so i have starting using my gym membership again since the beginning of march in my first real serious effort to drop some weight from my large frame. I have had a membership for the past 10 years to 24 hr fitness but have used it on and off really. When my family first signed up we got several great discounts and promos since my dad is a government employee and my mom is a teacher (retired now though) we ended up paying 30/mo for the 3 of us and we had the membership that was good at any location as I went to various gyms around in the area and also some in nothern california as well. They had opened a new gym in my home town about a year ago which I had never visited myself, its about 1 mile from the location we had originally signed up at 10 years ago. The new gym has a basketball court and all. So the past 3 weeks when I was at home visiting my parents I went down to the gym over the weekends without any issues walked in, they scanned my card and i went about my business. This past weekend I went in on Friday no issues then on Saturday I went in and the kid working there (some girl maybe like 18-20 years old or so) told me I couldnt go to that gym. I asked her why and she said my membership wasnt valid at that location. I told her thats not true and that I have been coming to this gym the past 3 weekends including yesterday and never had an issue. She kept saying I couldnt go to this gym and that I had to upgrade my membership. I told her my dad been coming to this gym almost every morning since it opened and we are on the same account. She said she couldnt find my dads info on the account (which is a complete lie since when i started to go again in march the gym by my apt in LA was able to find my account including all the info on it with my parents in a second to get me a new card) She called a manager over right away and tried to get him to "upsell" my account so I could attend that gym. I told him that I know I have no restrictions because I have been to this gym before as well as other gyms in nor cal and other gyms in so cal since I live in LA. The girl buts in and says that this is a special gym because it has a basketball court and some 25 foot lap pool and some specs on this special pool they had. I told her that the gym I go to on a daily basis after work in beverly hills has a basketball court, it doesnt have a pool but it has raquetball courts which this "special" gym doesnt have. After arguing some more with the manager he saw that I did go to that gym in beverly hills and had come into this gym the past few weekends but whoever let me in "did so wrongly" and he told me that to upgrade to the ful 24 access type would be an extra 12 dollars a month. I started laughing because my share for my monthly membership is less than the upgrade fee, why would I pay double for something that I already have? After arguing some more he said he would "let me in this one time since I was already here" I went home and asked my dad and he said that he has been going to the new gym every weekday for at least the past 5 months and never had an issue getting in at that location, but last year someone at the original location where we had originally signed up tried to tell him his membership wasn't valid there and tried to up sell his account too. of course they didnt get far with my dad. Anyone else have their gym trying to scam more money out of them? what do they usually do? Or if someone has been employed at a gym is this something they get told to do? It was almost as if this girl working at the front table scanning peoples card was working on some sort of commission based system the way she came at me trying to up sell me and get the manager involved.
Having worked for 24 Hour Fitness, I can practically guarantee they were scamming you. The only thing I can think of is that your account is technically only for "Active or Below" clubs, and the one you're at sounds like a "Sport" (which is "better"). I'd just ignore it and hope it doesn't come up again.
Good to know. I just started on a temporary pass at the 24 Hour in Round Rock yesterday. I went last night and wasn't all that impressed. I think it's listed as being a "Sport" club. I'm debating between it and going back to Gold's on my wife's corporate membership. Gold's is cheaper and newer, but it's a 1-year contract. 24-hour is closer to the house and is month-to-month, but it's smaller and has older equipment.
thanks Nugs4 thats what they said that i am allowed only in active, but I have been to "sports" in Nor Cal and I used to always to to the "Sport" in puente hills years ago since that was the closest one with a bball court by my parents house (until this new one opened) without issue at all. I told them that, but they said I was allowed in wrongly....I told them "So you are telling me that I was able to go in over 20 times into that gym and each time I wasnt supposedly allowed to go in and they let me in?" The manager looked straight at me and said "they didnt do their job" me: "every single time" manager: "yeah" me: "you are full of ****" him: "please do not use language like that again otherwise I will ask you to leave for violating gym policies"
Honestly, just keep trying. Most of the front desk people are paid around $7 an hour, so they don't really care. I'm betting you had a sales counselor or a front desk manager covering the front while someone was on break when you got stopped. If it continues, you might be in trouble and have to upgrade to keep using the gym. When I worked there, they had a promo where employees could get friends memberships for $24 a month, access to all clubs. I knew I hated the job, so I took one of those for myself. I then quit my job there and enjoyed the new membership. However, the club's quality has gone downhill. Ours is ridiculously overcrowded (they closed the other one in town so now everyone's cramming into one) and have no plans to change it. If I wasn't moving soon, I'd cancel my membership.
If you have a costco membership, $299 for 2 years for any gym excluding the elite? whatever highest ranked gym.
You want to know your first step to success, before you even sign up for the gym? Spoiler You must tame the White Chocolate Kit Kat.
