As someone who likes to stay in shape and workout regularly, I always love trying new methods of…read moreworkouts. I belong to the NAC and I take classes at BRIA method (which is AMAZING, you should check it out), RJS, and BeatSport Dance already. So when I saw this web special, I thought it would fun to check out.
This workout is KILLER. It was one of my favorite ways to workout and keeps your heart pumping, sweat dripping, and high energy, even when you're starting to feel run-down. It was so much fun, and it was intense. I seriously had the time of my life.
But-- there's always a but-- after this great workout with these seemingly friendly people, they bring you to the counter to check out, and share all of their "specials" with you for joining as a new member that day. At this point, I would have been more than happy to sign up, as I loved the workout, BUT I still had 4 more classes in my package, and I don't live as close as I would like to, and I wanted to first make sure I would actually use the membership by seeing how quickly I burned through my 4 classes. Also keep in mind, I am a college student, so that means not only do I have loads of money to burn through, but I spend my time between home and school.
After insisting there are studios by my school, the 3 trainers working that day attempted to bully me into buying a class pack. Something, I would have MAYBE considered, had they given me even a moment to think about. This maybe quickly turned into a HUGE NO after the guilt tactics and rude behavior displayed in the name of making a sale. When I told all three of them at once, "I'm sorry, but I don't know if I'm ready to make such a commitment when I am apart of 3 other gyms currently" one of the staff members very rudely cut in with "Well, you're obviously not using them". To which if I wanted to rude back, I could have replied "okay well then I obviously won't use yours either", but instead I just explained once again that I like to try new things and spice up my workouts. Then I was asked quite rudely again by another staffer "then why did you even come here" and that was what killed the sale for me. Thank god I don't respond well to being bullied into buying things, because many people I know would allow this to push them into these unfair and unrealistic prices.
And upon further inspection, I realized there are multiple reasons they don't give you a moment to think about what your signing up for:
1. This place is a money pit, all of the things they do are geared toward making money, not necessarily in your best interest. I'm not saying all gyms aren't like this, but they are more insidious about it and make promises of a family-like experience. Family would never speak to me the way these staff members did.
2. The price for the classes is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. If I weren't someone who likes to go around and visit new gyms and try new things, I would believe them when they lied about how great of a price it is, and how affordable this is in comparison to other places. Since I am a little more savvy in this department, I knew almost immediately that its a ripoff.
**PLEASE NOTE: I don't have the exact price list in front of me, these are estimates based off my memory from the visit, they may be slightly higher or lower**
3. There's a reason they don't even post their prices anywhere online. If consumers had more than the 5 minutes they spend trying to sell you on it and prevent you from actually thinking about the amount of money you're about to spend for classes that your might not even use, they would NEVER sign up for this place. Even after they "knock down" the $150 (or whatever the real number is) new-member fee to $75 or so dollars, you still have to buy either a 10 class pass--which (even after they 'discounted' it for students) was still upward of $300-- or memberships which are upward of $125 a month-- and the $125 membership doesn't even include unlimited classes. I don't have the authority to spend such amounts on my credit card without at least thinking about it first.
4. After leaving the leaving the door from your first class, all of these deals expire and you can no longer purchase "cheaper" classes and they skyrocket to even higher. This is a ploy to pressure you into buying the classes at that moment and sign a 7 or 12 month commitment that has a NO CANCELLATION POLICY, so if you do realize you were ripped off and want to pull the plug, you will lose all of your money.
BOTTOM LINE FOR GROUPON/WEB SPECIAL USERS:
- Understand that the workout is great, and if you have money to spend, go for the classes because they are fun. But be prepared for the intimidation and guilt tactics. The staff is aggressive in trying to make a sale and in doing so, they will try to bully you and hurt your feelings into buying these passes. Don't be weak of mind and allow them to.
This awful behavior completely turned me off from the studio. I will not be returning