Joel Doyle
October 25, 2017 06:54
I signed up online for a 5-day free pass. Someone from the gym called me to setup a time for me to come use my pass. They told me to come prepared to work out. So, I got some workout clothes and showed up ready to go. Long story short, I did not get to work out that day and was not allowed to use my free pass.
Sales rep "Beau" said everything he could to talk me out of actually using the 5 day free pass. That made me feel so awkward. He said, and I quote, "We are the #1 rated gym in the country. Do you really think that a 5 day pass is going to help you decide whether or not you want to be a member here?" Yes, of course I did think that. That is the whole point of signing up for the pass. I wanted to spend 5 days at the gym, working out, seeing the day-to-day activities, seeing how clean they kept the place, assessing the attitude of the employees and seeing if I like it.
The company might be the #1 rated gym, but there is no guarantee that this particular location is meeting those same standards. It's more than reasonable to spend a few days checking it out.
I'm not confrontational. I just said that I hope it does and let him continue with the sales pitch.
After a tour, fitness assessment, and an aggressive sales pitch, he gave me a total that I would need to pay to get started and sent me out the door. No mention of the free pass.
So, he was right. I didn't need 5 days to decide, only 30 minutes. These sales reps are trained to see you as a sale and not as a person. They have a whole corner of the gym with desks and credit card readers that is completely devoted to getting you to spend money. Even car dealerships have less aggressive, less douchey sales people.
The part that really bothers me is that their prices are fair. Bottom line is about $120 to get started and $50/month for 10 months on a family plan(and $100 if your end your membership. Same thing at other gyms). That's not bad when you compare it to other gyms. But, this wall of sales they put up in front of the gym is a huge turnoff.
I just want to come to the gym, not be bothered, do my workout, get healthy and go home. Why do they make that so hard?