When Gym Membership Renewals Attack

Even though New Year's is a month past, gyms are still packed, with very diligent people trying to love their holiday weight. However, as we've noted before, not all gyms are that great with retaining their customers, and Noah Brier has detailed what Gothamist can only call insanity. A six-month member at the Kips Bay Crunch, he had headed over there to work out, but was told his membership was up. Then he asked if he could work out (since he was there and ready to), think about renewing, and then come back later to renew. But it's not that easy in Crunch World: Noah was told to either pay a $25 daily fee or renew for a whole year on the spot - $799. After arguing with Crunch management, Noah did what any sane person might do: Hightail it out of there and join NY Sports Club. Though the COO of Crunch did reply to Noah's complaint letter and offer a month of free membership to try it out, this sounds pretty close to Gothamist's dealings with Crunch, where many employees seem more ornery than they need to be.

Crunch was the target of a lawsuit from a man who claimed his trainer "pushed him too hard" and Ask Gothamist discussed various ways to lose weight.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on February 2, 2005 12:15 PM

Comments [rss]

wkarma

Unfortunately, trying to get a membership with these mid scale gyms is like visiting a cheesy used car dealership. If you been going to a gym for 6 months to a year and your membership expires, there is nothing wrong, in fact it is good guest service to let that member in. Perhaps not all of us comes to these gyms with our cash and credit cards to be stolen from their "no security" locker rooms. And to inconvenience an 9 to 5 worker on a Saturday when they are ready to blow off steam and relax, is inexcusable. And anyone on here, who has sided differently, have not a clue about customer service.

Matt

I am a reporter and am looking for sources who can talk about being ripped off by gyms in NYC.

What I am talking about is overbilling, double-billing, shady sales tactics, etc.

Please contact me at randomroomie@yahoo.com

Thanks

Matt

I am a reporter looking for sources who want to talk about their bad experiences with gyms in NYC. What I'm referring to is overbilling, double-billing, shady sales tactics, etc.

Please contact me at randomroomie@yahoo.com

Thanks

Matt

I am a reporter looking for sources who want to talk about their bad experiences with gyms in NYC. What I'm referring to is overbilling, double-billing, shady sales tactics, etc.

Please contact me at randomroomie@yahoo.com

Thanks

ryzoo

i just won a free year's membership at Crunch gym...something smells fishy though.

Bob Highlander

So let me get this straight, Noah. Your membership was expired, (which you had to be aware of unless you're a complete moron), and you wanted them to let you work out for free?

Do you go to Bloomingdale's and ask to wear a pair of jeans for a day before buying them?

C'mon Noah! You're not that naive! Crunch is a business and you were trying to take advantage of them...They caught you, and you bitched like the queen that you are!

Sean

He should respect the gyms policies. Bisiness arent required to have a "try (for FREE) before you buy" policy and we should not EXPECT them to give us freebies. For God sake, stop whinging, pay the casual fee(the money does go towards wages too, I bet you would not want to work for free), or join. They didn't force you (or any 3 year signing people) to join or sign up. The choice is yours. Business's work hard to provide employment for people and provide a service to satisfy the majority of people. There are always a few people (always loud too) that cant accept there systems. They can have whatever policies they like.

Jon

After reading the series of responses from everyone, I have noticed a few things. I believe this stems back to the guy who had a corporate membership, but doesn't work for the company anymore.

Dude, what do you expect (no work, no play). I was once a corporate member with Crunch, and one post had it correct. There was always something wrong in the system but they would always let me work out, and tell me to inform HR about it. Obviously, there is a little more to the story than what is being told.

Another thing people, I read another post about how they were suckered into a 3 year membership.......your the sucker that signed the membership. Should teach you to read before you sign anything.

oh, and one last thing. If the guy had been working out there for a few months already, then what was there to think about. You got the price....you knew what they had to offer, guess you had no real intentions. Or the intention of working out for FREE! Sucks for people who actually pay to workout!

BSK

Can someone give me an idea of what the initial fee for NYHRC is? We have a corporate discount through my company and the monthly fee is comparable to NYSC, but I would like to know how much I can expect to shell out at the beginning.

