I have been a member since 2008 at this location and was always more than satisfied. After 2013, when the courts were installed, forget it. I have gotten in no less than 20 confrontations with people who refuse to put away weights, trainers who are disrespectful and management (who come to work in slippers!) who are usually too busy on their phones or eating fast food to really care about the clientele. This is a place that is worried more about attaining new customers than satisfying the ones they have. This gym is an absolute travesty and it's almost unfair we pay membership dues when you compare it to Brookhaven, Broomall and West Chester.
~ don't even think about using a toilet on a Sunday morning....it's likely got the filth from the previous Saturday night floating in the bowl. Generally, I have to walk next door to Target to use a facility. This is virtually every Sunday.
~ facility creates a bias towards certain clientele: they have a "personal training" area downstairs...I went to use an implement that wasn't in use (I always return equipment) and was berated by a trainer who then put his finger on my chest. Stephanie, however, who was there to hear me yell at the guy, "didn't see" that. Essentially, while you pay the same price as everyone else, there's a certain area that is "off-limits" and while there might be something that you'd like to use, even if nobody else is, you cannot. This is the only facility that will not exercise common sense in a given situation and let somebody use it.
~ I was told explicitly that they won't tell members to clean weights up anymore because of the "world we live in." True story. So if you want to warm up with an empty bar or an empty machine, if the meathead before you left six plates on, sorry, you're on your own (and as I said, asking people about this usually resorts in them confronting you).
~ lots of texting and talking on equipment (sometimes, two benches: one for you, one for your water bottle, keys, etc.) but not a lot of lifting.
~ equipment is dated and rarely updated
~ Sheila's 11am Saturday yoga class: awesome, except for the guy at the end who CLAPS at the end of the YOGA session and totally ruins your calm. He's there every week and if you're there to soothe your mind, just be prepared that before "Namaste" is even out of her mouth, he'll be clapping. Unbelievable.
~ if you need a particular handle, chances are you won't find it, and if you do, it's not in the place you need it. I bring my own because the daily wild goose chase got old. And because people arbitrarily tie knots in the D handles, they're all uneven and for me, unusable.
~ I was the victim of theft...however, the "cameras don't extend to that part of the gym."
~ kids left alone in the Kidz Club (another true story).
I could go on and on and on.
In short, there are other, better-run, cleaner gyms and while I love the convenience of this place, it's been taken down by a certain element of uncaring, uncooperative, corner-cutting people, and the district manager is largely unconcerned with customer satisfaction. When I had my theft incident, even after dealing with the police, he point blank asked me, "Why do you even want to go here?" I found that to be the fundamental mark of this particular facility, as it needs an overhaul of employees who can instill some sort of gym etiquette upstairs. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen, as there is never an employee up there.
Kindness and consideration at a gym shouldn't come at a premium. The culture of the people of this gym are a reflection of those who work here, and they're really just worried about their cell phones.
LA Fitness is losing a good customer here. The YMCA up the road blows this place out of the water, and I'd rather pay more for peace of mind than have my money taken from me and provided the bare minimum. read more