over" at the end of the month. This attempt to pressure customers into signing just plain turned me off as did all the other car salesman tone and pitch I had to go through (ie the multiple price structures and vanishing/reappearing pages) in that pricing binder. Unbelievable.

Being a former employee, i must agree with all of the posts on here...I will say that i was blessed with a Personal Training Manager,Jim Faulk, when i began my job as a certified personal trainer(this was for the Tomball Texas Location)...As a previous post stated about the "ones who care", Jim was definitely one of those people. I had a large clientele, made very good money(it was a different pay scale then...credentials, not amount of GROSS you made). Jim never pressured us into selling supplements or how much "Gross" we were making for the company for the day. Jim philosophy was to help the members achieve their fitness goals, whether they bought 1 session or 100 sessions. That was 3 yrs. ago, and i had quit long since then to go to school...I recently saw Jim working as a meager personal trainer for the company now(kurkendaul Location In Houston)...Out of respect, I didnt want to approach him, for i knew that his ways of managing did not agree with the company's money-hungry ways, since he was demoted to the lowest common denominator...There are some good people there at 24, but dont bet on getting one...sad but true....DJIICE30

I am so fed up with 24HF I am ready to go to the BBB. I've tried to have the manager call me, but they will not return my calls. I tried calling the office in Carlsbad, and I get put on hold for too long. Please do not get a membership at 24HF. They are awful. I firt got my membership at the 24 HF on Kapiolani in Hawaii. I was at the time a traveling nurse and was having to find gym memberships in every city I went, then cancelling them. So I stopped into the fitness club to find out about their memberships. The sales guy convinced me to get the prepaid 3 year contract so I could go to any 24HF club. I told Tony, the salesman, I actually live in Fort Worth, TX and there is a Q Fitness club their and I know 24 HF just bought out the Q's. I asked if I could work out at that club. He said absolutely I can work out there. So I lived in Hawaii for the next year, then came back home. I went to the gym and they said I could not work out at the Fort Worth club because they were a "super-sport". I had to pay an extra $200 to work out at their club. I was really upset I was told I could work out their, but decided not to fight it and pay the $200. I thought $200 was still a good deal for the remaining 2 years. A year passes by and they said I owe $200. I was confused and spoke to a membership representative. He said that $200 was only for one year, even though I was led to believe it was for the remaining two year contract I had left. I said I would not pay them any more money. He said fine, then you will have to pay $15.00 to work out here everytime or go to the Arlington club, which was not a super-sport and also a 30 minute drive. I said fine. I got a membership at the YMCA. So then I was visiting Hawaii and decided to use my membership since I still had several months left from my prepaid three year contract. When I gave them my memebership card, they informed me my membership was cancelled. Without my knowledge my prepaid-three-year-membership was cancelled. They said when I decided to upgrade the membership, it cancelled the other membership. No one ever told me this. I am just sick with what to do. I think I deserve a refund for the remaining year my memebership was cancelled without my knowledge. I have been mislead and promised things from the beginning by this company which were all lies. I hope I can convince at least one person not to get a membership at 24HF. If anyone has any suggestions for my next step, please let me know.

After recenting re-joining 24 Hour Fitness (after a 3 year absence), my wife and I got ripped off again (within 24 hours of rejoining) when the club in Santa Clarita, California, refused to exchange (not refund, exhange) a defective music workout CD they were selling. They outright refused to exchange the CD even though I had the reciept.

My wife and I exercised our 3-DAY NOTICE rights and cancelled our new membership immediately. Rather than call themselves 24 Hour Fitness, maybe they should change the name to 24 Hour Rip-Off. I not only sent letters to the BBB and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, I also send a letter to the California Attorney General's office in Sacramento:

April 18, 2004

The Honorable Bill Lockyer, Attorney General
California Department of Justice
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550

Re: 24 Hour Fitness

Dear Attorney General Lockyer:

At first glance, it may seem like an over reaction for my wife and I to cancel our gym memberships simply because 24 Hour Fitness refused to exchange a defective music CD we purchased from them for $10.80. But this isn’t the first time I’ve felt ripped off by the 24 Hour Fitness club located at 18645 Via Princessa, Santa Clarita, CA 91351.

Several years ago, my wife and I each pre-paid for 3-year memberships at this same 24 Hour Fitness facility. We also each prepaid for an individual Trainer for an initial period of time. Before 2/3rds of the Trainer sessions had been complete, my wife’s Trainer stopped showing up and wouldn’t return calls. When we complained to 24 Hour Fitness, they told us that the Trainers were independent contractors, not employees, and there was nothing they could do. They did not refund, credit or prorate the unused Trainer sessions and they did not offer my wife another Trainer to complete the remaining prepaid sessions, so we stopped going to 24 Hour Fitness and wasted our 3-year memberships.

Recently my doctor told me I needed to lose weight and exercise. Since last year, I have lost 42 pounds and my wife has lost 37 pounds. This past Saturday (April 17) we decided to give 24 Hour Fitness another chance since their facility is closest to our home and the most convenient. We went to the facility and spoke to Fitness Counselor Angie Diaz. We explained how we felt we had been “ripped off” by our previous 24 Hour Fitness experience, and she expressed regret and promised that things were different now. So after much hesitation, my wife and I both agreed to re-join. Before leaving that day, I noticed they were selling a 24 Hour Fitness compilation music CD for $12. Ms. Diaz let us know that new members could get a 10% discount on all merchandise for the first 30 days, so I purchased the CD for $10.80 (+ 89 cents CA sales tax).

While listening to the CD a short while later, we discovered that it was defective – distorted sound and skipping after track 5. So the next morning, at approximately 9 AM, I returned the CD and asked for an exchange. Not a refund. Just a simple exchange. I had the original receipt (copy attached) which clearly states: “Purchases can be exchanged up to 30 days of purchase when accompanied by receipt.” 24 Hour Fitness refused to exchange the CD. The desk clerk, Susan, said only the manager could exchange merchandise and said he would be in during normal business hours at 9 AM on Monday. I said I would not be in during normal business hours because I work 30 miles away in Hollywood. I asked her to call the Manager to authorize the exchange. She

refused. By now I was upset, so I said if she didn’t exchange the CD, my wife and I would both cancel our new memberships under our 3-Day Notice to cancel rights and 24 Hour Fitness would lose two memberships worth over $900.00. She responded: “Go ahead and cancel.”

We did cancel our memberships, despite the fact that 24 Hour Fitness makes it extremely difficult to satisfy the 3-Day Notice requirements by requiring that the notice be sent to a P.O. Box in Carlsbad, California. They do not provide a Fax number or a physical delivery address for Telegrams, FedEx, door-to-door couriers or any other means of quick delivery. The only option is depending on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the notice. Perhaps the State should require companies to provide full disclosure of their corporate information, including a physical address, a telephone number and a fax number to satisfy the 3-Day Notice requirements.

