I canceled my membership today at 24 Hr Fitness Ft Worth and I think someone should know why. I am a figure competitor and have been hanging in gyms for 25 years and since this group of trainers and management came to 24 Hr I have not felt at home in this gym. I am a retired trainer who is no longer certified and workout with a friend of 15 years who is also a retired trainer. Naturally we count for each other and encourage each other and probably act like trainers because that is what we used to be. We don't try and get clients, because we don't want any, and we don't even tell people we were trainers. Evidently the trainers at this gym felt threatened by that and complained to the manager Brandt. We explained to him that we were both working out just like anyone else that nobody was training anybody and that out of 25 years of habit we still count and encourage and act like trainers. I am in really good shape and lots of people ask me to train them and I say “ am retired” and then I point out a 24 hr Fitness trainer and say that they would be glad to help them. I do this at least once a day.

Brandt is more concerned with making his employees happy instead of his members. He never smiles or says hi. Most of the trainers never smile or say hi. Lots of members complain that the staff is rude and they don't feel welcomed when they enter the club. Instead of Brandt coming to me and asking me politely what the situation was he comes straight up to me in the hall and immediately threatens to revoke my membership. I have felt that this club is hostile towards me because I am a competitor and has done nothing to be supportive of me in reaching my goals. If they are going to be rude and unsupportable fine but then to try and tell me who I can workout with and how often I can workout with them and even what body parts I can work out with that person is ludicrous.

My first complaint is regarding the handling of my membership. I signed up to join 24 hour fitness almost 3 years ago, in which most of those years I went to the gym 3-5 days a week. I went between the Tualitan gym and the Murray Scholls gym in Beaverton. I noticed signs up on the wall regarding the Tualitan gym having a "remodel". Little did I know, they were turning the gym into a Super Club. When I purchased my membership, I purchased an all club membership. I soon found out that my membership would no longer be valid at that gym and that I would have to pay an upfront fee and my dues would go up almost $30/month. I had paid an upfront fee and an ongoing $99 a year. I feel that it was unjustly and they should have grandfathered me in. They track the times you check in and new I went there frequently. This "oh well' attitude by the employees is wrong and the corporation should have lived up to the contract I signed.

On April 11th I was working out at the Pearl gym with a coworker of mine. She was running late so I started the weight workout before she got there. When she arrived she asked me to let her get caught up with me. Of course, I said yes. I even offered to hold her notebook and write down her sets. I was soon approached by an employee and another "off the clock" employee (two men) accusing me of being a personal trainer. I thought they were joking at first. I had just been doing my workout for the last 20 minutes next to the "off the clock" employee. I have no credentials and I am also not getting paid. I'm simply working out with a friend. In fact, my finance used a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness to help him continue physical therapy after his insurance quit paying. He would have had me do it if I was this personal trainer I was being accused of. Furthermore, I am a female that is 5'9" and 135 lbs. I don't think two men needed to confront me.

On top of it they did not even have the authority to approach me. After they stood there accusing and arguing with me for a few minutes. I asked for a manager. They stood there with there chests puffed out and arms crossed and told me to go find him and pointed toward the check in desk. When I found the assistant and club manager they apologized for their behavior and said they had not right to approach me. After this I asked my friend if I had done anything to provoke their aggressive behavior. She said that I was very calm and precise about why I was standing there and told them three times that I was not a personal trainer and the reason why I was standing there and holding the notebook. I am very angry about this. Over half the people in the weight area have a workout partner. Are we now not allowed to have a workout partner to help motivate us?

If I want to hold my friends damn notebook, there is no law nor written terms in our contracts stating that we can not workout with a friend. I have never been perceived as a personal trainer nor perceived myself as a personal trainer. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau for this unethical complaint. My request was a short suspension of the employees and my membership back at the Tualitan gym. I'm tired of these employees getting away with treating the members like crap. I have seen it happen to many others. Unfortunately, I can only file my own interactions. I go to the gym to workout the stress of the day and now it is stressful to go workout.

Like to sleep in on your weekends off? Like to not be a slave to answering your phone every hour when not at work? Not if 24 Hour Fitness wants to ask you again and again and one more time again if you paid your renewal -YES and while we're having this chat AGAIN do you want to upgrade your membership? This Sunday morning the calls started at 8:10 a.m. It's now noon and the calls are numbering four and rising. I know because I'm a customer the Do No Call Registry doesn't qualify. I've asked that they take me off their phone list , I don't owe them anything and I don't want anything more PERIOD but that service will take 24-72 hours. I was told that "Jamaica 24 Hour Fitness Financial" will continue calling me all weekend! I wish I could call the president of 24 Hour Fitness at home say next Sunday starting at 6:00a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and 9:a.m. and 11:00a.m. and...!

I have been a member of 24hourfitness for several years. You may have noticed that they are the worst of a very bad lot. The old scam is to get you in and get as many up front fees from you as they can (their sales commission) and then hope you don't ever show up. They do many things to encourage this behavior. You will notice that they never encourage you to come, don't maintain the equipment very well, never seem to have the right type of equipment people want to use. I point out elliptical machines in particular. These cost more than many others. If everyone came to the gyms regularly and maintained their memberships these clubs would be overwhelmed with people. You wouldn't be able to move inside. It is indeed a sad but well known fact by these companies that most people do not attend more than the first few weeks if that. Few people have the self discipline to continue these programs without encouragement.

This is a really sad commentary on the industry, but also very true. I have observed it for years. That is why complaints are never responded to, and why the, "give a shxx", attitude is nearly always prevalent. My advice: Steer clear of these corporations. They are the rip off cousins to the weight loss people.

I was a member at 24 Hour Fitness since 1997, and I am writing to give a brief detail about an unexpected situation that happened to me at club 304 in Houston recently.

I have been living in New York City for the past three years (where I cannot take advantage of my membership because there are no 24 hour locations here), yet I continued to pay my annual membership. For the holidays I went home to visit with my mom for Thanksgiving and didn’t hesitate to check out the 24 Hour Fitness that is located down the street from where my mom lives. However, the front desk attendant, Sandra, said I was not allowed to work-out at the facility because it was only for members who had a ‘Sports’ membership. Why would I pay $10 to workout when I pay an annual membership that I can’t even use regularly? After sending a complaint letter to the 24 Hour Fitness Headquarters, 2 representatives: Eric & Herbert, didn’t show any understanding and stood by their corporate policy that I must pay to upgrade my membership in order to workout at their ‘sports gym’. I gave them an opportunity to reconsider this decision and understand that I pay an annual membership that I cannot even take advantage of, but they still failed to see what was right – in my opinion. Thus, I am not continuing my membership and cannot believe that their customer relations department & managers at the gyms have no idea on how to treat members properly.