My only wish is that I would have read the "true story" about Gold's Gym here, prior to enrolling as a member! The entire set-up is a rip-off.
First, do NOT fall for their pricing games.instance: One customer pays $42.00 per month while another pays $20.99 per month. They will manipulate, and flat out lie to you in explaining why you can't get the better deal. Just hold your ground and do not let them force you to pay more than the low $20 somethings per month.
They will try to tell you that in order to get $20 per month you have to pay some ridiculous sign-on fee. Don't fall for it. It's just a marketing game designed to line these two-bit, cheap, low-brow salespeople's pockets. Hold strong and remember, you don't have to make a decision.
Second, absolutely DO NOT hire any of the so-called professional trainers. The gym changes trainers faster than you can blink—so forget about personal service. I enrolled, paid $200 deposit for a trainer—only to have him quit on me two days prior to the commencement of my training program!
I was then going to be handed-off to whomever was available. When I objected and wanted a refund, I was told my the assistant-to-the-assistant-of-the-assistant manager (you will NEVER be able to speak with anyone with real responsibility) that a refund was in-hand but he continued to beg me to get me to stay. When I absolutely refused, then all of a sudden my "refund" was going to be a problem. It's been over a month now and I'm still getting the run-around for my money. I could never get return calls and no one had any definate answers. The staff is young, unprofessional, EXTREMELY apathetic, and impersonal.
Third, their contracts are inaccurate. My contract clearly states that all cancellations should be addressed to the local corporate office—HA! I found out that there is no local office and it was defunct at the time I signed the contract.
Furthermore, after mailing my cancellation notice off to this "imaginary" office, I discovered that the letters end up sitting in a field post office unclaimed for months. When I recently went there to claim my "lost" cancellation letter I sent certified, the post office thought I was an employee of Gold's and practically begged me to pick up the rest of their mail.
Gold's is just another corporate money-making giant that is run at the local level by a bunch of inexperienced college kids posing as trainers/fitness specialists. Save your money, time and aggrivation and consider a smaller local gym in your area. Sure, the weights may not be chrome and the machines a year old, but I can almost guarentee you that the service will probably be much better.
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