Jeff
Leavenworth,#2Consumer Comment
Sun, May 07, 2017
The above rebuttal to the author's information does not pass the litmus test. This is not to say, necessarily, that Jim Rosen's company intentionally takes a customer's money with no intent to deliver, but his shipping and repair/service processes are put in place to benefit Fitness Warehouses 4 Less, not the customer. Jim has done a good job of writing his company policies (as described in the invoice) to give him maximum flexibility to pick and choose when, where, and how he delivers merchandise and answers requests for service calls. For example, his invoices state a delivery timeline, but also express that it cannot always meet the timeline. In doing so, he's hoping to set the conditions for lawsuits and chargebacks. By using "qualifier" words such as "generally," "normally," "customarily," etc, Jim believes he can prove to a bank or a court that the customer agreed to the "possibility" that they will not receive the equipment in a timelly manner. Unfortunately for Jim, federal guidelines are cyrstal clear. No matter the language in a merchant's policy, merchant's must have a reasonable belief that they can deliver within the timeline expressed in their invoice, and if not, must deliver within 30 days of purchase. No amount of qualifier terms can override federal law. Jim will do his best to convince you that this is not the case, but it simply is.
If Jim made clear in his policies and contracts that there is a better than not chance that you wont receive your order in a timely fashion, and if Jim made clear that his company's policies are constructed to increase revenue at the expense of customers, he would have a much better reputation. However, Jim will never take this approach because he knows his profit margins would suffer immensely. Moreover, Jim goes the extreme in trying to convince his customers that his company is committed to customer service and satisfaction, but the metrics say otherwise. Most insurance providers have in their employee manuals instructions to always attempt to deny their clients compensation, as half of all policy holders will accept the decision. Similarly, Jim will ALWAYS deny the customer's first, second, and third attempts to exercise the "lifetime warranty" he sells, because he knows that most of his customers won't fight the decision. Only when a customer threatens a lawsuit or chargeback dispute will he respond, and it won't be pretty. He will still try to convince you that the problem with your equipment isn't covered under his warranty, and when you prove otherwise, he will either agree to address the problem but not follow through, or he will charge most of the expense (technician travel costs, shipping, cost of the item) to the customer. In other words, he may arrange the visit, but you will cover all of the costs. If you follow through on a chargeback, be ready for a fight. Jim and his staff with threaten, harass, and manipulate you until you concede. My advice? Don't concede. If Jim truly believed he would win the chareback dispute/lawsuit, he wouldn allow it to run its course. He knows he's in the wrong, so of course, he won't take this approach.
Since I filed my chargeback dispute, Jim and his staff have threatened, on three occasions, to file suit agianst me and to report me to the credit bureaus. To date, he has yet to do so. Why? Because he knows he won't win. He's hoping I will redact the dispute so he can keep my money. Stick to your guns folks, and you'll get your money back.
JesseMen
Los Angeles,#3UPDATE Employee
Mon, July 13, 2015
After 3 years of working for Fitness Blowout and working alongside Jim Rosen I decided it was time I gave my two cents about the previous report and how absurd and over exaggerated it really is.
But first a little about Jim Rosen,
Who is Jim Rosen you may ask?
Well… I’m not going to sit here and say he’s perfect or make him out to be a saint, because I don’t believe any one of us can actually say we are. What I will say is that after 3 years I have seen this man rise to many occasions and come up with impossible solutions for his customers by helping accommodate their needs. He has always lead by example, and is the first in and the last to leave the office. Not only is he one of the smartest business men I have ever met, but is also a caring family man. He originally stared Fitness Blowout 30 years ago to provide quality fitness equipment to residential homes at a much lower price tag making it affordable for the average Joe like you and me to be able to afford his or her own gym in the comfort of our homes.
Now a little about Fitness Blowout!
Products and services are not a scam!
As the National Sales Director my job is to inform customer about the best option for their needs. Not once have I lied to a customer and lead them with false intensions or sold a product or service that I considered to be "shady" or "fake".
The warranties we offer save hundreds of dollars to customers and no monetary gain goes to anyone’s pocket but back to servicing the customers unit. We do not "force' customers to purchase any floor mats they do not need but recommend them based on the flooring. Most customers tend to place treadmills on carpet and don’t realize treadmill motors will suck up anything within a 2 foot radius including carpet fibers which will eventually clog up and burn your motor. This can potentially void your warranty because this is considered improper care of your treadmill, think of it like driving a car without a hood eventually enough road debris will get in there and clog something/ Now, declining a floor mat will not void any of our warranties, but it is something both us and the manufacture recommend to help protect and extend the life of the machine.
As for our Certifies Pre Owned Products they are the best pre owned machines available on the market. These units do not come from places of high usage and typically come small studios, private settings or medical offices. We hand pick all our pre owned equipment after they go through a detailed inspection process to determine the quality. Only 1% off all equipment qualifies for certification and goes through an equivalent process that Mercedes and BMW put their Certified Pre Owned vehicles through which is why we back them up with a lifetime warranty.
Highly trained employees!
Our company is composed of industry leading experts. I myself have been in the fitness industry for the past 15 years and before coming to Fitness Blowout was a general manager for the top health clubs in Los Angeles as well as a consultant for private health clubs across the US and Mexico. We all have a background within the industry and work closely with government facilities, universities, rehab centers, hospitals and health clubs. I can assure you that anyone with a quarter of my knowledge would not be able to perform my duties. We work with many customers who require special knowledge of the anatomy of the human body and a wrong recommendation will not only cost them thousands of dollars but also put them at risk. Jim Rosen himself oversees and manages all employees and is constantly training them to better help his customers.
As for employee turn around I have never seen a happier group of people. I’ve worked in many places and this is the most positive work environment I have ever worked in. We may not be able to call ourselves perfect but at the end of the day we are a productive company with employees who have been here for over 20 years.
Bottom Line
I can sit here all day and go over the previous report that was falsely fabricated, but bottom line everything that was written about Jim Rosen and his company in the previous report was by a disgruntled employee who did not get their way and was let go for not following the companies policies but most importantly did not share Jim's ethics and morals. Said employee took it upon them self to take a personal stab at Jim by flashing false claims about his life and his company.