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I am not happy at all with the aggressive and high-pressure sales tactics employed by LA Fitness for their Pro Results personal training program! I'm sure there are success stories out there, but certainly LA Fitness has a lot to learn about customer service. I just had a truly awful experience with LA Fitness and their Pro Results program and sales staff. The personal trainer who introduced me to the program was really great and they actually gave me two sessions instead of the typical 1. I'm a reasonable person and knows that there is no free lunch, I was patiently waiting for the sales pitch and was actually ready to sign on. That came at the end of the second session. I was given the typical hoopla about the wonderful benefits of the program and how much better I would feel (Which, of course, was very true. All of us can benefit from a good personal trainer). I went along with the pitch, but I was really interested in the bottom line and the details. I was already sold on the "Why I wanted this."
The personal trainer/sales rep finally brought out the pricing guide (if you could call it that). It reminded me of the silly four box car sales sheet you get at the dealership. It consisted of three headings with the length of contract and a number. Bellow each heading was a series of 4 numbers: 2, 4, 8, 12. There were no explanations anywhere on this sheet. Even the trainer/sales rep was confused (he was fairly new). He had to call his boss to have it explained. What the numbers were was the number of sessions per month, and the number in the heading was the cost per session. So, for a 3 month contract, you paid roughly $60 per session. What's more, you are billed monthly based on the number of sessions you selected. the problems didn't start until I asked for details about how the sessions would be scheduled, what the cancellation policy was, what would happen if I was called out of town (I'm an engineer who is called out to customer sites on a regular basis).
This is when things got ugly. the trainer/rep was really nice about it and took my questions and asked his boss (who was on the phone) about the details. the boss (Eddy) refused to provide any. I persisted in my questions and the phone was handed to me. Rather than answer my questions, I was thrown into a high-pressure sales pitch with the typical "ignore my question", followed by the "how much are you willing to pay?" type dialog. I then asked for a printed copy of the contract so that I could look it over before signing anything. The boss outright refused, stating that company policy was not to provide this until the contract was signed. Excuse me!? You must sign the contract before you can see it? The boss also refused to provide any other details about cancellation or exact details about missed sessions since I would be paying on a monthly basis and not a per session basis. The boss asked to talk with the trainer again. I guess the boss lit a fire because the trainer redoubled his efforts to get me to sign the contract right then and there. I refused and told them that I never sign contracts on the day I am presented with one. I always stop to think. They were not happy with this at all and I nearly had to just get up and walk away. I politely told the trainer that I was not going to sign anything that day and that I would think it over and crunch the numbers on the program I wanted and see if I could afford it. (Hello, we are in an economic crisis here. What happens if I'm unemployed? (A big possibility))
I crunched the numbers and the price did not make sense for me, all things considered. Not wanting to take the cowardly way out (although I dreaded having a repeat of the day before) I came in the next day for my daily workout and stopped by the trainer's desk to give him my decision. Well, when I went over to his desk, there was another gentleman there. The gentleman turned out to be the trainer's boss whom I had spoken to over the phone the day before. I introduced myself and told the trainer I was very sorry, that I really enjoyed the training sessions and working with him, but that I had to decline given my current job situation and the economy. The program was just too pricey. The boss immediately injects himself into the conversation and starts asking for what I can afford. I curtly tell him that they are just too pricey. He starts arguing with me over how much my health is worth and that I need to give him a number. I made the mistake of answering him. He jumps on this number and first berates me for giving him a ridiculous number and then somehow finds a program at that cost. I was actually happy at first. But then, he still refused to answer my questions about the terms of the contract and providing any solid details about how I made schedules and what happens if I'm out of town. This boss refused to give up, and tried humiliating me into signing by telling me that I just like to waste peoples time and I never had any intention of signing up. I just wanted to abuse their hospitality and waste the trainer's valuable time. I'm now getting angry (yet trying to stay cool, because getting into a shouting match never helps anything). I'm still refusing to budge and the boss resorts to accusing me of BSing them and that he knew I was BSing when he talked to me the day before. I took my leave right then and walked away, telling them that I would come back when things had changed.
You know, that really stunk because I go to that gym regularly and now I have to put up with this jerk who runs the place and wouldn't take no for an answer.
LA Fitness, are you listening?!
All I wanted was:
The terms of contract, clearly stated, on paper.
The pricing terms, clearly stated.
The scheduling terms and how I set up appointments, clearly stated.
What happens when I am not able to attend a session (since this is billed monthly), clearly stated.
The cancellation policy and restrictions, clearly stated.
Not only could the sales staff not provide these details, the management refused!? Not only that, but I'm openly insulted to boot. Accused of wasting their time! Wait a minute, who's paying the bills here? Wait again, who was approached, unsolicited, by the trainer/sales rep?
You are lucky you have good facilities. I am really leaning on canceling my membership, but the LA Fitness has the nearest gym to where I work. This has left a very sour taste in my mouth regarding LA Fitness.
As an update, I contacted the District Manager for LA Fitness and got an apology for this. I also contacted the local District Attorneys office and was referred to the Department of Consumer Fraud.
FYI for all those, at least in California, who are considering signing up for one of these contracts:
It is ILLEGAL in the state of California to NOT be shown a copy of the contract before signing, even if it is digital signature. Insist that you are shown a copy first and don't back down.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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The terms of contract, clearly stated, on paper?