In any event, my wife and I believe 24 Hour Fitness should be investigated for refusing to exchange defective merchandise. I still have not received a replacement for the defective CD they sold me.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Terrible customer service. They did not even try to make adjustment to please their members. I signed for the club on 12/31/02 and cancelled my membership 1/19/04. They said that my membership date agreement was the 25th - meaning I didn't give them 10 days notice (according to them). Hey! I signed the agreement on 31th!! and yet they charge me my monthly charge after I gave them 12 days before my montly cycle (31th)??

Beware you guys. Don't get trapped by being a member. They treated members badly. They just want you to join the club to get your money!

I purchased a prepaid lifetime membership in 1999, which was good for 3 years and then would only be 8.95 a month for life. When I went to to the Tomball club here in Houston, they informaed me that I did not have the upgrade and could not work out at their Super sport facility only the regular 24 hr. fitness locations. I was also told that soon all would be upgraed facilities so I would have to pay more. I called the member services "hotline" to be told that at the time of purchase I only bought the base membership which was ($600.00). I was told it was good for ALL clubs world wide when I bought it. In reading over my contract (which I kept) they marked Non-prmier instead of premier . I was unaware there was a difference because at the time, these other types of clubs did not exist and I never really read the membership type, since I had told the salesmen that I traveled year around, I figured that was all I needed. They now want a $50.00 enrollment fee and an extra 15 / month for life.

Lying, cheating money hungry bastards. Has this happened to anyone else? Let me know.
Mark

I'm a 24 Hour Fitness Group Exercise instructor and although the club I work for isn't quite as bad as what I've read above, I totally agree. I am an educated fitness professional and have been working in this field for over 10 years. I became a certified personal trainer 3 years ago and would not train at 24 hour fitness no matter what you paid me because I do not believe in their "one size fits all" approach to personal training nor do I agree with other practices such as pushing supplements, which IS NOT within our scope of practice. I there only because its the only decent sized gym with child care where I live. I love the members and I love my classes but HATE the corporate bullshit. For those of you who have not choice but to join, 24 Hour Fitness employees receive membership coupons every couple of months to give to friends and family. It's actually a great deal; $24/month and NO enrollment. If you can get ahold of one of these, do it!! I often don't have anyone to give them to since most people I know already workout there.

Wow, I am very happy to see that I'm not the only one who's been screwed by 24 Hour Fitness. I was beginning to feel so stupid for trusting them to cancel my membership and refund the money they continued to cancel my credit card. It's been 6 months and 6 requests so far. Here's hoping it comes through one day!

By the way, if anyone reads these postings and thinks, "Aw, shucks. That may be true for some people, but I'm sure the 24 Hour Fitness next to my house is okay." I have just one piece of advice. Do NOT give them authorization to automatically bill your credit card or debit your checking account. I don't think that's even an option though.

24 Hr Gyms are bad, just bad... Support you local "small" gym, they're hard to find, but the knowledge and results are waay better.

Houston

I recently went to a twenty four hour fitness gym. Hey, did you guys know that they actually SELL your name to third parties? Yep. If you read the fine print, it clearly says that your information (everything you give them) will be voluntarily sold by them to whoever the hell wants it. They care nothing about you - not a damn thing.

So here's how it started. I went in to find out about membership pricing. They gave me the form, were extremely pushy and insistant that I fill out the damn thing and take the tour. So I did and I'm really sorry I did. I saw their facility which was DISGUSTING to say the least as well as their locker rooms. I almost wanted to vomit. However, since I'm a nice guy by nature, I said they were nice.

So we go back into their office. The first guy tries to sell me into buying his stupid contract where I have to put down $800. I said no. He cut it down to 400 bucks. Still I said no, and repeatedly told him how I just wanted to see the memebership price. He didn't listen. The damn freak had his eyes twisted (some kind of birth defect). He was so pushy. I kept refusing and he just got angrier and angrier. He even pulled out his damn notebook. When he left, he brought in these two big black dudes, as if they were making sure that I didn't leave.

This isn't how you run a business, that's MOB mentality!!!! When the salesman came back in, they pulled my chair and corned me. He brought in three different managers who looked so angry. They crowded all over me and wanted nothing but money. When I got pissed off and started yelling back and screaming, the manager played a fucking guilt trip by asking me, "why did I come to their facility to waste his time and his employee's time? He's not in the business to waste time."

Isn't that the biggest crock of shit you ever heard??

My answer: You fucking twisted eyed prick, get another fucking job. If I'm not going to buy it, then I'm not going to buy it. Fuck you and your damn place.

I spat on their floor and stood up to get out of their facility.

He then signaled his friends to let me leave, and they obeyed. As I left the establishment, the managers were yelling at me and being SO rude.

24 hour fitness sold me nothing except an experience I never want anyone to go through EVER.

Oh for those of you wondering, this was in DALLAS, TEXAS. Stay the hell away! Bally's is NO Different!! Stay away!!! RUN, don't walk, RUN!!!!

Corrupt, selfish, greedy, immoral, pushy and dickless people are NOBODY I wish to do business with.

We should move 24 hour fitness and Bally's to Iraq and just bomb the HELL out of them! Stop the war on people, let's go after spineless corporations who treat their people worse than cockroaches!!!

They're definitely about selling supplements. They could be top quality, but it's hard to accept their statements completely at face value when they sell them, and at VERY high markups. Apex has a website and stupidly let me browse over to wholesale pricing without logging in.

http://wholesale.apexfitness.com/cgi-bin/apexwholesale.cgi

Most of the retail prices are triple cost, with some double.

For ALL of those who are fed up with 24 Hr. Fitness and all their corrupt employees, PLEASE start seeking legal counsel or public venues for your specific complaints.

I am not an attorney, but as someone with friends in the legal field, I have been reminded that 24 Hr. Fitness will not change their corrupt ways until people start taking action - whether through legal or public venues (i.e., broadcasting, radio, TV, news, etc.).

Until 24 Hr. Fitness suffers a financial loss or a public battle, they will continue to disregard all of your concerns. Apply action to your words and force 24 Hr. Fitness to listen!

Well, here is my 24hr horror story. I've been a "valued', lol, member since 2002. I joined through my wife, who worked out there, and I didn't know any better, as I moved to San Diego from Canada. When I joined on her plan, I paid 150 to start, plus 22 a month. Well, now my wife is my ex wife, so of course, I need to remove myself from her plan and get my own. I go to work out tonight, and after my workout stop by and talk to a sales guy, and tell the situation, and am prepared to give him a voided check to start withdrawing the 22 bucks a month from my account as me and my ex's dues had both been being withdrawn from her account. Boy, was I in for a surprise. I am told that I need to get my own membership, which is going to be 200(or around there) for an enrollment fee, 79 for a processing fee, and 39 a month now instead of 22. Are you kidding me, enrollment fee????? I allready paid an enrollment fee, and besides, I am not enrolling in anything, I am allready a member. Processing fee???? That's a good one, what is to process I ask, I allready have a card, paperwork, etc etc. And, of course, inflation, or so the sales guy told me anyways, is what caused my monthly dues to go from 22 to 39 a month. Well, after laughing at him, I asked him to get serious about this, or they would be losing a customer. He looked at me with a confused look, so I explained to him that I was not going to pay any enrollment fee or processing fee, and that I would pay no more than 30 a month to use their facility. He just ignored me, and told me that I could have 3 years for 800. Again I laughed, and asked him to listen to me, which again, he didn't do. He then told me he would cut the enrollment fee in half because I was a current member. What a nice guy, allthough again, I told him politely that I was not going to pay any fees. He continued to ignore me, and just closed me again and again, saying that it was summer and everybody wants to workout. etc etc etc. I just got up and left, as it was getting to be too much to take. I've just about had it with 24 hour, but I will go in one more time, on Monday, and again offer them my 30 dollars a month to work out there. If not, I'll take my money somewhere else. So, now that that is off my chest, anybody have any good ideas as to where to work out in San Diego, preferably in Pacific Beach.

