Unfortunately I have a long relationship with CP, and it isn't good. But I take responsibility for…read moremy last go-round with them.
I was a member of CP in San Marcos CA twelve years ago. That studio, which was in North San Diego County was one of only two, the other was in downtown San Diego. They were the first CP studios, before the company sold out and started franchising.
The studio was huge, the instructors were really good, and the only merchandise they offered were water bottles and a few singlets. I loved working out there but then one my cats became very sick and on a Saturday morning, when I was signed up for a class, I called my vet who said she could come over to euthanize Peanut so she wouldn't suffer anymore. I canceled my class but it wasn't within the 12-hour time window, so they billed me $10, or maybe it was $15, I can't remember for sure now. But I do remember the manager's response. It was essentially: "Too bad." She had no empathy at all, could have cared less.
I moved back to MI in 2022 and in April of this year I joined the Club Pilates in Rochester Hills because it's less than five minutes from my house. I was a little, no more than a little, unhappy with the fact that the studio looks a lot like a boutique. Most of the front area is filled up with clothing and accessories. The studio is so cramped that walking between reformers and chairs is similar to walking down church aisles. There's about an inch, maybe two between the equipment to your right and your legs and the equipment to the left and your legs.
One of the instructors spent the entire class standing in one spot, playing with her hair. Another instructor, who was pretty good, would often spend most of the class at the back of the studio talking to a couple of the members about her life. Instructors often had trouble with the mic/sound system, so it was sometimes difficult to hear their instructions. Sometimes the music was so loud that you couldn't hear the instructions. I spoke with two members who told me that they'd been injured in a class.
I signed up for a three-month membership that I understood to be a trial. I signed up in the studio, everything was done electronically, as most things are nowadays, which is fine. However, I never received the contract via email, although I was told that I would.
I was taking six, sometimes seven classes a week, had signed up for classes through the 24th of the month of July. Then I had a family emergency, that required me to be out-of-town for an indefinite period of time. I canceled all the classes, and notified the studio via email that I was canceling, that I was going to have to be out-of-town on and off for weeks and wouldn't be renewing my membership. (The membership started April 22 and went through July 22). I did tell them in the message that when I could start taking classes again I would be going to McEntire Pilates, because I preferred smaller classes.
Club Pilates billed me for another month, through August 22: $260. I've gone round and round with the manager, and admit that I referred to her as a callous "you-know-what", to no avail. Over the past couple of days I've done research on CP parent company, Xpotential. What I found out isn't pretty. Hundreds and hundreds of lawsuits have been filed, all over the country, including a suit that the FTC filed, that the company lost.
Club Pilates is, as many former members have described on Reddit, Facebook and other platforms/social media, a predatory company that cares only about making money.
DO NOT JOIN CLUB PILATES! Find a small, local studio that's focused on you as a person, not as a consumer, a number.
Feel free to send me an email if you want more info about my experience(s).