You will either have to sign 3, 6 or 12 month contract. You will typically pay $149 Joining fee (sometime they waive $99 and charge $50 within three days of you signing up and 15th and end of month which are their closeout sales) plus your first months dues. That leaves you with however monthly payment based on the length of you contract. i.e 12 month contract leaves you with 11 payments.
After the initial contract has ended, you monthly dues will continue on a month to month basis until YOU cancel with sufficient notice (minimum 2o days in writing from next billing day cycle sent certified to corporate office in Irvine, California). Also, you can have the OM (operation manager at the club do a quick cancel if you are nice to them and they are nice and want to help you out instead of giving you the runaround)
The pricing terms, clearly stated?
For 3 months contracts or less the price is $60 per session with the bottom
line of $45 per session during some closeouts. For 6 month contracts price shown is $50 with bottom line of 35-40 per session and for 12 month contracts $40 per session is shows with bottom line of $25-30 per session during closeout promos. You can either opt for free sessions or cheaper price per session. i.e. you can buy once a week for a year for $160 per month (12 month contract) and get 16-24 sessions for free -- based on $40 per session or pay $100 per month and get the 4 sessions per month with no free sessions.
Btw, the sessions are 30 minute sessions not 1 hour.
The scheduling terms and how I set up appointments, clearly stated?
You can select pt time by going to PT desk to set up or do so online, however they cannot guarantee you specific time and same trainer for duration of your membership. Be sure to look over the checklist which accompanies the contract to see all the details which many PT sales staff forget to mention. Typically speaking you should be able to get the times you want unless your trainer is popular and in that case you better know you schedule in advance for the next few weeks to make sure you get your spot. FYI, it is not that unusual for someone that is locked into a 12 month contract to have several trainers.
What happens when I am not able to attend a session (since this is billed monthly), clearly stated.
Your sessions will simply roll over to the following month and will not expire. The only exception to this is when 6 months passes after you contract term has expired in which case your sessions will expire, so use your remaining sessions before the 6month mark past your contract end date.
The cancellation policy and restrictions, clearly stated?
The Body of Change/Pro Results PT contract is very Iron Clad and not easy to get out of. It is true that you can cancel anytime but what the Sales staff sometime forgets to mention is that you need to buy out you contract to be able to do so. That means you have to pay %50 of the contract price and typically you will be able to use those sessions if you still want to.
I hope this help. Let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck in your fitness endeavors.
I'm a victim of the same issue . I need your help so I can get out of this problem .
My name is Ricardo and my E-mail "ruba003@hotmail.
If you support LA Fitness Pro Results/Body of Change (they change the name whenever they're being sued) then you are supporting MODERN DAY SLAVERY! The trainers get "paid" $6.00 per session ($4.50 after taxes). They're not promised an 8 hour day or a 32 hour week, so they can be at LA Fitness for 10 hours, if they train 2 clients that day, they "earn" $12.00 that day. The trainers get no sick days, no holiday pay, no vacation pay, no personal days, no medical benefits...not even a lunch room! The "managers" get commissions for selling you a session that's suppose to be for 60 mins, but the client only trains for 30 mins with the trainer. When the "managers" tell you they're talking to the "Corporate Boss" to get a "Special rate" for you, they're talking to a fellow associate in another section of the same gym, promise you free sessions (which they take from other clients who lapse using thier sessions, probably because they're disgusted with the lack of professionalism, but can't get out the contract unless they pay a 50% cancellation fee!), & when you finally figure out what's going on & call whoever to complain, GOOD LUCK! Be prepared to get lawyers involved if you want your money back, because that's what it's going to take. Congradulate the ppl of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania who banded together as a community & voted NOT to allow the LA Fitness Signature Club (coporate slave ship) into their community. Support your community fitness facilities staffed by members of YOUR COMMUNITY who actually care about you! Not LA Fitness corporation employees getting paid slave wages while being ordered to smile at you & rob you at the same time.
I am very unhappy with my personal training at LA Fitness in Tucker Georgia and on Sugarloaf. I'm 63 yrs. old and told them I had shoulder problems, knee problems, degenerating discs in neck and back and was told I would be conditioned slowly to rebuild my body to workout again after not working out for 5 years. I have gone through 3 trainers that pushed too hard and was told to work through the pain. Now I have a tear in my rotator cuff and a sprained knee and can't work out. Plus I've spent money on Doctor's appointments, physical and now need to see an orthopedic surgeon. The contract state it is a release of liability and even if I die my beneficiaries would have to pay 50% of the contract balance to cancel the contract. It's my fault for not reading the fine print but I've had trainers at Golds and Body Plex and they were college degreed trainers that never hurt me while training and the contracts had no such clauses when a physical injury could result in loss of physical ability to workout. Please beware! My email is dabritt0007@aol.com. Any advise would be appreciated.
Every word you said is true. Same experience I had except they “told” me I had 7 days to cancel without penalty…But If you read the fine print the only way to cancel is by writing a letter. And mailing it to a PO Box by the 3rd business day by midnight after you signed the contract! Depending on what day you signed up you are screwed if you don’t read that fine print right then and there. Very crafty.