You guys are going to want to kill me for this, but - so far, I've had no bad experiences with the 24h here in Oceanside, CA or Carlsbad, CA.
It might have to do with my only going late at night and on the weekends, when sales dorks aren't around. It might have to do with being near their corporate headquarters.
At the Carlsbad one, I know they run cleaning folks every night around 2am, because... uh, I'm there when they're cleaning.
There's rust on the free weights, but I'm current on my tetanus shots and I haven't gone into the bathroom. Beyond that, I haven't seen any filth at the two 24h locations I hit.
I've also never once had someone try and push a supplement on me, either. It might be because the sales guys are already gone - or I might be in shape enough that they figure I wouldn't be easily dissatisfied and guilted into supplements.

I am a former 24 hour fitness personal trainer. I know what you are all talking about. The sales people are all sleezeballs and will screw you over any chance they get. Alot of the trainers are the same, but some of them are good. The front desk people are cool and when they tell you that they dont know, they really dont because 24 has not trained these people properly. They are trying to make the trainers into second chance sales people. That is why I left and because they kept telling me to sell there supplements and I kept telling them they were crap and it is my personal duty to inform people of true fitness not of corporate supplement sales quotes. There customer service sucks. There managment are pieces of crap. They are only modivated by there monthly sales goals. I hate them with every breath in my body.

24 Hour Fitness has robbed me as well. I have been a lifetime member for YEARS!!! Belonging to 1 site only, Costa Mesa. I work in Fashion Island in Newport Beach. A sales person at the Fashion Island location kept telling me he'd find me a deal so I could go to NB. I thought it might be nice if I could work out during lunch since it was 100 feet away. An additional cost of $19 per month to use the Newport Beach facilities wasn't too bad, because I knew I could cancel this month-to-month service, a special he got me. At the same time, knowing I would keep the Costa Mesa membership since it is $60 per year always! The lifetime membership renews every June at which time I pay the whole year up front. The rep, Jerry Davis, knew I intended to keep my Costa Mesa membership as I expressly told him exactly that. After just a 2 or 3 months, I decided I did not want the added expense of the Newport Membership and didn't like working out at lunch and having to put back on my work clothes afterwards. Too much hassle to get ready for work TWICE in one day! So I told them I wanted to cancel that Newport membership. The jerks cancelled out my lifetime membership. Not only that, I found out that they did it when they started my Newport membership. They did this without my permission or instruction. Not only that, they did not notify me in any way shape or form. When June 04 rolled around and I did not get my renewal form in the mail, I went to Costa Mesa in person. I was told I wasn't allowed 2 memberships (like that assbite company would ever turn down extra money)and that was why it was cancelled. I'm working with both locations now and if I have to sue them I will. At the very least they owe me the full years dues cuz Costa Mesa was cancelled in June 2003 by them. I'm getting the aforementioned shrugs, "see what I can do's", as if these people are powerless. The Member Services dept said, "we are not responsible for things verbally told to members by our reps". God, what are they responsible for? Anything?

There is someone who is in charge handing down these dictates, so there is clearly someone who can be gone to in upper eschelon. Which, I swear I will not give up until I get to them. I have tenaciously looked up information in various places and the websites and phone calls are paying off. The CA Secretary of state posts for public access LLC and Corporation information. While I believe the address listed there is an outdated one, using it in other various lookup sites at delivered me the following information. Feel free to use it. There is a Employee Services Access number 800-600-2007, which is where I got someone to tell me the name of the 24 Hour Fitness President, Brian Bouma. I also located an address on the internet that matched the Corporation filing, which is 24 Hour Fitness, 1647 Alcosta Blvd., Suite 500, San Ramon. If that helps anyone. All corporations must have an address where they can be served with legal documents. There's a phone number, but no one ever seems to answer it. 925-242-1424. I will update this as I progress with this battle. What a nightmare. I may very well stand in front of their place of business with a nasty sign warning of their disceptive and corrupt business practices. It's a high traffic site that should make them very uncomfortable.

I use to be an employee of 24 Hour Fitness. I read the above comments and have to agree with all of them. 24 Hour Fitness runs their opperation just like a HMO...quanity not quality.

They force all of their employees to "force feed" their products down the members throats. Mangement sets up quota's for each employee to meet and, needless to say, if you fail to meet your quota, your job is placed in jeapody.

24 Hour Fitness is one of the (if not the) worst, when it comes to paying for quality people. They rather lose a good instructor than pay current market value. By this "penny wise but dollar foolish" approach, they are short changing the members. If the members complain, the complaints fall on deaf ears. Management's approach is, 'the members will wine for about a week, then they will stop.' After that, 24 Hours will replace the good instructor with a far inferior one.

As a former employee, I would not recommend joining or signing up for a membership with 24 Hour Fitness. This recommendation is not based on spite or vendictiveness, it is based on an honest appraisel of the organization as a whole.

24 hour fitness is a private business.What do you expect of course they want money.Who else is going to pay for the club and equipment.AND IN ANY BUSINESS THERE ARE GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD EMPLOYEES.stop whining.

Sucker me signed up for a 3 years membership. Yesterday when I went swimming, I saw a big sign at the door "Last day: Sign up family member for $24/year". I asked if they were still running that promotion. The front-desk lady said "No, the promotion has changed. But we have other great promotions. You will have to talk to the sales rep for that."

No, thanks. Those guys are worse than used-car salesmen.

If anyone has the address for the 24 Hour corporate headquarters please e-mail it to me.
Thanks

I had the worst gym experience ever. I joined the West Seattle gym in Wa. I've been working out on my own for 30 to 45 min/day. I took them up on the "free assessment".

The man took me to the front of the gym, where the scale is located. He rolled his eyes the whole time that he took my measurements. He got pissed because I wouldn't lift up my shirt so he could pinch my damn fat in front of the whole gym.

Then he took me to his desk and told me that I was basically fat and the gym is not going to be enough. He informed me that I eat to much. No shit!

lol, here I thought I was proud of myself for coming into the gym in the first place. He finally reamed me so much, I was in tears. I told him that his customer service was horrible. He wasn't concerned. I walked to the front desk in tears and told them to cancel my membership and they asked my "why" and tried to give me the "don't cancel your membership speech" while I stood there like an tearing asshole.

Big girls....do not join these 24 hour fitness clubs. You'll walk in a beautiful, vivacious, big girl...and walk out feeling like a fat cow grazing on chud.

