La Fitness Body Of Change ripoff Missouri City Texas
I am filing this report on behalf of myself as well as a dozen of my dear neighbors in my community.
First of all, my experience with La Fitness has been one of the worst experiences from a business that I can remember. Their used car sales pitch gets worse every time I hear it.
Missouri City TX is a very small tight knit community. I have run into their sales people 7 times at local businesses during the last year. I have been approcached by them at places such as Home Depot, Target, Walmart and our local supermarkets. After the last two cases, HEB and Target, I was approached by them while I was shopping. I spoke to the manager both times about the solicitations and they were extremely concerned and disturbed. They attempted to locate the La Fitness employee, but each time they evaded the managers.
I also, during their pre opening phase called up their to inquire about memberships and to this day about a year later am still receiving harrassing phone calls.
They boasted to be the the biggest (false), the most affordable (really false) with the best customer service around (the biggest joke of all).
After they opened in Jannuary, I went into their facility to see for myself. Despite all of their boasts and claims to fame, their facility was filthy, hot tub was not functioning and the service was worse than buying a used car from a bum. This was within the first two weeks of their opening.
Their rate scheme. They told me during their pre opening phase that their rates were $149.00 to enroll and $34.95 per month, I still have thier mail ad to this day. They told me that they offered all of these free servies and that when the facility opened that the prices would increase dramatically.
When their ads came out when they opened I notice that their ads went down to $99.00 down with $29.95 per month. Even worse, I personally know of 5 people who have paid $49.00 down and another 8 who have paid $79.00 down with various monthly dues. I have a really good friend of mine who paid $19.95 per month for her and the same for her husband, I saw the contract myself? There is no consistancy with their pricing.
I ran into one of thier salesmen and when I asked him of the price differences he told me that it was because they worked off of commission and they received 25% of the sale, as long as the monthly dues was consistant with what La Fitness wanted, they could charge or give away as much as they wanted.
So, I laughed at him and asked him if I were a beautiful young lady who flirted with him if I would get a cheaper memberhip then most others? He said it would depend on how he was doing for the month and how much of he wanted to make off of the deal.
The young lady that I mentioned above who paid $19.95 per month showed me a photo of her child after his visit to their child area. Apparently the La daycare attendants are children themselves, they left this ladies infant son on a table unattended where he rolled off and completely lacerated his face in several places. She contacted the management and was met with hostility, denyal and an overall sense of "accidents happen". She since has cancelled her membership and joined elsewhere.
When she spoke to their corp. office there too she was met with hostitility. She also mentioned to me that when she joined by a man named seth, they said the daycare would be opened 7 days a week and it turned out to be open only 6. Further more she never paid extra for daycare with her $19.95, but 6 of my other friends pay up to $10.00 per month for the exact same service as she receives, but hers cost nothing.
I have a cousin that used to work for this company, and he said that it was the most bogus and corrupt company that he has ever been a part of, it took only two weeks for him to leave the company due to hostile environment. All they care about he mentioned are the sales numbers and they are instructed to do what ever it takes to secure a deal, whether it is to imbelish on the terms or conditions of the membership or by not giving out rate information over the phone to entice an actual visit to the faciltiy by the prospect.
Another of my friends had her car broken into there while she was working out there. She had her purse in her trunk, her lock was unlatched with a device, trunk opened and only here credit cards, ID and checks were removed from her purse. She notice the next morning when she attempted to make a purchase. When she spoke to the manager he was in her own words "worthless" while she was pleading for aide, he abruptly ended the conversation to tend to a potential new member and he told her to call him back, she since had left La Fit.
Now their personal training dept, Body of Change, that is an entirely different issue. A friend of my sons who is in highschool came over yesterday to boast about how he went to pick up his friend from La Fitness and was approached by the training manager and offered a job as a personal trainer??? This boy works out because of highschool but has no training degrees, experience or recognized credentials. He specifically stated that he was solicated by the head trainer by being complimented with his physique and the way that he carried himself. This child said that he had no certifications and was specifically told that he would receive training for the first weekend while on the job and would be certified by them. Are you kidding me.
This is what finally prompted these statements from me. How are you going to tell me that this child who does not even have a High School diploma is going to aide me or anybody else who might have diabetes, bi-pass or some other type of medical issue? Can you say liability waiting to happen.
