I need to start off by saying that I firmly believe in the concept of the YMCA in general. A clean, safe, friendly place to exercise and enjoy physical activities, in a non competitive, low stress environment. I have experienced this at other YMCAs in the past. Unfortunately that is not the case with this location.
I too, was a member when it was known as the Richport YMCA, and this LaGrange location pales in comparison.
I found some employees to be helpful (especially Linda), but others to be rude and on one occasion, belittling.
When I initially joined, I told the person who signed me up that I was especially looking forward to taking classes. She never told me that the majority of classes have a limited number of persons admitted due to lack of space, and that I needed to obtain a number from the front desk in order to attend the class.
I arrived the day of my class 20 minutes early, out of eager anticipation. I waited patiently for the class to begin, only to be told I couldn't participate because I failed to get a number from the front desk and now the class was full. This was never mentioned to me when I was signing up . WTF? I had specifically mentioned my intention to take classes. Boo. Poor customer service.
Also, the bathroom/locker room isn't as clean as it should be. It's quite small, so in theory it should be easy for staff to maintain. At various times I have seen bottles and cans, used band aids and other debris littered around, both before and after my work out. I guess nobody checks throughout the day for cleanliness. For at least five days straight there was a Gatorade cooler with the top off, filled with both dirty water and tissue in the handicap stall. Gross! Was it collecting rain water dripping from the roof? Was it a student science experiment? I don't know, but I do know it was icky and should not have been there.
I have been on the treadmills numerous times and experienced "muscle heads" slamming weights down with such force that I could feel and hear it through my earphones. I mentioned it to an employee, and she just shrugged.
I have not found this particular YMCA to be welcoming or helpful. I am not interested in working out around macho guys who slam weights around. I just want a clean friendly place. Perhaps I should look elsewhere. read more