Complaint Review: California Family Fitness - Randy And Larry Gury - Briana English - John Mallow - Michael Putnam

California Family Fitness has been voted Best of Sac health club for nine years in a row now. As one of four sent employees asked to represented them at the Best of Sac 2008 Party in 2008, I know. It's hosted by Sacramento Magazine to benefit the March of Dimes, at the Sacramento Convention Center. I was a Certified Personal Trainer at CalFit, with a B.S. in Exercise Biology, ACE-PT certified and a resume of experiences all pertaining to the field of health and fitness. I worked at several locations including Sunrise (Rancho Cordova), Howe (the Womens' only club), Orangevale, Carmichael/Arden, sold at 150% of I.O.A. my best month (for my size home-club, I was asked to sell $4000/mo. in personal training, at least $2000/mo. to stay), one of the few trainers to stay past the average turn-over, I learned all my duties well, taught them to new employees, learned Front Desk, Child Care, as well as many Fitness Manager duties as I wanted to master my job as well as be able to fill-in where there was a need.

I maintain the highest level of personal as well as professional ethics in all I do; it's what I do. I never pushed a sale to hit quota. I never tried to 'steal' potential clients from other trainers; if I came to chat with a member that was interested in training, I would ask if they were currently interested in any of our trainers and/or wanted help finding whom would best serve them - it's about them. So when I heard rumors about myself (sleeping around with members/co-workers, getting info. I shouldn't know by means of brown-nosing, etc.) I was appalled and immediately sought out the source - and 18-year-old, front desk girl who had been there for a year and had taken a liking to male members I would friendly-but-professionally talk to. I attempted to speak to her directly, but was completely cold shouldered. I went to the General Manager of Operations at the time, Heidi Cosmos. She had a private meeting with me, saying that the gossip couldn't be affecting more than 5% of my sales at best and to be the bigger person about it. At the time, I lived a city away, spending $50/4 days in gas for work alone. Even if only 5%, it seemed significant. I didn't want to be harsh on the girl so I did as told, eventually working hard enough to make enough to survive and exceed expectations. I would work 6 days a week, staying at work 12-15 hrs. a day. I loved my job, I thought I'd found my niche, found a company where I could flourish, helping people.

Upon starting with the company, I had requested a transfer to their at-the-time soon-to-be-open Natomas club (on Innovator Dr.) and with my performance as it was, told I was going for months. It was technically a transfer, but equal to a promotion with the newest club about to be the largest of the 14 locations, with so much potential for business, growth, etc. (contrasted with Sunrise, in an industrial area and not much traffic despite the fairly decent club size). Then, I ran into the head of the Fitness Dept. Mike Putnam, two weeks before my transfer date, while I was working out at the new club. He told me I wasn't going, that it had nothing to do with my performance, that my ethics were not in question, and that I hadn't done anything wrong. I left in tears and completely confused. Once I'd gathered myself, I called and requested an audience with him, the vice president, my general manager (who was transferring to the new club). A series of correspondences always left me questioning, them beating around the bush, and as a former assistant manager there told me "B.S.ing with me." I always sought to understand and resolve the matter professionally and with my integrity speaking for itself. I never thought that heart, truth, ethics, and people put first, I could suffer what I came to.

With the decreasing flow at Sunrise due to the season and all the attention going to the new club, the rumor mill continuously churning and slowly eroding my once-always-spotless name, it was discouraging. I was still training (being shadowed by) all these new trainers that went to Natomas and had to appear somewhat lighthearted. A sales person who had early on gotten in trouble and now had a sexual harassment suit over his head for asking if he could touch my a*s and telling me, "my brother likes...chicks. He'll give you a ride if you give him one" when I commented that they had nice motorcycles, now added to the rumor mill and further sullied my name in retaliation. I wondered if the rumors, albeit false, had members/co-workers/managers filing formal complaints about me. I sought so badly to figure out what I had done wrong. I went to their Corporate Office (making an appointment) to view my personnel file. A man named Allen in HR said that I could see my file any time. I looked through it and found that all my evaluations were at least 8/10 which my general manager had said once equaled "the ideal employee." My interview grades were in there as well with as well near perfect scores. I had less than 3 minor write-ups (which in this company seems to be rare) and absolutely no formal complaints from anyone about that which the rumors touched on - sexual exploits, favoritism, and the like. At that point, I asked Allen (assuming HR represents an impartial party) what my options were. He said he'd talked to Nick Gury about my coming today already and agreed with the VP's decision not to transfer me. He didn't give me any options and he, himself, went and dragged the VP from a meeting to come speak with me. I was given no incentive to stay, he turned and commented to Allen about how it was a boring meeting anyhow. I went through a box of tissues trying to discuss my options as well as why. He said that the potential for favoritism was why they weren't transferring me; to them, that's equal to favoritism. I said there was potential for corruption at every level. Nick, himself, was the son of the President, Larry Gury. They reiterated that I'd done nothing wrong, and they wanted to keep it that way. I expressed that I felt I was being punished for having done nothing; I wasn't even given a chance to go to the new club. I said I was fine with certain restrictions specific to me, put in place, such as selling all of my own PT, not having any help from sales people ("membership coordinators"), my fitness manager (who had also transferred from Sunrise to Natomas), or anything else I could do. They said no. I asked if there was anything else I could do to be at Natomas within any certain period of time. Nick said, "I don't have to give you a timeline. We don't make any promises about putting people anywhere." By this point, I had moved 3 locations to stay with this company and my job, as well as lost 6 months' worth of savings - that's how much I loved it and how much my heart was committed to this company. I was basically told that as long as that potential for favoritism existed, I would never be permitted to go to the new club.