That leads me to my next topic which are the contracts that these personal trainers hold members too. I have two friends that are under 1 year contracts for personal training. This story will amaze you, my friend joined up over a year ago and sighned up for a year of personal training (30 minute sessions), when he joined up he was promised 35 free sessions if he did the year contract, so he did. He has been passed to 7 different trainers since then, all of which are terrible in his own words.
He went in last month to speak to the training manager that sold him his training and my friend was told that he was fired recently. When he asked about his free sessions that were in writing on his contract, he was met with hostitility and confrontation. He was told that he didn't have to honor anything since he wasnt there when it was sold and furthermore the original trainer was no longer there and he was not going to be held accountable for deals that past employees did.....
Sounds like La Fitness is a ripoff to me, I will continue to search for a fitness center that is credible unlike the commercial La's and Bally's in the community. Like I said, I know a lot of people personally that joined up that facility and to this day which is about 6 months after they opened, not one of them are still members there. Do not fall for their pricing tricks or their boasts of service. It seems like once they take your money, things go down hill.
Bryan
missouri city, Texas
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on LA Fitness Body of Change
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Jax
Sugar Land,Texas,
U.S.A.
Make sure you get ALL of your facts straight.
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, January 28, 2007
Bryan,
I used to work for L.A. Fitness and quit because I can completely agree with most of what you said. I could not stand working in a gym that, for the most part, didn't care about it's members.
CORRECTION- You MUST be certified in order to be a Personal Train ANYWHERE. There is NO WAY that this person you are talking about was offered a position w/in Body of Change as a PERSONAL TRAINER. What they most likely approached him about was a SALES position w/in Body of Change and NO DEGREE is required for this. I take your comment to personal offence b/c I went through the long, rigorous, prgram with ISSA to get my certification as a Personal Trainer.
Also- MOST sales people are decieving and if peolple are naive they fall for it, which sucks because most people are. AND to let you know... there is NO CONTRACT when you sign up for a membership with L.A. Fitness. There is one free assessment with a personal trainer and then you make the individual choice to sign a contract with them.
I'm not defending L.A. Fitness. I did after all quit because I did not want to be a trainer there or even work @ the front. It sucks you had to go through that. I whole heartidly suggest 24 Hour Fitness. I went there for over 6 years before worked for L.A. and never had a bad experience. Otherwise, invest some free weights and start jogging.
Tony
Houston,Texas,
U.S.A.
sales pitch? ...or pick up line???
#8Consumer Comment
Sat, January 27, 2007
i sympathize w/ the creator of this article.
i've heard numerous people complain about similar issues.
although i have no complaints about the sales
dept or people working the front desk...or the childcare facility, for that matter...i think the BOC should be MIA!!!
i train (to clarify- i work out, not a trainer!) up there daily. i see and hear everything...and i mean EVERYTHING that goes on up there. as stated above, it's a relatively small community, and 'round here...people like to talk! call it a southern thang! haha!
anyway...regarding the trainers, who in their right mind would opt. to be trained by someone simply "certified", by the company?!
if i were to pay as much as their rates are...i'd require justifiable prerequisites and professional credentials! i've seen people that work out there that have approached me to ask for techniques...a week later, they're a trainer themself at the facility! are you kidding me?!
and as far as multiple trainers for one person?!
...come on! not only do the suggestions vary and techniques and opinions between people differ, how is someone ignorant to know what or who is better, right ..or remotely close to knowing what the h*** they're talking about.
the reality of the situation is, going on such a regular basis, i see the people daily and i'm telling you...i see more people NOT being trained resulting w/ more results than people that have been trained there for months!
their work ethic is REDICULOUS, at best!
you know what..call me old fashion...if you're training someone...TAKE YOUR D*** BLUETOOTH OUT OF YOUR EAR AND PAY ATTN!!!!
seriously, i feel bad for the people that get trained there! the trainers are constantly walking off of their respective client to make, well, what i like to call "small-talk", or to make another sell!
w/ respect to that, i understand they're salespeople as well and it goes w/ the job...i'm sure in their OJT, they concentrate on being aggressive, but if i pay you for a half hour session and you don't watch every muscle in my body and educate me thuroughly throughout, i emphasize, you'd undoubtably get a thurough earfull, to say the least!
