Honestly, I hate myself for joining this particular gym. Gold's Gym...it leaves a bitter taste on my tongue. It's so pretentious in there. Maybe that's just a gym thing in general. Everyone has an over-inflated sense of self-worth because they just jogged on a treadmill and pumped some iron, dude. LOOK AT ME, I'M RIPPED! Why are you yelling at me in all caps? I don't care how many reps you did, can't you see I have my hater blockers in and I don't want to talk to anyone? Anyways, I was totally conned into getting this membership. Let me tell you how the old bait and switch works at Gold's Gym.
Full disclosure, I'm hating on Gold's Gym and yes, I am a member. But this is my real experience with these people and I guarantee this is how they will treat you too so...buyer beware. I walked in just to get an idea about what pricing options they had for membership. Doing some research, every gym seems to be about a $50 membership fee and $30 a month so that's what I was expecting to invest in. I'm going to fast forward through the boring stuff - paper work, interview questions, tour. The facility is pretty nice, no doubt. It had a good variety and that's what I wanted.
So she finally sits me down and runs through the "special one time offer only today now or never deal" that corporate was offering to "just me". You know how it goes, commit today and we'll slash $400 gazillion dollars from our regular prices! So what appealed to me was a $50 membership fee and then $30 a month for 18 months of membership. Like I said, industry standard and this was what I was shooting for. She even offered to off set my membership fee - $25 now and $25 in two weeks.
Here's the kicker. Those were the numbers she threw at me. The initial $50 and then $30 a month. I gave her my debit card to run the first $25 of the membership dues. Afterwards, she has me sign a digital pad - not actual physical paper. I didn't get to read anything. Then she slips in, "Sign here acknowledging the $20 semi-annual fee charged on January 1st and July 1st." I'm like, "Wait, what is this you want me to sign? A fee for what? You never told me about an upkeep fee." Her reply, "Oh, I thought I told you about that, I apologize. Just sign here." Me, "No, you didn't tell me. You told me that it would be $50 and then $30 a month. You never told me about any extra fees. That's bullshit, you need to tell people about these fees up front. It's deceptive and unethical to not tell people of a fee they will have to pay. What if I don't feel like I want to pay that extra money or what if I can't afford the extra fees? You didn't even give me the courtesy to make that decision." Her, "Oh, I apologize, I thought I told you about the fee."
Wow, really? What I should have done was told her to go to hell and give me my money back. That's worse than a used car salesman selling you a junker her knows will fall apart on you halfway down the road. So let me hate on Gold's Gym a little more - MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS A $40 PER YEAR FEE THAT THEY WILL TACK ON TO YOUR MEMBERSHIP. They claim this is for new equipment and upkeep. My plan is to steal my $40 a year from them any way I can. Toilet paper, towels, soap, dumb bells, kettle balls...anything that's not bolted down is free game. It's. On.
Anyways, went to the gym today because evidently, I'm one of those guys now. Ran two good miles on the treadmill and then did a few sets of pull ups and dips. Then I was outta there with the plan to mow the lawn while I still had energy. Well, it rained almost all day so I'll have to hit it tomorrow night. It's late, I'm chatting with Jay and I need to finish my homework or my shrink will have a fit. Later Days.
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