Everybody SHUT UP!!!!! We got your money now suck it up and quit complaining. We have an expression here at 24 hour... GROSS IS KING!!! Translation: All we care about is your money, not your weight, size, shape,,,,,, MONEY!!!!! So instead of wasting your time here, bring in some of your family and friends so we can close them too! GROSS IS KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The person who left the comment above has a very sad life. How can the slime at 24 Hour fitness not look at themselves in the mirror everyday and not wish that their mothers would have just aborted them and mercifully spared the world of people that go around saying "GROSS IS KING!!"

That is what your life has lead up to. Gross is King? Whatever dude, good luck with the rest of your sad, sad life.

I have my horror story, but reading this has been much more theraputic than writting about it.

All I can say is, for everyone thinking of joining, you get what you pay for, and so much less.

Golds is more expensive, but its so worth it. They are really that much better, I've had memberships at both places. 24 Hour is cheeper for a reason; they suck donkey dick and they have no intention at all of changing, no matter how much you whine. That and they are banking that you'll continue to give them money if they annoy you enough.

When weighing the price, you have to ask yourself how much value you put in a well trained, polite staff, how much value you put in never having to deal with people like the idiot above and how much value you put in liking your gym enough to actually want to go to it and work out.

As for me, there are about five deseases I'd rather have than give them another red cent, all of which I'll probably aquire anyway by continuing to work out in their filthy club.

I'd love to see every 24 Hour Fitness in flames, but unfortunately its not really 24 Hour that is the problem - its 1) People like the moron above who are recruited and infest the place (and the world) like a virus and 2) People that are easily persuaded by price and pushy sales tactics keeping them in business. If 24 Hour didn't exist, another one would just pop up as long as their are sleasy people like this guy and gulible or just overly optomistic people (obvioulsly like me at one point).

You just gotta open that door, walk in and yell; "I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!"

I think the post you were referring too is merely a parody of the typical 24-hour fitness employee. It's not meant to be taken seriously.

I have had a terrible experience with 24 Hour Fitness and refuse to ever join their gym again. After purchasing a 3 year contract which included some worthless training for about $900 at a "regular" gym in Houston, TX, I decided to "upgrade" to the All Sport Membership about a year and a half into my membership because I had moved to Sugar Land and they had recently converted the Q Sports Clubs to 24 Hour Fitness. Plus, at the time I was travelling for work a lot and thought the convenience of having gyms to work out in while travelling would be nice. (By the way, as a side note, they don't have any affiliate gyms on the East coast).

Well, little did I know that the sales people at the former Q Club (now 24 Hour Super Sport Club) would not know the upgrade prices for their own clubs! I went in and spoke with a sales person who gave me a price which I was told would upgrade me for the remainder of my contract to all clubs. So I paid them $150 and left thinking...great! Two months later I start getting calls from people at their "Corporate" office regarding my membership. I never called them back because I figured they were just trying to sell me something else. Then one day, I am in my local Super Sport club trying to check in and the person at the desk tells me there is a problem with my membership. So I get taken to the "desk" and am informed that I was given the "wrong" price and if I wanted to keep my all club membership I was going to have to pay an additional $100 for the remainder of my contract. Like an idiot I paid it.

Fast forward to the end of my 3 year contract. I get TWO membership renewals in the mail. One for a price of $109 for a year and another for a price of $197 for a year. So I take them both into my Super Sport location and ask the guy which price is good for this location? He proceeds to tell me that "this happens all the time" and that the $109 price is valid and that will allow me access to all clubs. So again, I pay it and go home thinking everything is fine and AGAIN, about 6 weeks go by and I start getting calls from "Corporate" about my membership. (I am amazed that you don't have to deal with "Corporate" when you are initially joining but afterwards it seems they are GODS when it comes to pricing). At this time, I am told that the $109 was only for my regular gym membership renewal, NOT the ALL SPORT membership. If I want to continue with that... (you guessed it)... I was going to have to pay an additional $197. I said no thank you and promptly left, fuming. This happened after the jerk off sales guy at the SUPER SPORT had told me that the $109 would cover my All Club Membership.

I am letting my basic membership run down and will NOT be renewing with these jerks ever! I cannot stand being blatantly lied to about pricing. If their sales dorks can't even know the prices then what good are they?

I will be investigating Bally's here in Houston as well as Larry North Fitness which just opened in downtown Houston near my office and maybe some smaller gyms. I like the convenience of 24 hours a day to work out, but the bullcrap is just not worth it. I will make do with regular gym hours.

Heather

Happy 4th. Show your Independance by seperating yourself from 24hr ,if you are unhappy, like we did to those other opressor's O so long ago. Like the other comments only you can make the difference. The best way to make things happen is to go to a different club of your choice. But remember there will be issues where-ever you go. Take your hard earned $s to a small location or franchies. As a former longtime employee(not sales) I have seen the good and the bad from both employees and members and yes "Gross is King". Also though not all employees live by this moto. Some actualy care about you, your concerns and their facilities. Mostly the ones that have nothing to do with sales. The best way to make your voice heard is to quit or not join. Or to make changes, is e-mail your concern to 24hr and on 'mode of reply' make sure to put phone, they have to call you back. To be honest though you are going to need more voices. 24hr has hundreds of thousands of members but this site has less than 100. It's a start but there is a long way to go before we can put a chink let alone cut the main artery to 24hr/Corporate America. To all the hard working Maintenance Techs who do the best they can with the BS they are forced to work with, best of luck, will miss working with you all and to all the MAS's, Good Luck, Good Times and watch your back "He" lies to your face. P.S. 02's picnic will always be the BEST!!! HAPPY 4th

If the airports ran their security as well as 24 hour fitness, 9/11 never would've happened! Oh yeah, I forgot though, a Fitness Bureaucracy is probably 'necessary and proper' in this modern day.

So back to the airport. Do you like feeling like a nothing, getting padded down because some impassionate assholes from some screwed country decided to crash some planes? No. But let me tell you, you could sneak Osama Bin Laden himself through an airport onto a plane faster than you could sneak him into 24 Hour Fitness.

My best friend of several years comes up for my graduation a month ago, around the middle of June. We decide to workout together...after all, we played hockey together, sports at the same middle school...and hell, he just flew all the way from AZ, so might as well get rid of some jet lag.

So, I foolishly assume that my guest pass will allow him to enter the facility. But wait...wasn't I forgetting something? Oh yeah...he's under 18, so parental consent is necessary...so we have his dad sign a piece of paper and fax it over, as well as provide his phone number, drivers license, etc. 24 hour can't fool me, I'm prepared. Oh yeah, the joke is on me though. I, in all my ignorance, actually thought that with a signed waiver, proof of identity, a guest pass, and a back-up $15 for a guest charge that he would actually get into the gym.