GIVE YOUR CLIENT THE RESPECT THEY DESERVE!!!
i want to, at this point in time, say that i'm talking only of the LA in Mo. City, as i can't speak for any other. one thing that blows is, as discussed in the pre-construction phase, there would be numerous LA's in the area, i assumed comparable to 24/hr fitness (which was my own fault), there's no others in the area, so i'm
stuck at the same facility, a year later, w/
no alternative, unless i want to drive across town...but that's neither here nor there...
lastly, i'd like to point out that the comfort level of any mildly descent looking female is at a permanent LOW! i've heard on numerous occasions the trainers are relentless when it comes to giving you your "free session"! WHO ARE YOU KIDDING!?!?!?!?! this is nothing but an attempt to take advantage of their position as a trainer. my understanding is every girl up there feels nothing less that VIOLATED by their feeble attempts to go out w/ them!
i reitterate...NUMEROUS GIRLS!
i would commend anyone who's successful in that dept., however, if you're in your uniform, i believe you should conduct yourself maturely, responsibly and professionally.
the majority of the trainers there...again, i reitterate, the MAJORITY, are 0 for 0 in that dept.
at the end of the day, i would suggest a subscription to muscle & fitness or a reputable magazine or website i.e. askmen.com
for some strong work out techniques and don't be fooled by BOC. i have yet to see any gain or result on ANY of their clients, regardless of how long they've been trained.
having multiple trainers is another retarded idea...just as retarded as being trained by someone who was simply "certified" thru some POS training class and you're paying them more than you make, hourly, especially, if you're a professional yourself.
the gym itself is falling off. the mirrors in the men's restroom...what happened to those and why haven't they been there?!
hey trainers, or salespeople for that matter...it goes w/ the territory, get off your personal phone and pick up some weights! jesus fricken christ...that place is a wreck, DAILY!
yeah, it's the people using the gym leaving them on the floor, but it's YOUR GYM! you advertise it, you sell it...YOU CLEAN IT! we all have grunt work!
about the scale by the BOC counter...are you going to ever fix that thing? it's been out of commission for weeks. that's kind of a neccessity, don'tchya think?! hahaha!
i've recently quit there as a result of the bad vibe of the employees, the fact that there's only 1 in the area, the fact that literally dozens of cars are being broke into, on a regular basis, the gym's upkeep is lost & the music is crap.
and w/ the infidelity going on w/ the trainers and members, i don't want to be inside when some outraged husband comes in w/ an automatic machine gun and blows everyone in the gym away...LMAO!!!
to bryan, constructive criticism...spell check and grammerical errors.
there are (3) versions of their, they're and there...
1.their
2.they're
3.there
...learn them. i like your entry, but you crack me up! to come off alittle more professional and respectable, you should display it in your entry. i know mine is slang and nothing to use as an example, but i'm just talking sh** and bein' comedic...
i like the article as a whole though and agree w/ you in many aspects.
w/in the next month, i'll be joining either 24 hour fitness, one to one, or powerhouse.
spam on...
Juliet
Birmingham,Alabama,
U.S.A.
Not certified, no damaged babies!
#8Consumer Comment
Sun, January 07, 2007
The ex-employee seems to put a lot of emphasis on the fact that daycare employees are not certified daycare attendants.
I'm 41, no kids, but a lifetime of childcare. No certifications! Never had a baby roll of a table, EVER. Yes, accidents happen, and if someone had their baby roll off a table, I'm not screaming for Child Services to come out. But if you are EMPLOYED as a daycare attendant, what else do you think you should be doing but watching the baby, to make sure it doesn't roll off of a table? Certification is not needed for that!
Again, yes, accidents happen, and it only takes a split second, literally, for a baby to roll off a table. But the ex-employee seemed to put so much weight into distinguishing between CERTIFIED - who apparently never have accidents - and non-certified, I had to say something.
Having something like that happen to your baby when you have every reason to believe your child will be safe - that's a horrifying experience, I am certain. It wouldn't have made or broken LA Fitness to be nice to the mother, if indeed she was met with hostility, denial, and a cavalier "accidents happen" attitude.
I wonder what the ex-employee's defense would be if the daycare attendants WERE *certified*?
Ben
Glendale,Arizona,
U.S.A.
