Harrow Leisure Centre — Attraction in London

Where should I start...

My experience here has been deeply disappointing. James, the manager, completely lacks customer service skills, and unfortunately, his attitude seems to reflect on the whole team. The staff are generally rude and unfriendly. The white lady at the front reception is especially rude to most people, and the man with the long beard at the membership enquiry desk is even worse — unhelpful and disrespectful.

That said, I want to acknowledge the few positive exceptions. There’s a young woman who wears a hijab and usually works in the evenings — she is always friendly and helpful. There was also a European lady who used to work at the membership desk who was kind, and the swimming teachers Peter and Angela are both lovely.

Aside from those individuals, my experience has been frustrating. I’ve even submitted a formal complaint about James, but no one ever responded. My son and I attend swimming lessons here, and communication is awful. When classes are cancelled, no one calls or informs us in advance — we only find out after making the trip and asking at reception.

The swimming classes are often overcrowded — sometimes 10 or 12 kids in a class meant for a maximum of 8. Even the teachers have raised concerns, but nothing changes. When we tried to move to an earlier class (as suggested by the teacher), the man at membership was no help at all. We had to call and sort it ourselves.

Then, at our first lesson in the new class, Angela (who had told us she’d be off) had no cover arranged. We waited 15 minutes before anyone even acknowledged the situation. A Black lady at reception tried to help, but after going to check, she never came back, and we eventually saw other parents leaving. No one apologised, and the class — which should’ve ended at 9:30 — was simply cancelled without notice.

While waiting, I witnessed more poor customer service. A man whose access card wasn’t working asked the front desk staff to let him in because he was running late. The same rude receptionist ignored him, and when he commented, “Oh yes, I’m invisible here,” she still didn’t respond.

On top of all this, the facilities are not maintained properly. The toilets are dirty, with tissues often on the floor, and the changing rooms are disgusting.

We pay for this service, and it’s simply not acceptable. I’ve now cancelled my direct debit for both myself and my son. I’m writing this to let others know about my experience and to urge you: please avoid this place until there is proper management and serious...

I had booked a badminton session for that time slot, and there were four people participating: me, my wife, my son, and my friend. As usual, we did some warm-ups, practiced, and played games.

Midway through our session, the day duty manager and a lady approached us on the court. He looked intimidating and was holding a very long red screwdriver. Given recent confrontations with the HLC staff regarding the coaching ban, I was immediately concerned for our safety. Since my 12-year-old son was with us, my first instinct was to protect my family by standing in front of them.

He accused us of conducting a coaching session. I explained briefly that I was practicing with my son and wife, which I believed was allowed based on previous responses from different HLC staff members. However, he kept insisting that coaching was not allowed, and I noticed his face start to turn red. I feared he might use the screwdriver to attack us, so I continued to stand between him and my family, asking him to step away from the court to avoid any harm.

Eventually, he left but soon returned, asking who had booked the court. Desperate for him to leave, I told him to check the system himself and repeatedly asked him to leave the court. He refused to move, and I signaled my family to distance themselves from him while my friend and I tried to remain calm. The lady with him went outside to check for him. While she was away, he pointed the screwdriver at us, which terrified us. Fortunately, someone called him on his walkie-talkie, and he stepped aside to answer it.

After the call, he continued to accuse us of booking the court under a false name, but in reality, the court was booked under my son's name. After several more exchanges, he finally left us alone.

Not recommend anyone...

I am so so disappointed with the customer service of the booking team, the disorganized and nonchalant demenour of the reception folks that I am dumbfounded. I booked swimming lessons here in July. Very happy with the pool and the instructor Tony is just great!. Last week Tuesday 25th Sep I came in and my membership card stopped working. I was told that my membership had expired. I was also told that my bank cancelled direct debit. After a lot of back and forth and conversations that I have not cancelled anything, the booking guy asked me to rebook at the reception and that I did not have to pay the additional 20 pound booking fee as it was clearly a mistake made somewhere. The reception told me that my class was overbooked and to come back today (Monday 01st October) to rebook and get everything sorted. Came in today and the reception asked me to again go to the membership guy to sort things and he now wanted to charge me the booking fee as well inspite of having the conversation last week. I was willing to pay the arears and again first and last month but he was ok to lose my business than to honor his commitment. I am so frustrated with the ridiculousness of the situation that I am livid. They wasted two days of my time, no customer service, and my lessons unfinished they had absolutely no care... and for 20 pounds booking fee. Kept on saying I had cancelled my classes! I have never been anywhere with this level of service! Is there a guarantee that they would not make a mistake again next time as well and that one will have to keep on rebooking classes and paying additional sums of money! I still cant believe this experience! I am not sure how they are running the facility with this kind...