I've been kinda lurking fitness stores lately, thinking about buying a treadmill. You know, the highly original "New Year's" thing.
Having packed on 10+ pounds since my horrific yet glorious ball hockey injury, I was starting to feel the call. But still the call was weak. That is, until Yelp's Kick Butt Challenge was announced. Then the drumbeats grew, and with it the voice saying, "You are getting fat now, Nick. Put down that chicken wing and look in the mirror."
"It's time."
So.... here I am.
Go-Mango's website was showing a sale price on for a treadmill I was interested in ($800 off), so I more or less took the plunge via a couple of emails with Joe, the sales manager.
I stopped in after work to pay up (they are open until 8) and to schedule delivery & setup.
The delivery & setup was definitely worth the additional cost -- it saved me hauling a 300 pound beast to my basement, only to spend the next 3 hours figuring out how to wrestle it together.
(I should note: another fitness store I looked at only delivered to your front step, and after that it's your problem. I quickly eliminated them from consideration).
Back to the purchase: with the paperwork out of the way, Joe was more than happy to share some details about the business -- and this location (the Alberta head office) in particular.
The sale was already done, and he really didn't have to, but for peace of mind he wanted me to know that a significant chunk of their business is to police/fire departments, the defense department, etc. He said he likes to share details of the business for reassurance that it's a sound company, so no fears of them not being around to honor warranties in the future. Good to know.
Physically, the store itself is much larger than the Brendwood mall location I also visited, and as such has a pretty decent selection of gear--the type of gear I'd most likely want to own. A lot of it is commercial grade equipment.
My treadmill is rock solid, rated one of the best online, despite being on the cheaper end of what they carry... it was an excellent buy.
And as of this writing, I have yet to start using it as a clothes drying rack.
Yelp Kicks Butt 1/10 read more