Anyone use Golds Gym (Past or present)

2fit4fat

All I have heard are horror stories about their insane contracts.. is this true? are they a good gym?! has anyone used their child care? any info on them or opinions (good or bad) is appreciated. :-) i am going to start their week trial tomorrow so ill get to know a bit but a week wont let me see the whole picture

TeresaC79

I use them. It is a two year contract. What is the "horror" you speak of?

I like it just fine. We use the kid care on weekends. It is a $1 per child a day for two hours of care. Or you can get an additional contract for $10 month/unlimited.

Also, don't let them charge you any more then $29 a month. They will tell you that the contracts are more, but it is really only $29/month. I kind of don't get why they do the "I'm going to give you a secret deal" thing

tsh0ck

they are just fine. have used them in the past for a bit. they have a contract just like anywhere else. so there's a fee if you break the contract, and if you go or not, they will take the money each month -- again, just like anyone.

I moved to a city that didn't have a gold's, and they waived my fee for canceling during the contract period, so I have no complaints.

2fit4fat

ive heard problems about moving so glad to hear you didnt have a problem-we may move out of the country depending on the next election :-)
also my husband and i could get a monthly membership at our rec center for 37 for both of us but it doesnt include childcare. i heard golds did.. is that not true?! do they keep their equipment clean and up to date? what about classes offered?

camelotss

I've been a member for a couple of months. I didn't sign a contract but was able to prepay 100 visits. I have a year to use it. It works out because I have a treadmill and other equipment at home..... but when I get bored with that and need something different I'll opt for the gym. No complaints about the gym.

2fit4fat

Wow! ill have to look into that! I have an elliptical at home so its more the weights im wanting :-) but would like them to have decent stuff in case i do just do my cardio there one day

PinkEarthMama

I used to WORK for them. It may depend on the gym. Some are @$$holes.

The local Gold's Gym refused to pay for overtime they required of their employees, and were famous for firing people during their highest paid week... and " losing " the paycheck. Eventually, employees just gave up.

The childcare here was ridiculous. No training. No cleaning. I wouldn't leave my child there again, EVER. It was randomly closed because they couldn't keep a staff person there. Staff often left the childcare ... leaving the children unattended or " with a friend " who had not been hired.

You weren't allowed to cancel your contract either. You had to send a REGISTERED LETTER with signature confirmation. Nothing in person would be accepted. Want to cancel because you're moving? WHO CARES. Having a baby? TOO BAD. Even if you want to cancel within an HOUR of signing up, the answer was no. Staff who were fired were forced to resume any contract they previously had with the gym.

The gym was often left unattended with ZERO staff. Get hurt? Your problem.

One year, they charged an extra $150 dollars to every gym member, with no warning.... for " gym upgrades " that had not taken place. This was not in ANY of the contracts. People were FURIOUS.... so the gym TURNED OFF IT'S PHONES AND EMAIL so people couldn't complain.

A second gym was supposed to open and contracts were pre-sold... hundreds of them. The second gym took a YEAR longer to complete, and people were forced to pay the pre-sold contracts despite not having a gym to go to.

2fit4fat

wow see with those luckily i do have several attorneys in my family so im sure i wouldnt have paid the whole year BUT i dont want to leave the country and have to fly back for courts and whatnot. maybe ill just do my local rec center. :-) going to check them out again tonight. now that i think about it they even have a childrens pool which is AWESOME! and a lot cheaper it seems. it will be interesting to see the differences in what they offer.

tsh0ck

all I had to do to prove the move was get them a copy of a utility bill with my name at the new address.

mrandolph69

Don't let any gym debit your checking account. That gives them the ability to keep debiting after you leave, something the unscrupulous ones will do in a heartbeat. If they insist then I would find another gym. Always pay in person each month or set up your bill-pay service to send them a check each month.

TeresaC79

I used to WORK for them. It may depend on the gym. Some are @$$holes.

The local Gold's Gym refused to pay for overtime they required of their employees, and were famous for firing people during their highest paid week... and " losing " the paycheck. Eventually, employees just gave up.

The childcare here was ridiculous. No training. No cleaning. I wouldn't leave my child there again, EVER. It was randomly closed because they couldn't keep a staff person there. Staff often left the childcare ... leaving the children unattended or " with a friend " who had not been hired.

You weren't allowed to cancel your contract either. You had to send a REGISTERED LETTER with signature confirmation. Nothing in person would be accepted. Want to cancel because you're moving? WHO CARES. Having a baby? TOO BAD. Even if you want to cancel within an HOUR of signing up, the answer was no. Staff who were fired were forced to resume any contract they previously had with the gym.

The gym was often left unattended with ZERO staff. Get hurt? Your problem.

One year, they charged an extra $150 dollars to every gym member, with no warning.... for " gym upgrades " that had not taken place. This was not in ANY of the contracts. People were FURIOUS.... so the gym TURNED OFF IT'S PHONES AND EMAIL so people couldn't complain.

A second gym was supposed to open and contracts were pre-sold... hundreds of them. The second gym took a YEAR longer to complete, and people were forced to pay the pre-sold contracts despite not having a gym to go to.

Gold's is a franchise, so I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that was the owners of YOUR gym and is not the case everywhere.

My gym never leaves the kids alone. They have to follow DHS rules as they are childcare. There are always employees everywhere.

spencerp2122

There is no way of cancelling unless you move more then 25 miles away from the nearest golds gym. I use them hear in Utah and I have had such difficulty with them and their payments. After this contract is up in august. I will be switching to another gym