I contacted corporate regarding how I was treated and was assured that I would hear from the district manager the following day. Today marks 3 weeks and still no response or an apology. I received a very informal response of approximately one sentence after writing a follow up email saying the district manager would investigate. I patiently waited before posting this review. LA Fitness, you dropped the ball.
April 9, 2019
Dear Mr. S----:
I'm writing to you regarding an incident that took place at the Patchogue LA Fitness at approximately 5:20 PM today.
I have been a member of LA Fitness for the past two years. During that time I have always held the family membership. Today I visited the location and arrived early to attend a Cycle class that I had reserved online since it is often full. When I entered the location with my daughter, I approached the front desk where a young lady was seated and checked me in. The machine beeped and I proceeded around the desk to enjoy my class. There was also a gentleman seated behind the desk who was talking to another female standing on the other side of the counter. He immediately got up and discontinued his conversation and summoned me back to the desk. At that point, he informed me that I didn't have guest privileges and that my daughter would have to sign in on her own. I stated that I have always had the family membership and that I've never had an issue. He emphatically stated at least two additional times that I did not have guest privileges. Finally, he asked me to scan the barcode again. While doing so. I also recited my phone number so he could use that as another means to confirm my identity. He asked me if I had two cards and I told him no and that my keys had never even left my hand. I held the keys up to show him that there was only one LA Fitness card on my keychain. He went into the computer history and showed me that my card had initially come up as belonging to someone named Shirley. I stated that I had no idea who that person was. As he walked away in a dismissive manner he said, "You can go." I stood there for a moment quite perplexed and embarrassed by the way I had been treated, especially in front of my daughter. I looked at the young lady behind the counter and said, "It would have been nice of him to apologize." She said nothing and just looked down.
As I walked around the counter I said, "Excuse me. I understand that it was a computer error, but it would have been nice if you had apologized."
He rudely said, "For what? There's no reason for me to apologize."
At that point, I could see that an attempt to express my dismay had fallen on deaf ears, so I asked him for his name. He curtly said, "As you can see, I'm working with another customer. You'll have to wait until I'm finished."
I informed him that I would be filing a formal complaint and wanted to ensure that I had his name. I continued to ask him for his name and he repeatedly refused to give it to me and insisted that I wait. It was nearing the class start time and I was concerned that he would be gone for the day if I attempted to return after the class was over. I reminded him that he had immediately left the same customer to intervene when he thought I was attempting to enter the facility with my daughter without authorization. At that point, I took out my phone to take a picture of him in an effort to ensure that I was able to properly identify the employee who had treated me so poorly. He asked me to delete the picture and I refused and explained that I would not have taken the picture had he simply provided me with his name. He said, "That is against the law." I said, "I know the law with regard to this. I just can't believe how I'm being treated." At that point, I informed my daughter that we would be leaving. After all, the class had already started and the entire debacle had defeated our motivation and desire to remain on the premises.
Since becoming a member of LA Fitness, I have only been greeted with the utmost respect. I was also completely satisfied with how the rep showed compassion as I shared my frustration with her when I contacted corporate. When I provided the physical description of the gentleman, she said his name might be Vaughn who happens to be one of the club managers. I have attached his picture for your review. I am deeply disappointed in how I was treated today at the Patchogue location. It was apparent that the young lady at the counter was in a subordinate role so I understood how she struggled to maintain her integrity when faced with such an uncomfortable situation. His conduct, however, was extremely unprofessional and certainly reflected poorly on LA Fitness
today. I look forward to hearing from you. read more