Fitness Connection — Attraction in Charlotte

My husband & I have been here for 1yr & upgraded to the pt program as of 1/2024, which is not cheap at $600/month for 12 sessions (we split it). BEWARE! This location is UNSAFE. Mgmt is incompetent. On 4/29/24 I was VERBALLY HARASSED by a male member in both the parking lot & the LOBBY, while the mgr on duty Markel told the guy to work out & told me if I was scared to do the same, I could leave or be escorted to the Women’s Room. The reviews show how inept & manipulative mgrs are. Members sign codes of conduct but that didn't get enforced. Mgmt can't assist you in times of crisis. This is the 2nd time a man has been aggressive in the lobby - the 1st occasion was due to me not saying "Thanks" loud enough when a guy held the lobby door for me (so he went off yelling about women). This place is UNSAFE!

OTHER ISSUES: A mgr failed to file a timely & accurate Code Blue report when a man passed out & was placed on admin leave for filing an inaccurate report. Weed is sold by the backpack on a daily basis at the ball court. There are already a wide array of safety & customer service issues here. It's also rusty/broken equipment (repairman comes 1/month & paints over it).

On 4/29/24 at 12:05PM as I was walking thru the lot, a man approached me yelling expletives & threats because I backed up to allow him room to park & did not go around him instead. (Makes sense, right?!) This creep WAITED, timed it so that he approached me as I exited my car. In the lobby, he continued to scare/threaten me, yelling at me. I repeatedly begged that he leave me alone & repeated that I did not know him, please get away from me, stop, etc. Markel told him to just badge-in & work out. I told Markel I could not believe he just let a man who verbally assaulted a client go about his workout & he replied that he wasn't sure how to handle the situation but he would go into his office & look into what to do by calling "someone above him." He went into his office with another FC employee. Markel & the employee in his office proceeded to chat, laugh, & hang out in the office for a long time. At one point he put on lotion? Markel stayed in his office most of the next 2hrs, so I called CS & after 1hr was called by Libby Gonzales in HR. Markel stayed away from his computer hiding in the back corner. He peeked out to see if I was still in the lobby waiting on him. When he did leave his office, I again asked him if there was anyone I could speak to in HR or at a higher level so that I felt safe to keep my membership. His response was, “ME.” Not realizing he was being passive aggressive, I re-explained, & said, “I understand you’re the mgr, you told that guy to badge in. I need to know of a better resolution so I feel safe returning. Is there anyone I can speak to aside from you?” He again said, “Me. It’s me, and that’s it.” He was smirking now, so I got he was being dismissive & manipulative. Markel then grabbed a promo flyer, turned it over, & hand-wrote his contact info on it. I again asked Markel if there was anyone else I could talk with & said “like HR or at the region or district level” ...he smiled evilly & said, “ME.” He said I could “resolve the situation myself” & the outcome could be “whatever I wanted it to be.” I said that sounded like a script & asked what he meant. He said “I’m not going to ban him & I’m not going to ban you. The outcome can be whatever you want it to be.” Markel said this meant I could either workout or choose to not workout.

Libby/HR said she would get back to me Monday 4/29 later that day after receiving my statement since a total of ~$600 was set to come out of our account for the May fee Weds 5/1. As of 3:30PM EST 5/1 I haven't heard back. We had to place a freeze on our account & contact our bank. My husband drove there & asked to cancel TODAY, & Markel hid in his office saying he needed to "ask someone above him if we could cancel." Tf? INSANE GAMES. We're disputing ANY cancellation fees or charges for the month of May, & we will continue to assess our options & spread the...

Any issues that are present when brought up to management is blamed on corporate. When you reach out to “corporate” they advise they will “look into it”. Ive been using this gym for many years off and on, trying to take advantage of multiple services and amenities they offer. Here is my feed back to date.

Dont use personal training here. If something happens with your trainer aka they fire them for getting a second job personal training for themselves because thos company does not pay them a livable wage you will be assigned a fresh out of high school trainer. If you request a new one or to cancel they will charge you for rest of year and not allow a new trainer.

Classes are very limited and not promoted or invited. I currently have no clue what program they offer or classes and i spend 7+ hours a week in this gym.

Cleanliness use to be amazing. They always had someone on floor cleaning and picking up after the large number of people who never rerack or clean their equipment. Now I dont think ive seen a presence of staff on floor except at front desk in last month. I go when its busy so i could just ve missing them?

Amenities are often down or not upkept. If you have issues and bring it to management again the response is “corporate”.

Cancellations if you cancel you will be billed for 30 days plus the remainder of the month you have left so dont cancel till its almost their due date it wont matter.

Parking… this place is packed and there is always a cop outside so thats good i guess? Big parking lot and your here for exercise so no complaints! (The only reason its not a 1 star)

This place has alot of people that just camp out on equipment. If you want a quick workout you wont get one. I plan on spending 2hours to do a full workout.

Price is the same as planet fitness which use to be a pro but at this point they are tied with them for whats offered.

Theater cardio room is either on the apple “validate password” screen (“corporate”) or playing a kids movie. In the last 2 weeks i have spent 12+ hours in here and would say ive seen 6 hours of movie play while half of that was penguins Madagascar and the grinch. (Why the hell are you playing the grinch in may???)

Take this as you will. If you need a cheap gym and go mid day or weekends youll be fine. But 4-8 weekdays make sure you bring time and fully...

The most horrible experience I have ever had in just trying to sign up to join a gym. No employee will give you the same information. It all started with signing up for a free 5 day pass to try out the gym. Then I was contacted by Brian and pressured into purchasing the $9 special so I didn't miss the deal they had before the prices sky rocketed back up. But I was guaranteed a refund if I didn't like the gym. I scheduled an appointment to view the gym on Monday at 7PM. However, I received a text saying my appointment time was slated for 2PM which was not I had scheduled. So I called on Monday morning because they were closed on Sunday to get the correct appointment time. Once I arrived for my tour the tour guide toured me for about 3 minutes and I noticed people where not properly wearing masks and I was told if I didn't feel safe I shouldn't be there. (instead of people being made to properly wear PPE to protect themselves and others). After I left, I thought of another question in reference to bringing guests, so I called inside and they said yes you can bring guests. However, when I arrived back at 8PM I was rudely informed by the tour guide that you couldn't bring guests at that time. So I called back the next morning and asked if now was a good time to come with a guest and I was told a totally different story about guests. So when I asked to speak with the manager, he didn't care to hear my experience only interested in canceling my membership and not giving me the refund I was promised by Brian. When I called to ask to speak to GM to resolve all the matter, the only thing I get is Ty Hoffman is in meetings. My suggestion is to stay as far away from Fitness Connection as possible because you will not get your gym goals met. I suggest going to Planet Fitness on University and ask for Dani- she is the BEST! hassle free and knowledgeable on their services. GO...