Planet Fitness Screwed Me

So, I finished up the semester at college a couple weeks ago and arrived home all pumped up and ready to hit the weights hardcore over break. I head over to a nearby gym that I frequent when I'm not away at school and signed up for the three month $100 student membership on May 28th. The place is great, it is fairly large but never busy. Almost everyone who goes there, with the exception of maybe a dozen or so legitimate lifters, just walks on the treadmills and keeps to themselves. On most any day I can walk in and find peace and solitude in my corner of the gym where the squat rack and power rack resides. No one bothers me, no one complains, I get my lifts done.

Fast forward a mere four days to June 2nd. I'm driving down this serene road in my VW Jetta, listening to my music, and getting all amped up for some heavy squatting. I round the last corner as my gym comes into view; all is well. Wait! I look up ahead and do not see the red, white, and blue beacon of hope that is the World Gym sign. Instead, waving gingerly in the breeze like the flag of a gay pirate ship is the purple and yellow banner of planet fitness!

I park my car and begin walking briskly towards the door. Fearing the worse I begin praying to the gods of heavy lifting and recite Beradi's habits as if they were the rosary. I swipe my card and push past the herd of fat ladies lurking around the front desk. I cross my fingers and look towards my beloved corner. What do I see? Of course not my power rack. Looming in the distance, mocking me, is a barney the fucking dinosaur purple SMITH MACHINE!


(SEE OTHER TWO POSTS FOR COMPLETE STORY)

 

That's fucked up. Talk to the manager about that shit. It just makes me want to curse. Tit****er.

 

Welcome to the "Judgement Free Zone."

 

I feel for you. My gym is putting in an addition which will be done by the end of summer. It's mostly more gay stuff like fitness rooms and bullshit. I just hope they don't touch the weight room. We've got 2 power racks and a squat rack and those better not go.

 

I walk back to the front desk and kindly ask the girl at the counter if they would be replacing my much desired equipment (Hey, a power rack is a power rack even if it is purple). She tells me she isn't sure and the many people have been asking. I ask to speak to the owner/manager so as to place my inquiry. I wait several minutes while talking to another kid who has similar questions. Finally, a short, average built guy walks over, talks briefly to the girl at the counter, and begins addressing the kid standing next to me.

Manager: You can't get a refund, you signed a contract and we are only offering limited refunds.

Kid: Um....I heard you would have only machines and no weights over 75lbs.

Manager: Can you lift more than 75lbs.

Me: Excuse me? Is this how you address all your customers; in a condescending manner? Do you just treat younger people this way hoping to bully them into a membership?

 

There's a place similar to that opening up in my home city this fall. I was given a free two week trial to it thanks to my job at GNC. I'm going to go there and see how fast I can get kicked out without resorting to sexual harassment.

 

That's some communistic shit right there.

 

Manager: So whats your reason for leaving?

Me: First off, I never said I was canceling my membership. I had some questions as to what equipment you would be replacing.

Manager: What equipment? We have everything.

Me: A power rack. Perhaps a bench would be nice.

Manager: (cuts me off) How often do you use this power rack? Tell me, what is a power rack?

Me: I begin to explain that I use it when squatting one day a week.

Manager: (Cuts me off again) Well, thats stupid, I can't go to corporate and tell them that this guy wants his money back because he uses a power rack one day a week. He again tells me "I signed a contract"

Me: I explain to him that I signed a contract that works both ways. I signed under a certain impression of the gym and that this gym fails to fit my needs.

We continue to go back and forth. Quite frankly I was about ready to knock this guys ass out. I finally get him to give me a form to file for a refund which was supposedly mailed out Saturday.

I was told I may not get my full $100 back. WTF! I was a member for four days.

I looked on their website to call corporate but they do not list their numbers. I searched yellowpages and google but only found lists of similar complaints. I tried call 411 and several other locations. They all told me that they didnt have the number. Finally, I convinced some employee at another location to look for the number on a letterhead or something.

Called corporate and left a message. They have yet to return it.

Any advice is welcome.

 

BlackHawk then what happened? Or is this happening in real time?

 

I was typing it as three posts so it wouldnt take up half a page. Glad I have you on the edge of your seat. It's all updated now.

 

Tell me about it.

I walked into the locker room where there is a steam room and such. On the door is a printout reading that as of Wednesday the steam room will be no longer available because it does not "Coincide with the Planet Fitness philosphy" What?

 

GYMs are the MOST shady businesses out there. They always get you one way or the other. My former gym closed down without any notice, I saw people signing contracts the day before, and some I heard paid their full year in full, and the gym closed the next day. I myself had 3 months left in my membership, and SOOOO many guests were pissed off, but there was nothing we could do because they filled bankruptcy.

Even my gym beforehand screwed me out of a few months, but long story.

ANyway the only advice I can give you is either continue using the gym without the powerrack, or leave that gym and lose your $100. The gyms won't budge, and they have the worst customer service, so don't waste your precious time on them.

 

Makes me appreciate working out at home all over again.

 

It is not that much money, how much time are you willing to put in and how hard are you willing to work for $100? That manager gets paid to sit there and throw up roadblocks.

Anyway, that sucks. Your gym has managed to combine crappy customer service with an awful product. They will probably become the hottest place in town.

 

Fucking sigworthy.

I just looked over the Planet Fitness website. Insane.

And does anybody really think that prohibiting overt signs of hard work is going to make their members completely nonjudgmental?

Maybe somebody oughta launch Planet Get Over It, wherein members are encouraged to focus on improving themselves and realizing that grunting is not per se an attack on anyone else's worth as a human being.

This is just like back in the 80s when quote-unquote "heavy m e t a l" got co-opted by lame-ass hair bands that pandered to people who didn't like fast, hard music. Of course, you know what happened then....

 

Have you paid it all up front? Or are you paying monthly by direct debit or something?

 

I found this amusing.

 

lol wow that sucks. Your story has shed an important light on a situation I might face in the future. I have free membership to my uni gym, but once I'm out I have no idea what I'm going to do. I might try and invest in a home gym.

 

That's basically a breach of contract. I guess they figure that for such a small price, most people will realize that hiring a lawyer would be more expensive than the price of the contract, and cut their losses. What horrible business practice.

The one thing you could do, is threaten to tell everyone what they did, say you have lots of friends on the Internet, etc., and you'll advertise against them. Technically they could then sue you for Public Defamation of Character, but that's unlikely.

 

I have some frequent flyer miles....may have to cash them in on a day trip to Mass.

Give me one hour in the place and I will have them in tears---better yet we all converge at Plan to Fail-Us. at the same time in a sherdog rendezouz. This could turn into a story that would have major motion picture appeal.

You know, you might have to post their phone number----I have some ideas that I am thinking about that could be quite interesting.

Let me give this some thought