Worst Gym Experience?

I really doubt the staff would point you out and laugh. Are you sure you weren't imagining it?

Write to the manager and complain!

I find it shocking that you even have to wait until your contract is over. Either you didn't make your feeling clear enough on the matter to a manager or you are telling porkies.

^ This.

I don't know what it's like in America (I'm assuming you're from America?) but here in the UK you can just cancel direct debits. That's just unacceptable and you shouldn't take this laying down.

I had an appointment with a personal trainer for joining Planet Fitness a while ago, and was not in the best of shape at all. The personal trainer was this @ss of a guy who was showing me how the triceps weight machine worked and cheering me on for doing such a huge weight so well. When I looked in the mirror, he was pushing the machine so I was doing absolutely no work at all, because my triceps were wimpy. I wouldn't go back after that and cancelled my membership the next day (had to make sure I wasn't just over-reacting and truly was upset.)

Now I belong to another gym that has women's only centers. They're great and I wouldn't consider going anywhere else!

You definitely should contact the manager about this trainer. That is totally inappropriate for him to do, not to mention incredibly rude. If the manager won't do anything about it, like others said, write a strongly worded letter to the newspaper. Word of mouth can be very powerful, and the manager should do everything in his/her power to prevent that from happening. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that, and I hope it doesn't put you off of working out elsewhere!

As a former manager, I say get in contact, please! Good managers will definitely address your complaint with their employees, and work to see to it that you're compensated somehow for this sort of nonsense.

If the manager avoids or ignores you, go over his/her head. If it's a chain, there will be a manager beyond and probably another manager or two beyond that person as well. Just keep asking to speak with supervisors until you get things settled. Going public with your complaint can also be effective if management won't do anything. Don't just go to the papers--go to the Better Business Bureau and any other professional association that rates businesses, gyms, whatever.

I've never had bad experiences like that at gyms or with personal trainers, thank goodness, but if I did, I'd go right to the management. That is really poor and unprofessional behaviour. I think I'd want my contract cancelled, too...which is totally understandable and not at all unreasonable given the circumstances.

I'm trying to think what my worst gym experience would be, but I just can't come up with anything I consider to be really bad. Hmm. There are always those dumb guys who think they're trainers and want to tell everyone what they should be doing or how they should be doing it...haha. They're kinda funny, but also really annoying! Those dudes have been part of every single gym I've gone to. Also the guys who never wash their gym clothes, or those people who come in reeking of alcohol/garlic/whatever. UGH. But again, they're part of every gym I've ever been to.

Mine isn't how the gym treated me. Its just a pet peeve.
When 2 people (who come in together) cant get 2 treadmills next to each other - take one on either side of me and then proceed to have a full blown conversation "through" me - i was going to offer my treadmill up and switch but I was already 35 mins into a 60min run and didn't want to stop in the middle... they kept leaning foward to talk in front of me... aggh it was so frustrating and distracting... I know it is petty but really have a little consideration for those around you.
Oh yah and I love to see people working out but please dont wear the same shirt to the gym everyday without washing it.. the smell can also be quite distracting...

But I do think the OP should contact management about her issues. that is unacceptable. Good luck!!

My worst experience was at a Golds Gym.

The staff were rude and not helpful. They had like ten TV's (all terrible quality) and over half of them were showing the same thing one Saturday morning (KID'S CARTOONS WITH NO CHILDREN IN THE ROOM). I asked them to change the channel to the food network (knowing ahead of time that they had this channel). First they take over a half hour to even walk over to the t.v. After asking them a second and then third time, the guy goes over and dinks around with the t.v. for, I kid you not, 15 minutes. He gives up and says "I just can't find it. Sorry."

I would show up for classes that they had on the schedule (pilates) on Saturdays only to find out they cancelled them and did something else instead.

When I told them that their service was horrible and their customer service was horrible and I would like to cancel my membership, they inform me that the only way I can cancel is to show up on a weekday at very limited hours (when most people with regular jobs would be at work). When we (my husband and I) left, they just laughed and said "Let 'em walk..."

My husband had some choice 4-letter words for them.

Horrible experience. I would NEVER go back. The only time I did go back is to actually quit and to hand them a hand written letter explaining in very great detail what made Planet Fitness a better gym than theirs. Terrible.