philip@qubix.UUCP (Philip Wang) (02/24/84)
I had a very similar experience from another fitness center,
the Superfit in Sunnyvale, CA.
It started in different way.
I have a good friend, he is a member of that fitness center.
I asked him if I could go to see that center, and he got a
guest pass for me to go there once, FREE. After I showed
them that pass, the same story started.
They gave me a tour, by an instructor, tought me how to use
and let me tried their machines. Then, brought me into a
small room with one of their guy sat near the door. (I was
sitting in the inside corner.) He asked me some questions
about my physical condition and my goal and then, started
pushing me to sign-up to be a member. The cheapest one he
showed me is $440 (about this amount), after an $100 deduction
for the first time visitor, for 18 mon. membership. When I
told them (the second guy showed after I refused to sign
several times.) that it is too much than my budge, they try
to persuade me to sign-up by offering a finance for my payment.
After I told them several times that my wife controls all of
our budge, they gave me 3 days to think about it and still
ould have the $100 bonus. Before I signed that agreement,
I did read the whole agreement very carefully, just like
what Mark Collows did. I brought a cancellation notice to
them before the deadline. They complained to my friend that
I asked to tried ALL machines and didn't sign-up. But I
really HATE someon push me to buy something. That's the
feeling I got from them.
By the way, my friend got his membership in $150/6 mon. by
arguing with them for a long time. He just extended his
membership to $430/3 yrs. That means he paid another $280
to get another 30 mon. membership. (Compare what he got with
what they tried to sell me. $430/36 mon. vs. $440/18 mon.)
Don't sign-up without bargaining with them.
--
Philip Wang @ QUBIX Graphic Systems, Inc., Saratoga, CA.
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...{ittvax,amd70}!qubix!philip
decwrl!qubix!philip@Berkeley.ARPAmsc@qubix.UUCP (Mark Callow) (02/28/84)
This is a story about the marketing practices of Family Fitness
Centers/Wallbangers Racquetball Clubs. The story related in the
following paragraphs happened to me a little over a year ago so my
memory of the numbers involved is a probably a little faulty. The
events remain as clear as if they had happened yesterday.
It all started with a phone call...
It came about 8:00pm one evening. A young woman was on the other
end. She offered me 30 day free trial membership in my local Family
Fitness Center. Now I had played racquetball there a few times with
a friend who was a member. They have very nice facilities and it is
only half-a-mile from my home so I was interested. Normally I cut
telephone sales attempts off as soon as I recognze what they are.
The woman gave me a code number and told me to go to the local FFC
within the next 3 days and give them that number and tell them I wanted
my free trial membership.
I duly went to the Family Fitness Center (aka Wallbangers Racquetball
Club) on Salmar Ave., Campbell, California, two evenings later. Three
people were at the reception desk: 2 men and a woman. The woman asked
me if she could help. I explained that I had come to sign up for my 30
days free trial membership and I gave her the code number. She said
fine and had me sign a guest book. The two men overheard and came to
introduce themselves.
One of the men started telling me about the club and took me on a tour
of the facilities which are very nice. He let me try some of the
exercise machines and he told me about the classes they offer etc. At
the conclusion of the tour he took me into a small room with a desk and
2 chairs. The room was arranged so that the desk was between the
visitor's chair and the door.
First of all he went through a questionaire with me to find out my then
fitness level and my exxercise goals and interests. This was designed
to determine what kind of workouts I should plan to do and how often
I should do them. Up to this point I was quite favourably impressed
with the whole place.
He then started in with high pressure sales tactics trying to sell me a
life membership for ~$1400. Actually he offered several different life
memberships (Gold, Silver, etc.) differing only in the amount you had
to pay each year to maintain the membership. Of course there was a
discount for immediate signup. The Gold membership would be $1000
instead of $1400. They would even finance it and charge me interest
for paying for something they wouldn't deliver to me for years!
I said that I just wanted the free trial membership I had been offered
and he just ignored me. He continued to pressure me in the classic
sales manner. He would ask why I didn't sign. I would raise some
objection and he would instantly produce a reason why that shouldn't
stop me. I told him, with increasing frequency, that I wasn't going to
sign anything until I had time to think about it in a calm atmosphere
away from his sales pressure. He kept pushing the immediate signup
discount.
After 15 minutes of this he finally realised he wasn't going to
persuade me to sign up. He then seemingly admitted defeat and asked if
I would fill in a questionnaire explaining why I hadn't signed up,
saying he would get into trouble with his boss if I didn't. I agreed.
I don't know why. He searched his desk then said he didn't have one of
the forms. He made a phone call and said "please bring me an xyz
form". (I don't remember the actual name.) That's all he said.
A minute or two later the second man who had been at the front desk
came in with some papers in hand. He started trying to pressure me
into buying. So now I had two people trying to make me sign-up.
Obviously the call for the "xyz" form was a prearranged signal. After
about 10 more minutes this second person, who appeared to be the more
senior, eventually decided he wasn't getting anywhere. He said he could
offer me this *special* deal, which allowed me to change my mind within
the next 48 hours.
By this time I was completely fed up. Having the two salesman plus a
desk between me and the door was intimidating enough to stop me just
getting up and walking out. I felt that the only way to get out was to
sign this agreement and cancel it as soon as possible. I duly read the
agreement (very carefully) and signed it. As soon as I got home I
wrote the appropriate cancellation notice to their head office together
with a strongly worded letter of complaint in which I said I would
never go back there even as a guest and that I would warn all my
friends. I've never heard a word from them since.
To cap it all, a few days later I discovered that under California's
Consumer Protection Laws one has the same number of hours as was
offered under this *special* deal to back out of any sales contract.
So, my friends be warned and keep away from Family Fitness Centers.
I suppose it's possible that Family Fitness Centers has changed its
practices in the last year. However because of this thoroughly
unpleasant experience they are on my blacklist forever.
My impression is that their membership plan is something like a pyramid
scheme in that they have to have a continuing supply of new members
in order to keep the money coming in. Eventually they will completely
overload the facilities unless of course people stop coming after a
couple of years which brings up questions about the value of a life
membership over a more usual annual membership plan. Of course I haven't
thought about these issues very carefully since I didn't sign-up.
--
From the Tardis of Mark Callow
msc@qubix.UUCP, decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA
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