Gold's Gym Personal Training Program - The sales guys are LIARS!
I renewed my gym membership at Gold's gym a few weeks ago. I was not looking to sign up for Personal Training, but when I went into the gym to renew, the person signing up my renewal left me in the cubicle and I was approached by a Personal Trainer. It was obvious this was sales tactic that they used, but I listened to the trainer's sales pitch about training and decided that signing up wouldn't be a bad idea, after-all he made it sound appealing.
He told me he would be my trainer and how he looked forward to working with me to help me reach my goals. He told me they would be one hour sessions and I could choose how many times a week I wanted to go. I asked him to show me the pricing for training session 1x a week and 2x a week. He said if I did 2x a week he could do them for a better price. Ultimately he quoted me $30 dollars a session and than said he was able to get it down to $25 dollars a session, but I had to sign a 6 month contact.
I agreed to 6 months, 2x a week, $25 a session (so $200 a month). Once again, he told me they would be one hour sessions.
When it came to paying, he said I had to pay 2 months up front, first & last month. I wasn't expecting that, but paid it anyways. He hyped up the bonus of doing this b/c than I would only have 4 months balance remaining and this would 'unlock' 8 additional training sessions as a bonus.
He told me to call the following day to schedule an appointment b/c he couldn't find the appointment book that evening. I called the following day and talked to someone at the front desk. I said I needed to schedule a session with Jesus Magana (the name on the contract). She said she wasn't familiar with that name and put me on hold, when she came back on the line she told me would get me scheduled for the following evening, Thursday.
I showed up the following evening for my first scheduled appointment. Jesus (Carlos) was there but said he wasn't aware I had an appointment with him and said he had to get on a conference call. He told me to go work out on an elliptical for 40 minutes and we would reschedule my session. We rescheduled my session for the following Tuesday. I went and worked out on my own. The whole duration of my workout I noticed him lingering around the front of the gym, never getting on that conference call he claimed to have.
The following Tuesday I go into the gym for my scheduled appointment and ask for Jesus. No one knew who I was talking about. Than I am told he goes by Carlos and he is no longer at that gym, he transferred. Did he know know this the two previous interactions I had with him when he stated he would be my trainer throughout the course of the contract? Obviously he did.
Luckily there was a manager who offered to give me a quick session and was really nice. He never gave me any straight answers about the run around I had received, but promised to set things straight and get me with a new trainer. He scheduled me another appointment, third one now, with a trainer stating this new trainer, Justin, would be my set trainer.
So Friday I go in for what was then my third scheduled appointment. I go to the front desk and they could not find my name in the book, I had to point out where the manager wrote my name in since I watched him write it in on Saturday. I am then told that there are no trainers scheduled at that particular time and they aren't sure what happened. There happened to be a trainer with another woman that walked up to the counter. They asked him if he was training and he stated he wasn't scheduled.
The woman he had been training overheard the fiasco I was dealing with and started telling me how the same thing had just happened to her and how upset she was. She had gone through the same thing I had! This was why she was there with this unscheduled trainer b/c he was 'taking her on' as well. This makes me wonder if this is common business practice?
After looking into the name of the guy that signed me up, Jesus Carlos Magana, I discover he has previous complaints regarding the same issue of scamming people. It appears this sales guy for Gold's gym is a complete silver-tongued liar.
I am really upset to have been treated like this, and by all places from a gym where people go to try and feel better about themselves. This has made me feel everything but better about myself. I feel as though I have been totally taken advantage of and violated!
I ended up getting a training session from a nice trainer, but now wonder if this is going to be an issue every time I show up to the gym. I feel like I am getting passed around. This is not what I signed up for. The trainer that took me on that last time was nice but he only works a few days a week. My work schedule makes it so I can only schedule times after work. I was promised by the person that signed me up that my schedule would be accommodated b/c he claimed to work every evening And now he isn't even at that gym!
I also was completely lied to about the sessions, being told I was getting hour long sessions 2x a week for 6 months at $25 a session. Today I am told the sessions are incremented into 30 minute segments and if I want an hour long session I have to utilize two sessions, which makes it $50 a session. I was also completely lied to when I was told I would have one trainer working with me. So far this hasn't been the case and everytime I have showed up for an appointment, no one even knows about it and I spend 15-30 minutes standing at the front while they are trying to figure it out. I paid money for this service and am made to feel as though I am imposing.
I should have done more due diligence before signing anything with Gold's Gym. I am highly disappointed in Gold's Gym's business practice so far.
Very upset and assuming managers and employees are switched from store to store on a consistent basis for a reason.
I would like to give the Gym a change to make things right, but so far I have given three chances and I am feeling like I got totally screwed over.
This is highly deceptive and I am shocked that such a large corporation would operate in this manner. I would like to think it was a singular occurrence, but after getting online it looks like it is ritual business practice for Gold's Gym and they have screwed over a lot of people. I have sent an email to their corporate offices. I guess I will see if they make things right. If not, I plan to pursue them legally.
I can't believe I am having to go through all of this, hundreds of dollars later.
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