Desk Monkey: "His father needs to be present to sign the waiver"

Me: "But he already signed it, here it is, you can call him if you want"

Desk Monkey: "He must be here...I'm sorry, those are the rules"

Me (feeling as though 2 years old speaking with my mother): "He flew over from AZ for my graduation, that's not exactly possible"

Desk Monkey: "Then his entrance to the gym is not exactly possible, either"

Me: "Wow"

I've never given a herd of bulls ex-lax, but this incident by far is more bullshit. Not to mention the other policies they enforce. I could run away from home, underage, go workout in some gym I've never been to before, without parental consent, and they'd let me in. So long as I had a member card. But no, if you don't 'meet the requirements', you are F-U-C-K-E-D!

Desk Monkey: "Have a good day, sir"

Yeah, real nice fuckin day. Thanks bro.

Three months ago, we updated our 24 hour membership at La Mirada, CA. At the time, we were told that it would cost $5 more per month, which we agreed to do. Prior to this we had our dues being taken out of our checking account, $9 for my wife and $15 for myself. Upon doing the update, we had the new contract amounts deducted from a credit card, $14 for my wife and $20 for myself. We were told that the old contract would be terminated and those payments would stop. The next month, the payments continued and we informed the gym (La Mirada, CA) about it. They said they would check on it. The next month, it happened again, we brought down bank statements and credit cards and a written explanation. Again, told that they would check on it and let us know. No response. The third month, nothing has changed. I have now gone to the bank and had them cancel the $9 and $15 charges. I then went to the gym to tell them again about the problems. The bald headed man who was working on this referred me to another lady up front. At this time, I was told that the $14 and $20 amounts are in addition to the $9 and $15, which is not correct. I went to complain again to the bald headed man who seems to run the place. He was on the phone with his wife so I hung up the phone on him and told him we needed to get this staightened out. He became very angry and I could see he could become very violent, so I left. I wrote corporate telling them I plan on taking them to court. They then terminated me from going to any 24 hour fitness club. They are the worst, now considering Bally's.

Today I went to 24 hours fitness with a coupon for 2 weeks free or $19.99 deal.
When I asked about the 2 week free deal, I was automatically given the Standard “Bait and Switch” sales technique that’s often used by less than honest sales reps. Of course I did not accept any of their varied pricing schemes.

The thing that concerns me the most is their “payment strategy” the dreaded EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer scheme. They do not accept as payment Legal Tender(cash) issued by the authorizing power of the U.S. government via the Treasury. The 24 hour fitness stores also will not accept -checks- on an ongoing basis.
If I had the money or the time I would file a lawsuit concerning the former, that is I venture to make an educated guess that any Corporation doing business in the United States “must” accept Cash as a form of payment.

I refused to even consider using an EFT as a form of payment with any corporation let alone a minor outfit like 24 Hour Fitness. 24 Hour Fitness only uses EFTs for one reason and one reason only, that is to have a more DIRECT control over your MONEY. Yes people, if you allow them, they can now reach into what should be your PRIVATE Domain and secure for themselves funds that you might or might NOT owe them. As has been demonstrated by the various posts. 24-Hour Fitness takes in money quite easily and gives it out with difficulty if at all.

After reading “all” the Posts, I think that someone should file a Class Action Law suit against this chain, for fraudulent practices, larceny, lying, and an illegal payment scheme(my opinion).

Someone here wrote that all Businesses and Corporations try to make a “profit”. My response: The Profit motivation is an integral part of Capitalism. Profit, Innovation and Continuation are honorable pursuits in a highly Capitalistic Democracy such as ours. However when earning a profit comes at the expense and detriment of other human beings, the environment(plants and animals) and whole ecological systems, then we as guardians of our small world, must take collective action to either disband the Corporate entity , force it to change, or replace it with a responsible and just corporate entity.

Tarrelle: Seattle Washington

The 24-hour fitness in San Mateo sucks! First of all, it's more of a social scene, where people seem to enjoy sitting on the benches and machines, but fail to actually use them. Second, the place is filthy. Third, there is a gross man who works behind the front desk in the mornings. He is always asleep and is typically snoring loudly and drooling on himself. In addition, the man's hygiene is questionable. Fourth, NONE of the weights are EVER re-racked! This gym is very amateur in this regard. The weights that do exist are thrown about, and many of the weights seem to be missing, particularly 2.5-lb & 5-lb free weights.

This past year, I went to the gym to re-new my membership, and while the cashier was ringing me up, another employee snuck up behind the cashier and pulled his gym sweats down to the his knees. As this unfolded, a group of employees who were congregated at the counter began to laugh hysterically over the fact that their fellow employee was "pants-ed" in front of a customer.

hi another 24 hour complaint...i work out at the 24 hour fitness in daly city for about 3 years now. this is by far the crappiest gym of them all. the bathrooms are the dirtiest ive ever seen..and the customer service is appalling. all the workers are little no-brain young people that think they know everything about fitness. the snooty girls at the front desk make you feel unwelcome when you come in to get your membership card scanned. and the trainers are all dogs that just use thier job to get at girls.i had a trainer that did not help me out one bit, i did not get a meal plan and it was months of cancellations and stress just trying to set up appointments with him. daly city has the most attitude i have ever experienced, the only thing that keeps me there and dealing with the drama are the classes and instructors. other than that
if you want to feel like unwelcome crap at a gym go to daly city 24 hour fitness.

So I started working at 24hour fitness in Castro Valley California. I loved it, it was 1999 then and the company wasn't as big as it was now. The trainers were happy I was happy, sales was a little more honest, and we were a big family. The members were awsome, and i was friends with most of them. Now this picture perfect view of the company quickly dissolved. I decided i wanted to become a trainer and actually help people. WOW was I MISLEAD! I studied hard, and became a trainer. I did my best to help them. And for the most part I did! I wanted to reach more people, and Castro Valley wasn't big enough for me. So I transferred to a bigger club. VAN NESS In San francisco. I was a trainer there and had ONE client!! WHy? i woudn't push supplements. It wasn't about helping people anymore. I thought well, mabey if i can't train them the wasy I want, then i could try and be a sales counsoler, except a honest one. So I transferred to the Marina club, and became a Sales rep there. MY GOD!!! I really started to relize what this company was about! I didn't want to stay, they were sooooo shady in the things they were asking me to do. I decided to become a Front Desk Manager and at least make sure that the front desk could help them as much as i could. So I transferred to North Point (still in San Francisco). I tryed my hardest to become a manager. But since i didn't have money on my mind enough i didn't get promoted. I stayed with the company from my 18th birthday, I'm 21. I still work there, but as a graveyard attendant in Arizona. I came over here to go to school, so it's the only job i could get that would allow me to study. But I totally agree! 24hour fitness isn't out for fitness, they used to be at one time, but greed got to them. There would be nothing happier for me than to see this company go down somehow. Listen to what people are suggesting on this site, and support your local gym. A single gym owner has an idea of fitness that they want to share with the community, for the most part they are honest, and would love to see results in people that are using his gym. Local buisnesses guys! Corporate greed is ruining the gym experiance.

Where is the Carlsbad 24 hour Fitness Center located?

I am a 24 Hour Fitness employee. I agree with a lot of what has been said here. The fitness counselors will milk you for all you've got. But just to clear a few things up.

Guest passes: you must be 18 years of age or older, unless you have a parent WITH you, working out. Must live 25 miles within the club (because if you don't... obviously you aren't interested in joining.) And it must be your first time being a guest or a member. Must be between the time of 8 am to 9 pm.

