Despite great strides made in the industry toward better business practices, it is still plagued by a not-so-good reputation because of the bad behavior of dishonest facility owners.
One example is a criminal case that was brought against Club 24 in Santa Maria, Calif. Club 24’s owners, Wilson Marx and Frank Smith, are facing felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly deducting unauthorized fees from members’ credit cards and bank accounts.
Another fitness center also faces charges over member payments and fees. Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett sued The East Hills Racquet and Fitness Club, operator of the Edgewood Tennis Fitness Club, because members didn’t get what they paid for. The facility closed abruptly in February, leading to complaints from members who already paid for memberships or tennis court time, but didn’t get refunds.
Yet another fitness center agreed to pay more than $32,000 in fines and restitution after the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office received complaints from people who purchased memberships before the facility’s ownership changed, but still had to pay new initiation fees. Planet Fitness, Lancaster, Pa., formerly Lancaster County Racquetball and Fitness Club, agreed to pay the fine to settle allegations that the fitness center failed to honor existing contracts after ownership was transferred.
These examples are not the only ones out there. Many fitness centers still make it quite difficult for members to quit, continuing to charge them for months because they didn’t go through the necessary “hoops.”
Illegal and sneaky (legal or not) business practices need to stop. People already find it difficult to join a fitness center. Knowing that it will also be difficult to leave, or that they will be charged “hidden fees,” will only add to their excuses to not join in the first place. These dishonest business owners hurt fitness centers everywhere, and contribute to the bad reputation that the industry suffers.
2 comments:
Hi Anne,
You site some good examples of unscrupulous and illegal behavior within the industry. However, what I find equally disturbing are the everyday examples.
This week I observed a guy who I'd casually talked to for a couple of weeks.
I watched him put his heaviest weight on the bench press and struggle with poor technique to do one and a half reps.
I asked him why he didin't do a warm up and he said that he thought it would negatively impact his strength for his heavy attempts. I set him straight on the need for warming up.
Out of interest I observed the rest of his workout and witnesses 5 or 6 very fundamental mistakes which I also set him straight on.
He told me he had been training in that health club for 2 years getting programs regularly from the instructors and made some progress but wasn't entirely happy.
After 2 years he had no real understanding of fundamental training principles and was just blindly adhering to whatever was provided for him as an exercise program.
In my opinion it is equally dishonest for business owners to accept money (and continue to accept money) from customers and not provide them with safe and effective means of achieving their goals. Yet I see examples of this every day.
You make an excellent point! I hadn't thought about the "bad behavior" of fitness center owners and managers as including such obligations to members. But, you are right. If members pay for a service, they should not only expect to get that service, but expect that the information and workouts they are given are safe, appropriate and effective.
Thanks for your thoughts!
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