I dreaded work every day, slowly more and more. It was depressing, fingers were pointing as there was nothing I could do to clear my name of gossip and favoritism by sexual favors. It made selling health and fitness and making a living exceedingly difficult and I did not understand why or how everyone higher up in the company had turned on me so quickly. They told me the last time I'd met with them that they'd been considering making me a fitness manager. I now spent 2 gallons of gas and 40 minutes each way, commuting to work. I had moved as they had told me I was relocating.

I never knew a company could break my heart so. No one knew what was going on; I had to tell everyone that I was not going to the new club, at the same time that I had no explanation for why. People distanced themselves as if I had brought it upon myself. Mike Putnam would lecture me on not being as gregarious as I used to be and not hitting numbers. I went to the new club on a day I had off, to work out. The general manager, Heidi, was my old general manager at Sunrise, so I stopped by the office to say "hi" and she told me I was not permitted to be on the grounds. I was shocked. I had nothing to say, I was appalled. I got up from my seat, went to the lockers to gather my things before heading out, and on my way out, found she had sent an assistant manager to escort me out. I was so hurt and further confused about the entire situation. I would understand if I had been threatening, called in a bomb threat, something criminal, but going to say hi and workout? To take my future in the company, now my dignity, I was baffled. I called the fitness director, Mike Putnam. I said, "I've just been escorted out of Natomas. I don't understand why." He said, "Just accept things as they are for now and I'll give you a call back." I was tearing so badly. He and Nick Gury called me, at which point, Nick began the phone conversation saying, "I am sick and tired of dealing with you. Every time you go there, you ask for meetings and cause trouble. Why can't you just let the members enjoy the club?" I rebutted that I had always helped members, reported equipment maintenance needs when there, helped out other trainers, and only requested a meeting once, when all of this had began. He said, "Well, didn't you go to ask to meet with Heidi today?" "I went to say hi and workout." He said, "My mistake, but I still keep hearing about you causing trouble every time you're there!" He ended the conversation with, "When told something by their superiors, good workers, good employees accept it! They don't question it!" I have always questioned that which is unjust/unethical.

I had already had practice reorganizing Quick Fit (circuit training) machines so I offered my current general manager help doing so with a set at Sunrise. I was helping physically move the machines with him when Mike Putnam showed up one day. He asked to meet with me after talking to the GM and again gave me a lecture on what I wasn't giving the members and clients. I said, respectfully, that I felt they were the only reason why I was still there. I asked him to give me a reason to stay - after suffering the consequences of having done nothing to the company, if not giving my all to them, and having moved thrice, lost savings, lost a good name due to rumors that no manager will address to those to start it. About some issues I brought up, he said he did not want to discuss specifics then and there (by this time, it seemed a routine answer to me) and about everything else, he said that they had been discussed and decisions made. He and Nick had seemed nonchalant about my being escorted out of the new club. My current managers, after calling to find out why I was distraught, were told that it was a mistake - one of them had forgotten to tell me I was no longer permitted on the premises; but neither Mike or Nick had addressed it or apologized for any trouble, merely spoken of all things being my fault. Talking to Mike at Sunrise, I ended the conversation with, "Well, I guess I have some decisions to make about where I would serve the best interests." As a life goal, I have always sought to be where I would best serve the greatest number of people. I made up my mind then, after months on end of poor treatment and no future potential within the company (at best, financially treading water provided they didn't do anything else to me), to take the weekend to organize my thoughts and figure out where my path lay as it was not with CalFit. I put in my two weeks and left, even respectfully, professionally e-mailing any and all management and Corporate members a thank you for letting me work there.

Now, I'm sure there are good trainers, managers, Corporate members - individuals with good hearts and the best interests of the people, involved, but overall, I have never put so much into an organization and had so much of my heart torn from me, especially in the field of health and fitness - my passion. I felt so bad about leaving my clients who loved me, but they sympathized and wished me well, encouraging me to find where I would better serve and be appreciated. I made sure to take care of all their paperwork, speaking to trainers I had trained and specifically chosen to pass them onto; I also said goodbye to members and co-workers that knew and understood how bad company politics can get and encouraged me to go elsewhere, citing that they would when they finally ran into enough headbutts with the owners of the company and their associates. I will miss the good company, the ambiance and clean equipment opportunites, but I have learned a harsh lesson in Corporate politics, their being able to do whatever they want for whatever reason - as my last manager there put it - without my having to do anything to disbenefit the company. My last general manager there stated that he had never seen a workplace with so much drama and rumors, to the extent that he was. I am quite frankly quite relieved to no longer represent CalFit, in all it's unethical, unprofessional, unjust, immature essence of the company, penetrating it's highest authorities. I am free to seek where I would best suit the best interests of the greatest number of people, via the venue of health and fitness, with my head and heart in agreement.

Anonymous
Rancho Cordova, California
U.S.A.