Cancellations: You must cancel 10 days prior to your bill date, because that is how long it takes corporate or whoever to get their stuff together. We will not refund you, because all this is clearly stated on the paper you sign when cancelling.

Other problems: All we can do is submit a request to corporate, even the operations manager (the highest level of club management) cannot make these changes, only submit requests. We DO infact have the numbers to corporate and whoever won't give you their number is obviously an idiot. We have numbers for everything, every club, every person.

Anywho. I've read a lot of these comments and I laugh at how incredibly true they are. I am a current employee, and I just want to let you all know that half of what you are ranting about is not under our control. If the numbers don't get met, people get fired. Member issues get delt with on a higher level than our club. Most of the staff at my location, including myself try to be as friendly as possible, but then again the position (front desk) doesn't demand selling (as much) as others.

Don't be afraid to stop by, but don't think I won't politely tell you that.. rules are rules.

BALLY's was the problem for me- I went for a year, then cancelled. A year laterm they sent me a promo- $100 for a full year if I paid in full. Well, the credit card payment on line didn't go through properly, but they didn't notice until a few months later. By then, they said "the offers run out- if you want to stay that'll be $400. Oh, and by the way our computer says you owe us 800 bucks for the last year..." the year I had canceled. The employee knew it was wrong, but it took her hours to get through to corporate dick-wad headquarters to straighten it out. They all passed the buck.

I used to work out at a place in Beaverton OR called Tito's gym. If you had a problem, you talked to Tito.

Go see the movie "The Corporation." It will explain a lot to all of you who have ever worked for or been screwed by Bally's and 24 Hr. Corporate Fitness sucks, period.

Also, ALL OF YOU need to complain to the BBB. It does make a difference, but only if enough people complain.

Hi. 3 1/2 years ago I got a part time job at 24 Hour Fitness. Shortly after I realized what a wonderful environment it was. I started working out there and making friends. Its now years later and I am an Operations manager of a 24 Hour Fitness in Oregon. I am very passionate about fitness and the company I work for. I care about the member, employees and my number one priority is customer care. I too go into different establishments and receive poor service but the larger picture is that that is one person not the company. We do have policies and procedures to follow and I am proud that the employees take pride in them and enforce rules. I guess the disappointment for me is that when a member signs up for a membership they receive an agreement, policies and a large new member checklist stateing our policies as well as guest procedures, so why are people okay when they join but not once they have to follow them. We have had many success stories with our programs we provide and the convenience of 24 Hours with hundreds of locations. I personally am glad I have seen this website so I can make sure my staff is aware of how one bad day and service without being genuine can out a very bad taste in ones mouth. I only hope one day you can bring yourselves to come to one of our clubs and see how much we have improved and how passionate we are not about selling but getting results.

24 hour fitness has only one goal in mind, sales. The above comment is from someone who is trying very hard to buy into the ideas of the company. The reason people make mistakes regarding the rules is that there are so many put into place, all benifiting the club. Example, A guest pass is valid for local residiences only with proof of address. Why? Because if you dont live in the area you are not an immediate potential member. It doesnt matter that you just spent $900 on a 3-year membership 2 weeks ago and now your brother is visiting you from out of town for a day. Another thing I find interesting is that when enrolling everything can be done at the club level. Why is it that once your allready a member, all problems need to be handled at the corporate office. Its good to hear that there are a few good employees at 24 hour, but the problem is you have a small handful of good employees working for a corrupt corporation. These so-called managers have no authority at all. they are micro-managed to ensure that all of the systems put into place are being used. Systems that all have one thing in common, no its not trying to get the members results, its getting more and more and more new members, than maximizing the amount of money you can suck out of them on useless products like overpriced supplements and unnecessary personal training sessions. By the way to the operations manager who made the above comments. I wonder how many months you can go without hitting your supplement,
and other line item goals and still have a job?

The problem with 24 hour fitness is that people are promoted based on how much "GROSS" they can write in a month.this is one of the reasons the customer service is so bad. Its not uncommon to see General Managers in theyre late teens early twenties. Why? Because they can GROSS!
If you can sell an eighty year old man a pre-paid membership with 60 sessions of personal training and a complete line of supplements you are the man! Unfortunately thats what gets you promoted. The new guys emulate the manager and the cycle perpetuates. This now becomes the culture. I for one chose to seperate myself from that type of enviorment. One of the great things about America is its diverisity. For every 24 hour fitness location there are several alternatives. Theres nothing wrong with a company making a profit, but when making a profit superseeds service its time to go somewhere else. Pointing people to this web-site wouldnt hurt either.

Nick H

Hey guys,
The other day Magic Johnson's 24 hour fitness made me the following offer:
$630 pre-paid for three years.
after that $20/year for life time.
Is there anything I should be aware of here. The gym is walking distance from my house and that's why it's of great interest to me. Any thoughts?

Is the guy who wrote the above comment for real? Is there anything to be aware of???? We have a whole page of horror stories here and this guys only concern seems to be whether or not he's getting a good deal. This is exactly the type of person that 24 hour fitness targets. Uneducated people that have no standards of quality or service and base theyre decision solely on price.
This is why the clientele is so bad. The gym is full of people like this guy. People who shop at Pic n save dont care about service and quality, they only want something cheap. I bet this guy only eats at cheap fast food resturants and wears cheap clothes too.

tragedy @24 hours fitness youngman collapsed die no cpr machine bad attitude of staff

Wowww, you're definitely showing me how educated you are by making judgemental comments like the one you did. Nothing wrong with people who shop at Pic-N-Save and eat at cheap fast foods... are you for real???????? What planet do you live on man???
Listen, I have heard horror stories about other gyms as well. As an example, check out this site:
http://www.thecomplaintstation.com/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Forum&report=Topic&TopicID=0074&firstrecord=0&finalrecord=14

What I'm saying is, you can find horror stories about any service oriented establishment out there!!!!!!!!!!

Certainly there may be horror stories about every business, but take it from me, 24 hours is particularly bad in comparison with other gyms. I've looked at several gyms, and been a member of a few, and most are straightforward. 24 hour fitness is not, and as you can see from the above comments, especially from those who worked there, customer service is not high on their priority list.

Being in the gym businees for over 30 years- this column seems very funny to me for all thee complaints. I have managed a golds gym, a LA fitness, and a 24 (retired now). Every gym has their plusses and minuses- What gets me is that, GUESS WAHT, they are all bussinesses. BIG SURPISE. I can guarantee you that from all these posts that all you people work for, their are hundreds of people who complain about who you work for. The best one is that------om my god----people get promoted for how much they----gulp---sell. NO CAN'T BE!!!! A Burger King manager gets promoted on how much they sell, how about starbucks, or almost every other business out there. The one good thing I can say about 24 hour is they REQUIRE all trainers to have either a degree or NASM certification. Theyre are alot of paranoid pople on this website- just go to a gym, take your time, find the best membership and thats it. If you buy a TV and 2 months later its a little cheaper or goes on sale, do you guys get crazy. Probably not. This is your health and fitness you are talking about. Stop bitching beacuse theyre are THOUSANDS upon thousands of other people from all these gyms that love these facilities.

