First, let me preface this statement that I am horribly biased against
globo big box gyms since I am now a dedicated crossfitter. That being said, I am still a member at Gold's because I haven't had the time to
get the hell out of dodge cancel my membership. Once again, medical school interferes with life.
I haven't been to Gold's in a long time. Sure, it is conveniently located on the east side and was fairly cheap, but I began to notice some things there that I didn't care for.
#1 Trainer TurnoverThere were some very dedicated traditional trainers at Gold's. There were also some people with questionable certifications, poor people skills, poor training skills, and one
convicted sex offender. I went through 4 trainers there. I still have sessions owed to me. I'll pass on them. The trainers they have left there are terribly overscheduled and I would often only get 2/3 of my hour session.
#2 Scary ClientèleI noticed a growing number of members that would never workout and just sit and watch people. While there is nothing wrong with
oogling girls in spandex people-watching, it gets disturbing when it is done in a predatory manner. I also found it disturbing to not understand the language being spoken while the aforementioned
oogling people-watching occurred.
#3 Broken and Dirty EquipmentBroken lockers were quite common. It didn't look like these were over-use damages. These looked a lot like people who wanted to bypass locks and acquire the good within. Cardio machines would be perpetually out of service. On multiple occasions, I notified the front desk about machines that were out of service. Some remained so for
months upstairs.
Now these guys have the stones to
swindle me out of charge me more money for a
ghetto crappy gym. I have to call bullshit on that one. When I signed up (I am a charter member) I was told that the fee would never increase. Technically, they have not increased my monthly fee, they added an additional fee that
I never agreed to. Let's do some math.
Let's say that I pay $20 a month. (I pay more because of the childcare I don't use. Yes it is stupid and wasteful)
I would now have a $15 fee that would be paid twice yearly. 15x2=30
$30/year divided by 12 months 30/12 = $2.50
2.5/20 = 0.125
That means a 12.5% increase in money coming out of my pocket. Did I mention that I never agreed to this
bullshit fee? Some of you might say "Hey it's only $30 a year and you might get something extra from it! Cheapass!" My response is this:
Give me $30. You can paypal it to me here: ben@benweger.com While you are at it, I would like you to do it every year and I may or may not increase the amount you are giving me at any time. I will then use this money for something that you may or may not use. It would also go toward things that you would expect me to do with any money you are already giving me. Sound good? Great! While you are at it I have some magic beans for you.
Thus, this week's douchenozzle is Gold's Gym. Thank you for reminding me to cancel my membership and why I need to do it as soon as possible. Technorati Tags:
demotivator,
douchenozzle,
gold's gym,
surcharges