Thanks

Erin

My old roommate had to cancel her Crunch membership for health reasons, and even after the doctor's note, a series of phone calls, and a letter writing campaign, Crunch would still not cancel the contract. She wound up paying for 3-4 months that she didn't go to the gym.

jenene

i work out at crunch.

they totally suckered me into this huge contract when i first signed up for what i thought was 2 years... but then i called trying to figure out exactly how i COULD cancel if i wanted to, and it turns out it's 3 years! and i can't cancel unless i moved or have a doctors note of injury. it's insanity. and of course i, like many others don't have lawyer resources at my fingertips.

i think the way gyms behave are downright sleazy

contempt

Well I let my Crunch membership expire (13th St. location). What's surprising about Noah not knowing it was expiring, is that Crunch left me phone messages once a month for six months, 3 months before it was going to expire, and 3 months afterwards, to remind me to renew. It actually became annoying. But at least they made the effort and seriously took interest in re-signing me.

Maybe I should renew. But I am tempted by Equinox.

kyle

Newsflash: Crunch is now owned by Bally's. Bally's, as I recall, was lambasted by the NY Post a few years back for some unscrupulous membership policies. Caveat emptor!

Robin Lester

The 23rd St. NYHRC is fantastic (I am a member there now). The facilities are beautiful and the staff is very friendly. Plus, I got a better deal than an NYSC, PLUS a locker rental thrown in!

m-$

my corp membership is always acting wacky, and they never give me grief at Crunch...i went like two weeks with the thing saying payment due or something when i swiped in, and not once did they refuse me entry, always very friendly and accomodating...sounds like an isolated incident, or maybe mine is an isolated incident

MT

OKay, I gotta chime in here and plug Equinox for a good gym-going experience. I went to Crunch for years but decided to try Equinox about 5 years ago for a switch and have never looked back. All the branches are extremely well-equipped and always immaculate and I've always had great experiences with their customer service. The after work crowd can be a bit hectic at times, but all in all, I'd say it has to be one of the better gyms in the city.

tien

i think the advantage with NYHRC (i was never a member, but my mom was) is they all had pools. also, she was telling me that the member fees are always charged on a yearly basis, which is kind of hard for those living paycheck to paycheck. i think at one point, we figured that she was only paying a little monthly than i was at nysc.

hijiki

noah, i think you're totally justified in this. you pay crunch a lot of money to manage your membership responsibly including a smooth renewal process. you have every right to expect them to notify you of an impending deadline. how hard can it be to do that once a year... they have the database right there in front of them. that's just how businesses run these days.

Maxine

I can totally agree with you that NYHRC is great! I have been a member there for almost a year now and have no complaints about anything...they have a friendly staff and have a great facility (I use the one on 56th Street)

BrianVan

If we're plugging good gyms:

NYHRC (Health & Racquet Club) is absolutely fantastic, but expensive. I had a very good experience with them recently, which was all the more reason why it was a heartbreak to make a budgetary decision to let my membership lapse without renewal. They really have much to offer, and I absolutely regret that I didn't explore some of their classes or extra-cardiovascular activities (like the cruises and weekend getaways). Some of their facilities are gorgeous, and most are easily accessible. I went swimming all the time because of them, and it got me in great shape.

NYSC is a middle-of-the-pack gym; very reasonable in terms of cost, but there are definitely some quality issues here and there. Most of my problems dealt with crowding and lackluster facilities; while it's far from being a hellhole gym chain, I always felt slightly restricted in their clubs. I'm just picky like that, though.

Want a hellhole for cheap? Dolphin on 42nd (between Park/Madison? or in the close vicinity). For $20 a month, you can have your very own prison gym experience. No girls, minimal cardio, and none of the pansy stuff. Just ripped carpets, sketchy locker rooms, and lots of heavy metal. If that's your workout thing, this is the place to go. (Hey, some people dig that. I admit to being a man-flake, making nervous jokes about steroids and sewer rats in any gym where I can't see my reflection in the chrome on the barbells.)