Heres my final thought- I did sell memberships, and I did try to sell the most- but guess what- whether you paid $100 or $700 when I slept at night I know one thing, I helped SAVE your life. Lack of activity is the #1 KILLER in the US. If it was $1000 to join and $150 a month, everyone should have a membership somewhere. We drivve 30,000 cars, spend $100 a month at Starbucks, by 7 "value" meals, but bitch about 30-40 a motnh in memberships dues. Seem a little strange to anyone?????? Spend less time posting and more time working out and you will be alot happier and have less to complain about.

Working out may make you live longer, but than again it may not. I think it would be safer to say that working out may improve your quality of life. Every corporation trys to rationalize theyre product by brainwashing its employees into believing they're saving or changing lives. I dont think the people here are complaining about the 40 monthly dues, but the service you get for that.I agree that other corporations promote soley on sales,(like starbucks, burger king ect)
and all of these are large corporations whose number one goal is to be the most profitable in theyre piticular catagorie. (However I would be surprised to find out that starbucks promoted its entry level employees based on how many cups of coffie they personally sold) It seems like most of the people here feel that the customer service at 24 hour fitness has taken a back seat to sales. 24 hour has thousands of complaints logged with the BBB, and because of that they have an unsatisfactory record. I think that todays customer is much smarter and less tolerant than cunsomers of the past. 24 hour is either looking to make a fast buck (10 year run and sell) or they will be forced to change in order to keep they're existing member and refferal base. That being said if customer service is not important to you mabey 24 hour is the right gym for you, I still would be leary of purchasing a long term contract for the reason stated above.
Mike former member

Interesting post, but I don't buy it. Selling is important, and there's nothing bad about it, but dishonest selling is (see above examples). High pressure sales is as well. I haven't experienced ANY high-pressure sales at Gold's, nor at New York Sports Club. So far, only 24 Hour Fitness.

Also, I have not experienced the level of customer hostility that exists at 24 Hour Fitness anywhere else. No where else I know of has announcements interrupting your workout about fitness supplements.

Working out is important, but we have a choice about where. Making informed decisions is what capitalism is all about, no?

Andrew, I think that I meshed bad customer service with high pressure sales. In other words because of the mic-announcments every 15 minutes, guest passes handed to you every time you leave the gym, promotional flyers advertising this months "special" plastered all over the walls, telemarketing rooms that look like they're straight out of the "Boiler Room" Trainers and sales counselors using agressive sales tactics, even interrupting people on the workout floor, and lets not forget the famous "closeout special" that is supposed to be the end of all ends to the current promo, but seems to pop up every two weeks. My point is that these types of sales systems create the 24 hour culture/service. You would think that because their sales culture is so bad they would ballance it with honest employees, that go above and beyond to make sure that you have a good experience there.(like Starbucks) Unfortunatly what you get is a double negative, bad sales systems, bad dishonest employees, ie; bad customer service. One final point that I find intresting. If you ever visit the 24 hour Super Sporting club (formerly lakeshore towers) in southern cal. (one of only 2 or three) You will see a different set of rules in effect there. No flyers on the wall, no mic announcments, and no guest passes handed out. Than again the demographic makeup is an upper echleon corporate crowd who would not tollerate the simple car sales attitude at one of their regular locations. Overall I think were on the same page.

Mike

Mike, my comment above was directed at Roger, not you. Sorry for the confusion.

I actually agree with some of your comments, closeouts are certainly every 2 weeks. lots of flyers. However some stuff has changed, as in no more mic announcements are allowed at the gym since in a customer service survey, it was showen to be very anooying. There is an element of high pressure sales involved at some, but not ALL of the 24 hour fitness's is. The one point I disagree with is dishonets selling. Specials come and go, that is not dishonesty. If I buy milk for $2.50 today, and you get it for $2.25 tommorow, oh well. 24 hour employees, and theyre are a few that have responded who can attest to this, DO NOT get paid if they sell a membership that is under the standard rate. I.E. if the membership is $30 a month, and I give it to you for $25, I actually would have,. no bull, got $0 for the sell. However by the same token, if I over charge someone $40 on a $30 membership, I only get the comm for the $30, and the GM gets no credit for the sale on his override report. Its called Return to Club, and it stops barganing in the gyms. Heres the problem- people want to feel like they are getting a deal, so SOME counselors will make up a higher rate, than make you feel like you got a great deal- Funny thing is thet great deal was the original price, and had you agreed to the first inflated price, he/she would have come back and said "oh I made a mistake, it's $30 not $40"- again because they can't overcharge. That causes all of society to feel like its used car sale.
Also, do not take this to be rude, but my degree is in Exercise Science and working out does in fact lead to a longer, healthier life.
By the way, you are %100 correct about your thoughts on the Ultra Sport club, where I still work out today.
I guess it comes down to the GM- my clubs always hit goal, and I never once had a complaint, of course I staffed my so called "sales positions", with people educated in fitness instead of salesman. What good is sales if I couldn't "adjust" prices. But educating people on the benefits of health and fitness came in handy. The truth of the matter is once in a while we did push hard for the sale. When someone comes in and says their doctor told them they need to lose 50 pounds or they will die, and the look you in the face and say- "I'm no sure I am going to use it, $30 a month seems a little much" and you see a Mercedes key chain, a Tag Huer watch, and a heartattack in front of you, damn straight I am going to push to get this guy a membership. One of my clients took 7 months of calling to get in the gym. Thing was, he never told me to stop calling, and if he had, I would have. He actually thanked me for staying on his ass. Every club is different granted.
Last thing- I was thaught this- every negative experience. people tell 10 people. Every positive, people tell one. I had people come up and sit at my desk every day and tell me how wonderful my gym was, emails sent to corp about how profeesional my Front Desk staff was, and trainers with Degrees taking 30-60 pounds of people, rehabbing 70 year old gentlemen, etc. Problem is, those stories don't get told. For example, there is a website, WALMARTSUCKS.com. where everyone complains about Walmart. I've never had a bad experience there, nor anyone I know, but that site is packed with comments. It's always the negative stuff that will come out, get people screaming and yelling, and the sad thing is, EVERY company has it. believe me, theyre are more than 1 person who has been blown out of NY sports club (where I am orginally from by the way), and told all the friends how much they hated it. They don't have over 300 clubs, 24 hour fitness does. 1 complaint a day at 300 clubs versus 1 complaint a day at only a
couple clubs- OF COURSE there are more complaints in the BBB. Go figure.
My suggestion, all the clubs are the same. Go try all the clubs in your area out and see which gets you a better vibe. I had people leave the Golds Gym right next door to me all the time beacuse they hated it(it was less than a mile from my 24). I became friends with the GM there and we used to talk about that stuff all the time. SO you had a good experience theyre, these people had a bad one. Again it is a numbers game, more customer =more complaints no matter what business you are in, that can't be argued with.
Anyway, thanks for your time. Even though I may disagree with some of the comments or the tone of some of the post, a few of you like Mike have valid points.

