Redemption?

After much consideration, I decided to send a complaint to the specific gym location that we had issues with (Tech Ridge):

To Whom it May Concern:

A friend and I had been trying for the larger side of a month to get together and work out... be it a walk, or a trip to the gym- its been next to impossible to get our schedules matched up. On Tuesday, May 13th, we thought it was our day. I have been holding on to a few VIP passes for just the occasion. Had I known what would happen when I attempted to bring in a guest, I never would have grabbed one at all.

As I sat and waited at the front of the Tech Ridge gym for my friend to arrive, the general manager (James Hazzah) approached me and asked if I needed to be helped. At first I thought it was nice of him to check in, but after a few minutes I saw what his real goal was. He told me that what I needed was a few personal training sessions. After making uncomfortable small talk, he eventually convinced me to "step into his office." After even more time spent discussing my weight loss goals, why I work out, which Golds gyms I use most often, and how I work out... he started in on me like I was buying a used car. He tried the "well, if you buy a session package today, Ill give you xyz price"- I assure you that from the get go, I made it very clear to him I was only at the gym to work out, and to bring my friend, NOT buy personal training sessions- I also explained though it was not his business at all, that I simply dont have that kind of money to spend at the drop of a hat just because he is offering me some low price. He also told me that the classes I was attending (pump and combat) were not enough work for what my goals were and that pump "only makes for saggy skin." You can imagine how discouraged I felt when I stopped to think that those classes were what made me feel like I was conquering my weight loss goals. They made me feel good until he provided me with his two cents.

When my friend arrived, James immediately started in on her. "What do you want to do when you work out, what are your goals, why have you not worked out in so long, when you did work out- what kinds of things were you doing?" She calmly explained that she just had a baby, has VERY little free time as her husband is always traveling, and that working out on this particular day was only to see how it was being back at the gym, wanted to get back into things slowly and that there was a cheap deal through her work (PPD Inc) that she might sign up with again (she was a member a few years back) should she decide she has the time. He then reminded her that they have a "Kids Club" she was more than welcome to drop her daughter off at when she worked out. Even after she made it clear that she had no intentions whatsoever of buying a membership and that she was not ready to leave her baby with a stranger, he remained on her back and would not take no for an answer. As if that wasnt enough, then he started in on prices, "if you sign up today, well give you this price." He also went as far as to bring in a personal trainer to meet with my friend. Now Im sure all of this is protocol but as it turns out, he never intended to let her work out anyway.

45 minutes later, and after much probing and many personal questions about her lifestyle and goals, he informed us that my friend would not be able to use the VIP pass since she'd previously been a member. Both of us were dumbfounded, wondered why on earth he didnt tell us that from the get-go (since she had indeed mentioned being a member pre-pregnancy) and we promptly decided to leave. This man not only wasted my time (an existing member for 3+ years), robbed us of our scheduled work out and what very little free time my guest actually did have, but he did absolutely nothing but annoy us and make us feel that, unless we dropped a bunch of money right then and there, we were of no use to Golds Gym.

I felt embarrassed and awful for bringing her in to be questioned to no end, pressured and ultimately denied a work out- which was the entire reason she was there.I thought it necessary for customer service purposes to bring this to your attention to things like this do not happen again. I have never in my consumer life written a complaint to anyone or to any businesses but this was enough to warrant, at the very least, an email. Your response and rectification in this matter are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time,
Desiree Kniker

The response I got:

Ms. Kniker,

First, let me apologize for the actions bestowed upon you at the TechRidge location. It is true that our policies are that very standard in that every guest that visits our facilities go through a qualification process, including a goal analysis, assessment of one's fitness goals, and recommendation on future activities (many times asking a personal trainer to help in these assessments) in order to ensure that each guest gets all of the information to help them make an educated decision on fitness and Gold's Gym specifically. We also do specify that all guests using a guest pass be a first time visitor to any of our Austin locations in order for a trial pass to be activated. However, I am concerned at the way this was communicated as you expressed and want to do everything possible to ensure that we treat each member and their guests with utmost professionalism and customer service. As an organization, we pride ourselves on providing not only great facilities and amenities, but also true customer attention and provide a service that is unparallel. From your concerns, I feel that this may not have been executed to our standard and it will be addressed directly with Mr. Hazzah to prevent it from happening in the future. Our goal is to get as many members of this community to become active and leading a healthy lifestyle. It is evident that you are wanting the same for your friend and we would like to support you in this. I am not sure if your friend is still looking at trying our facility out, but I would like to offer a week trial (regardless of being a previous member) in order to see if we can motivate her to get involved in leading a healthier lifestyle in the future. If you are still wanting her to visit with you now or in the future, do not hesitate to let me know and I can issue this without any involvement from the management staff so that she can enjoy the full benefits of the facility without feeling pressured or uncomfortable coming in.

Again, this will be brought to the appropriate individual's attention and used as a training tool to help support our quest of perfect customer satisfaction with our organization. I thank you for bringing this to my attention as I would not be aware of any challenges that may occur if members did not voice their concerns. For this I am very appreciative and I am very apologetic for this happening with you and your friend. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can do to help if there are any other concerns or questions moving forward. Thank you very much for your time and patience.

Jay King
District Manager-Austin, TX
Gold's Gym International, Inc.
jking@ogldsgym.com