Gym Memberships? A Short Story.
Ok guys so I just have to ask, does the whole negotiating a gym membership thing make anyone else sick to their stomach?
So here's the deal, this is my history of gym memberships and the contracts
1st Gym (durring highschool) I worked out a lot in the high school facilities as I was on the weightlifting team but during my junior year I decided I needed a gym outside of school and outside of my home gym...so we had a gym in that town that was from the 70s hadn't been updated since the 70s but it was huge had a pool hot tub sauna etc. That gym was awesome the only people who came in were the silver sneakers crew and all they used was the treadmills and watched the price is right...I could literally set up all the machines I wanted to use and no one changed them so I could do a circuit. Anyways that gym I came in took a tour the owner said with a school ID it was $27/month bam paid every month no maintenance fees no sign up
2nd gym was the college gym was great was like $30/month no sign up no negotiations came straight out of tuition
Fast forward to my mid 20s 25ish I sign on at a 24hr private place $20/month $40 sign up $40 maintenance. Place was Great until the partners split and the one owner closed the location 2min from my house down meaning I had to drive cross town.
4th Gym in my late 20s was 24hrs except Sat and Sunday it was almost as bad as PF they actually no longer have benches bc by getting rid of them it lowered their insurance premiums...(I know this as I'm friends with the owner) anyways it was close to my house and I went at like 2am bc of my job so it did the job...I also had a home squat rack bench curl bars etc....Anyways $20/month 0 sign up $40 maintenance right.
Ok so I recently moved right...time for a new gym...options were a 24hr mom and pop location...still has old school tv's and old equipment...problem ended up being the distance and no one ever picked up the phone which bothered me..next was our local Y unfortunately it too was to far and the hrs blow...then we have another private but its 90% old people so nope...then PF (Not a real gym)...so that left me with LA fitness
So I call LA fitness to setup a "tour" and talk about the "packages" they offer right...so I call...no one's available but the girl says they'll call me back in like 5mins...so 2hrs goes by...no call...so I call back...they transfer me...I set up an appointment right? 45mins later the first girl calls me back the one who said it'd be 5min...anyways I go in and the guy isn't there...so I get stuck with this girl she asks me a million questions does my assessment, hits on me...w/e..so we do the tour and she asks what's most important to me about the membership and how can she get me to sign up today...I said well to be honest I said I don't want to pay an insane amount of money upfront..I said I know u guys have to charge more because you don't do contracts but I said get that initial cost down for me...so she comes back with 3 plans the first one is $718 for 3yrs (clearly she didn't listen to what I said) the second was $99 down and $35 a month and finally the one I did after some negotiations was apapprox $150 down and $24 a month...Anyways as you can see above I've never had to pay more then about $40 upfront and I literally left after dropping over $200 (down plus first last and tax) feeling a little sick...I mean $200 isn't a ton but I hate negotiating...I know that even though I did ok...someone out there did better which means I'm paying more...Anyways what are your guys experiences I guess I'd just rather everyone pays a flat rate instead of negotiating
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Having worked at a gym I can say the more they get you to pay for an initiation fee the more they make in commission.
While many membership counselors are interested in the commission their main convern is hitting their number of sales per month.
IMO . They fear not hitting their numbers more than they lust for the commission.
Personal training staff is a different story. They get paid crap and want to sell packages and upgrades to get as much $ as they can. At some gyms they only get paid when they have clients and if the clients don't show they don't get paid.
Every gym is different though.
Thats nuts! That 200 you paid upfront is my whole year membership. And my gym has better weight lifting equipment than LA fitness and With out all the distractions (sauna, basketball courts, pool).
I just paid $300 for 12 months.
Did you at least get her number? Maybe she'll make it up to you
The whole concept pisses me off. When I joined my gym it started at $65 a month. I kept saying no. They dropped down finally to 35 a month, and my daughter has access. So I talk my workout partner into joining, and he walks out the door paying $19 a month.
They're both a 3 year contract.
The way these places typically work, you sign a contract and they get all of their money up front. The person selling you that contract is getting a commission on sales. You typically pay to a third party, which paid your membership to the gym upfront. It's truly like buying a car these days.
My buddy just negotiated a contract at LA. Took him about an hour of telling the guy "look man, I know you can do me better" and he knocked all the initiation fees off.
Sometimes you just gotta stonewall them. I agree it's annoying and tedious. But, is what it is.
First time I've heard of negotiating at the gym.. That's just ridiculous. Also when you pay 'maintenance' is that like a deposit you get back when you stop going?
Nah maintenance is what each member pays towards everyday eequipment wear and tear
Hey thats still a good haggle! Especially the longer you stay there.
My gym back home was 40/month with 50upfront fee, it had all the basics so I was OK with it. Once I moved they got kettle bells, speed equipment, monkey bars, sleds, tires and sledgehammers, the works. I was kind of upset haha
My gym in college was, as yours, part of tuition but during the breaks its was like 37$ a month no fees and it was probably the most awesome gym I have ever used to date. Only thing it was missing was kettle bells.
Now for my current gym it was 75$ regristration fee with paying first and last months 2 year contract. 45$ a month. The price is outrageous for the equipment I get. Poor A/C, very old/used DBs and plates. No bands. No kettlebells. DBs only go up to 80 (are you kidding me?!)