BOC requires certification
#8UPDATE Employee
Sun, January 07, 2007
Just a FYI, BOC does require certifications for trainers. If someone was approached about joining BOC, it was probably as a saleperson who recieves free OTJ training by BOC University(training camp for salespersons.) However, there is a list of acceptable certifications the BOC accepts and if you do not hold, or are currently testing for one of these certifications(most or all require CPR certs as well) you cannot train for BOC.
That's all folks.
-B
James
Brea,California,
U.S.A.
More than meets the eye
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, August 07, 2006
In response to the rates: Generally, the rates vary and can change at any given time without notice. The rates do in fact increase over time however in respect to the rates during the Grand Opening the club employee would not have known the rates in advance--they could have been higher or lower, it's all relative.
Those rates your friends were quoted or received cannot be compared to everyone else's. For example, a FAO (Family Add-On) rate is different from a primary member's rate which I believe is the $49 down plus monthly dues. Sometimes, quota are met by giving extremely low rates. However, what the employee stated that they can give any rates because they get 25% commission IS NOT TRUE. The system is built so that when an existing rate is altered by the salesman, it automatically pays them zero commission. Whether he can have his VP approve the rate is a different story. All in all, rates vary from member to member based on their what their circumstance or conditions (ie. whether their membership was transferred to LA Fitness as a result from an acquisition).
The attendants overlooking the Kids Klub area are not certified daycare attendants. Nor does LA Fitness advertise them to be CERTIFIED DAYCARE ATTENDANTS. The service is there should you need to have someone supervise your children during your workout. However, it is ultimately the parents responsibility to ensure their children is in a safe environment and well looked after. In respect to the rates for Kids Klub, again rates change at any given time and some rates do in fact offer Kids Klub for free and some do not.
Every company has bad seeds and LA Fitness does it's best to weed these seeds out. In addition, they try their very best to ensure that the members' experience in the clubs are to satisfactory and are welcomed by the cream of the crop. However, as you know, management cannot be present or overlook every little action their employees committ which is why they rely on members to bring any issues to their General Manager or voice their concern to the corporate office.
Body of Change, like you mentioned is a different entity--separate from LA Fitness. They have their own rules and policies in respect to training and how they run their business. If this is a concern to any existing members I'm sure LA Fitness would like to hear about it.
Bryan
Missouri City,Texas,
U.S.A.
Please read my msg. before you respond!
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, July 25, 2006
First of all, I am happy that you have found fitness success in Alabama, I am only speaking about the La Fitness clubs in south Texas. It seems that some of the employees of Alabama need to give lessions to the folks in Missouri City, TX. I know that their memberships are no contract, I never stated that they are. As for their so called personal trainers here, which by the way are jokes, they make you sign contracts for 30 minute sessions for up to a year, and that is if the trainer is still around. As for their website, under membership options, there are no rates at all, mabye look again. Mabye they used to be posted, but not now. As for their rate, Texans pay less, their membership starts at $29.95 per month with a $119.00 enrollment fee, now they seem to charge extra for racketball, child services and personal trainng. Once again, it is not that I am a member there and not finding success, I refuse to join these fools due to the fact that they are sleezy salesman and will do whatever it takes to gain commission, and that is according to many of my friends that used to belong there that no longer do! Oh, once again as mentioned in the previous report, there are members there paying $19.95 and $24.95 per month, I was offered $24.95 per month. There is absolutely no consistancy with these jokers, and unfortunately for us here, there are only other large commercial chains that are no better. I am glad that you are happy in Alabama, really, but the Texas La Fit clubs are a complete disaster!
Peter
Pony,Alabama,
U.S.A.
I love LA Fitness
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, July 21, 2006
I recently joined the new LA Fitness in Pony, Alabama, and boyohboy it is GREAT. None of the things you talk about are happening at this club, that is for sure. Pricing is the same for EVERYONE at EVERY LA Fitness. Check their website ... they are one of the ONLY clubs out there to actually post their rates online. It is currently $149.99 to join and $34.99 a month with NO contract. Can you believe that, they don't even require you to sign a contract!! I have a personal trainer too who is wonderful. I am sorry that you are not satisfied, but really, someone with diabetes and a triple bypass and a wodden leg should really consult with their PHYSICIAN, not some personal trainer whose credentials are not sufficient enough for such major medical concerns.
It sounds like you are finding things to be unhappy about. Since this gym does not have contracts, why don't you just end your membership and find a gym more suitable to your needs?