I'm just going to settle on 3 stars here, an average of all my experiences. Long story short, if…read moreyou go to the ER while you are here or shortly after, you have to immediately return with a copy of a doctor's note or email it. You need to do this asap and specify freezes on all services. If you have Kids Klub, END IT.
I went to Vivian who was there the last time I had an ER visit a couple years ago: this past December, I was injured again suddenly on site during a training appointment (due to my body/health situation, not my trainer or an exercise injury) and I let her know I was getting a ride to the ER this time instead of an ambulance, since it was a was a touch less urgent. She was responsive this day and seemed to enter the freezes correctly.
I dropped off the first note 2 days later to support a freeze for a couple months since a major surgery would get scheduled.
I was told I had an 8" growth and cancer in my blood and had to wait the entire winter holidays for further info until doctors were back in the hospital.
A few weeks later the billing began... I called Vivian and mentioned my bank was informed of my condition and knew to not pay the bills until a certain date. She laughed and said I'd be billed later anyways.
I felt like "I have cancer again, I could die this time with this huge growth. She's laughing at me."
I know it was not personal, but forgive me, I'll never forget the feeling of thinking I might die and getting this is the response while asking for help.
My health is poor after surviving breast cancer treatments in 2020 and they wrecked parts of my body but eradicated an aggressive form of breast cancer. I don't want to go into how bad the type is, but the odds are very bad with that type and they use the highest doses of their most aggressive chemo to eradicate the cancer.
That's why I struggle and have gone to the ER twice in a couple years. But working out improves my condition, so it's essential.
I'm so glad I found out a few days later that the current ER test was a misdiagnosis. I eventually received a big surgery, recovered and called in to sort out the bills that were waiting for me.
Because I was experienced in navigating the disorganized billing practices, it was a smaller bill this time. I reached a teleservice rep who had her manager Mark look into it and it was fixed after 3 phone calls for a full refund.
I know it's not personal. But I've decided that clearly this is not customer service at all. This is just workers, protecting themselves and the company and you just have to advocate super quick, do the footwork and calls and take notes, document, stay on it, trust nothing, stay positive and confirm and be persistent.
Most businesses exhibit hospitality and customer service at an average level. Often if a medical incident occurs you'll get a compassionate response and excellent customer care. Not here, you will get compassion at first and solutions that fall through. Then they will lose confidence and be strained but still attempt to help. Eventually, it requires an escalation and manager intervention to correct the situation. The in-gym customer service experience will be good about situational things like everyday interactions. But if your issue has ANYTHING to do with billing, there is no safety net no matter how serious your medical situation. Had I only had a normal membership instead of a training membership too, I probably could have just canceled or never been the wiser. I'm actually hopeful no one ever has to experience this zone that they are weak at. But if you do, stay flexible, positive, and stay on it. Good luck and good health!
I saw billing fees,
