It is with deep disappointment that I submit this review about Crunch Fitness - Dr. Phillips. For a…read morelong time, Crunch has been a place where I felt comfortable, focused, and welcomed -- a "home away from home." Unfortunately, my recent experience left me feeling humiliated, threatened, and unsafe.
One day, I was following my normal workout routine and minding my own business while using the ab machine. During my workout, I was approached by a young female employee at the gym. Without greeting me or introducing herself professionally, she stated, verbatim: "I know you like me, so give me 3 of your friends' phone numbers." She then handed me a referral card and said she would return shortly.
I was caught off guard by both the tone and nature of the interaction. Nonetheless, I continued my workout and began filling out some information on the card she provided. When she returned, she demanded my personal information. I responded by asking for her information as well, since she had approached me for marketing and referral purposes while I was exercising.
The employee then returned to the front desk area and began speaking with another employee named Wiss. Shortly afterward, Wiss approached me and insisted that I hand over the referral card containing my personal information. I declined, as I did not feel comfortable providing personal information after the interaction that had just occurred. I attempted to continue my workout peacefully and avoid further confrontation.
After this, Wiss began speaking negatively about me to another gym member who was using the machine next to mine. Once she walked away, I asked the gentleman cwhether ushe had been speaking about me. He advised me not to let it upset me and to ignore the situation.
I then moved to another machine to continue my workout in peace. Despite this, Wiss approached me again and stated that the other employee had "given her side of the story" and asked for mine. I explained that there was no conflict from my perspective: I had simply declined to provide personal information and continued my workout.
The situation escalated further when Wiss returned to the front desk and spoke with the original employee and a man identified to me as Marcos, who claimed to be a district manager. When I attempted to calmly explain what had happened, Marcos refused to listen and instead threatened to remove me from the gym. He also claimed there had been "multiple complaints" made about me, which was both shocking and completely inconsistent with my experience as a member. At no prior time had any employee ever raised any complaint or concern to me.
At this point, feeling uncomfortable and concerned for my own protection, I began recording the interaction on my phone. During this exchange, Marcos aggressively approached me in a manner I perceived as physically threatening. Rather than escalate the situation, I chose to disengage, leave the gym, and continue recording for my own safety.
As I exited the facility, the original employee began recording me on her personal phone while yelling obscenities, including "F*** you," making obscene gestures, and falsely accusing me of attempting to speak to minors. These statements were completely false and deeply damaging. I also observed Marcos continuing to approach me from behind while threatening to revoke my membership and behaving in a physically intimidating manner.
I left the gym without retaliating, raising my voice, or engaging in any physical confrontation. However, I left feeling shaken, humiliated, and genuinely concerned by the behavior displayed by multiple Crunch Fitness employees and management representatives.
No member should be subjected to harassment, intimidation, false accusations, or threatening behavior while simply trying to exercise peacefully.