I was lied to at 24-hour fitness in Vancouver Washington, on Tech street. They lied to me about membership and double charged me, refused to provide refund when a letter was presented to them for cancellation and refund on the 2nd day of a 3-day cancellation period. Did not provide me with a printed receipt for sales purchases.

The General manager, fitness manager, and the operations manager all lied to me and ganged up on me all at once.

Do not join this gym for membership.

Amy

google search: bally's lawsuit to join in the class-action lawsuits against bally's for your state. New York has already won money.

Please note as well that there is an on-going class action suit against Bally’s in eight different states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa and Massachusetts. Please note that on February 16th of this year, The New York Department of Law issued a press release saying that Consumer complaints about Bally’s “deceptive ads and high pressure sales tactics” have led to reforms on the part of Bally’s. Please note that on April 14, 1994 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release stating Bally’s fine of $120,000 in civil penalties “regarding the health clubs’ billing, cancellation, refund, and debt-collection practices. Please also note that on February 18, 1999 the FTC issued $300,000 in civil penalties to collection agencies, specifically Perimeter Credit, L.L.C., because while attempting to collect delinquent accounts, which they had purchased from Bally’s, they “harassed consumers, made false and misleading representations, failed to send required validation notices, failed to verify debts when requested to do so by consumers.” The FTC also requires a disclosure and a notice to be signed by the consumer that states the consumer’s rights and understanding of those rights.

LAWSUIT AGAINST 24-HOUR FITNESS
Attorney General Announces Health Club Sweep; Actions Taken Against Five Oregon Fitness Clubs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 13, 2000

Attorney General Hardy Myers today announced a health club sweep that found four Oregon fitness clubs failing to include a number of mandatory cancellation and refund provisions in their membership contracts.
"Tens of thousands of Oregonians have joined health clubs without being informed of their rights under the law," Myers said. "Consumers must be told of their obligations and refund rights under any health spa contract before agreeing to thousands of dollars in payments."

Department of Justice investigators first looked at the health spa industry last year after receiving complaints against some of the 24 HOUR FITNESS CLUBS that refused to give prospective members copies of membership contracts as required by Oregon law.

"Consumers have the right to request and take home a copy of any health club’s membership contract in order to review the terms carefully before deciding whether to join the club," Myers said.

Investigators found that 24 HOUR FITNESS was not complying with the Oregon health spa laws although it had promised compliance to the Courts in two separate settlement agreements filed in Marion County Court in December 1998 and in September 1999. Attorney General Myers filed a contempt lawsuit against 24 HOUR FITNESS in February 2000. The Courts approved a judgment in August 2000 finding 24 HOUR FITNESS in contempt of court.

Contract problems with 24 Hour Fitness triggered investigations of the other four fitness facilities with investigators finding non-compliance in their written contract disclosures.
Under the agreements, the four companies agree to revise their membership contracts to conform to Oregon law and to each pay $3,000 to the Consumer Protection and Education Fund. The companies also agree to send amended membership agreements to all current members.

Oregon’s Health Spa law requires the following provisions to be included in health club membership contracts:

Consumers may cancel their health spa contracts for any reason and receive full refunds if they write the business by midnight of the third business day after signing the contract. At anytime during the contract term, a consumer may cancel: 1) If the buyer dies or becomes physically unable to use a substantial portion of those health spa services used by the buyer from the date of the contract until the time of disability;

2) If the health spa goes out of business;

3) If the health spa moves its facility closest to the residence of the buyer on the date of the contract to a location more than five additional miles from that residence;

4) If a facility, construction or improvement is not completed by the date represented in the contract;

5) If the health spa materially changes the health spa services promised as part of the initial contract;

When consumers cancel for any of the five reasons listed in the contract, the health club must provide a refund based on the calculation of dividing the contract price by the number of weeks in the contract term and multiplying the result by the number of weeks remaining in the contract term. Consumers are reminded that the Oregon Health Spa law applies to tanning salons and any business whose intended purpose is to assist consumers with physical exercise, weight control or figure development.

Additional consumer information is available by calling the Attorney General’s consumer hotline at (503) 378-4320 (Salem area only), (503) 229-5576 (Portland area only) or toll-free at 1-877-877-9392 or online at www.doj.state.or.us.

24 HR SUCKS!!! PLAIN AND SIMPLE. DON'T GO. HEAD FOR YOUR NEAREST MOM AND POP GYM AND DON'T LOOK BACK. BY THE WAY FUCK HARRY REO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my son died at 24 hours fitness with no help and untrained staff giving cpr and no AED EQUIPMENT TO SAVE HIM AMAZING THEY WANTB UR MONEY BUT GIVE DAM FOR MEMBERS SAFETY LIFE TODAY MY YOUNG KIND LOVING SON WHO WENT TO THE GYM CAME BACK DEAD THEY NEVER INFORM US OF HIS DEATH FOR 3 DAYS TOOK HIS WALLET AND DID NOT CALL 911 IN TIME TO PROTECT THIER MONEY MAKING SCAMS AND AVOID IT TO THE EXTINCT MY SON GAVE HIS LAST BREATH I AM A WIDOW MOTHER MY SON WAS MY FUTURE MY LIFE AS MOTHER I SAY SAVE UR FAMILY LOVEONCE AS I AM BEN VICTOM OF CRUELTY BY THE GYM MY SON DEATH IS WORST EVER THEY DID GOD HELP ME

I have been to many gyms in my lifetime including Gold's. Personally Golds was the only one that was clean and took care of the equipment. I just resigned up for another membership at 24 hr fitness for $830 for 1yr and 2 yrs free with guaranteed $20 a year for life. I don't particularly like 24 hr fitness but its the only gym in my town. From my experience all gym's try to rip you off. I expect it and guard myself against it. Do not expect them to help you if you have a problem. Try and make sure you don't have a problem. Read the contracts carefully and make sure the contract says in writing what you agreed on. If the gym is that discusting call the health department anonymously and have them inspect the facility. Maybe they will get busted and forced to clean it. Also don't prepay for memberships too far in advance as many gyms go out of business or move locations and you will be screwed. No refunds ever!!!In my case I expect to pay about $30 a month at a gym period. If I go to 24 hr fitness for 3 yrs then my cost is $23 a month which is acceptable to me. I don't need trainers or extras just weights and cardio machines. I agree that they suck but all the gyms I went to in the last 17 yrs sucked too.

Bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch...

Good God I've never seen so many whiners in my life....I can't speak for all 330+ clubs, but the one in my area is by far the best equiped, cleanest and best run facility in town...For Christ sake, we give away free passes to people to let them try the club for themselves with the possiblitly that they may choose to join in the future....It ain't a freebie, it's a promotion....Get it??????? If you're from out of town, you have the same chance of screwing Jennifer Lopez as you do of joining, so why should we give away free passes to non locals??????? It's a business, and in order to run a business it has to be run....oh yeah....PROFITABLY!!!!!!

AS for the tour--yeah....You walk into a 40,000 square foot, split level facility--you probably need a fucking tour.......If I don't show you around, I'll get a