The Edge Fitness Clubs — Attraction in Cranston

My name is Christian Chairez. I recently moved from Madison, Wisconsin to Cranston, Rhode Island for a work-related relocation where I serve as a General Manager. I take pride in building teams, developing employees, and creating a welcoming environment for both staff and customers. That’s why my experience at Edge Fitness in Cranston (318 Garfield Ave) was so disturbing — especially due to the unacceptable behavior of General Manager Naomi, who refused to give her last name or employee ID when asked.

From the first moment I spoke with her over the phone, Naomi was hostile, impatient, and condescending. Her tone was aggressive, as if I were wasting her time simply by asking questions about the gym and the Edge Kids program. I honestly thought she was a disengaged front desk employee — because no professional GM should speak to a potential customer that way.

I came in under the 3-day trial to get a sense of the facility and community. Upon arrival, the front desk staff was friendly, and I was told to wait for my tour. I stood up to look around the café area when I noticed Naomi using her body language — arms crossed, glaring — to silently direct an employee to come over and “control” me by telling me to sit down again. It was an unnecessarily domineering tactic, treating me as if I were a problem rather than a guest. It was clear she was trying to physically assert control of the space rather than approach me directly with a respectful conversation.

When I finally met with the tour rep, he rushed me through the gym. I was told I had two options: pay $15 for a day pass or sign up for a membership for $1 and cancel within 10 days. During this, I spoke with several staff members — Robert, Dave, Gisele, and Frank — all of whom were genuinely kind, respectful, and seemed to want the best for me as a customer. But it was also obvious that they were under pressure. You could feel Naomi’s oppressive presence hanging over them. They weren’t being pushy on their own — they were being pushed.

I was seriously considering signing up for the trial when Naomi suddenly stormed over and said, “What’s going on? I hear you’re giving my employees trouble.” I was stunned. There was zero “trouble.” Just me asking questions and weighing my options. I explained this calmly and even Gisele reassured her that I was leaning toward the trial membership.

Instead of welcoming that, Naomi barked back, “Well then sign up and let’s get going.” She was unprofessional, pushy, and completely aware of how her tone, energy, and body posture were creating a toxic, intimidating atmosphere. She wasn’t managing — she was dominating.

At that point, I told her I didn’t appreciate the pressure, her disrespectful tone on the phone, or how she’d been treating me since I arrived. Her response? “Then leave.” And when I started to walk out, she smiled smugly and said, “Don’t forget your stuff,” like I was being dismissed from detention.

As a fellow GM, I was appalled. Naomi shows a complete lack of leadership, hospitality, and emotional intelligence. Her approach is not just unwelcoming — it’s harmful to the team she oversees. The staff clearly wants to do well, and I commend them for their kindness despite the pressure. But with Naomi in charge, their potential is being stifled.

When I asked to speak to someone above her, Naomi arrogantly stated, “There’s no one else — I’m the boss.” Only after I pushed for contact information did she hand me a card and say, “You can try ABC Fitness,” still brushing me off like I didn’t matter.

If Edge Fitness values its reputation and its people, they should take a serious look at the management at this location. Naomi’s behavior drove away a potential long-term member and reflects poorly on the brand. No customer — or employee — should be subjected to this kind...

I would highly recommend finding elsewhere for your “fitness journey” as they call it. Like a lot of the other reviews, this place will scam you out of your money… They have good equipment in the gym, and it was a nice gym when it first opened. However COVID happened, I was being charged for a membership that I could not use. The gym physically wasn’t open and I was still being charged a monthly fee. So, of course like any normal person I called to cancel my membership, being that this company was no longer providing a service I was paying for. Well guess what, they told me I can’t cancel, that I need to send a Certified Mail Letter to some company to cancel. To which I say, isn’t my responsibility… this is a company that’s going around charging people monthly fees for a service it cannot provide during a pandemic. Then when they want to cancel forces them to go through a lengthy, and more money intensive process to cancel. They sent my account to collections, because yes, I called my bank and had my card connected to this account cancelled (like I’m sure any person with common sense would do, when they are being charged a monthly fee for something that’s not being provided) I’m not paying for a service that you cannot provide, and it’s utterly absurd you think you’re gonna send my account to collections and force me to pay for a service that was not being provided. Good luck to you and your shady endeavors and it’s also, good to know you treat people that have referred you numerous customers like this, much appreciated!

Update :

After contacting the BBB this company’s response to my claims was “you signed a contract to pay”. When the claims i addressed were readdressed the company stated “we stand by our original response”. Your answer to my review literally shows how this company breached their own contract and expected the same payment without providing the agreed to service. If I paid you $5 for a gallon of milk and you gave me a 1/4 gallon…. I’d cancel my payments… I agreed and signed a contract for a 24/7 gym. Not a gym with sporadic Covid “accommodating” hours. You breached your own contract and falsely advertised. I will stand by that response as I’m sure any logical person would! What this company should’ve done was cancelled all contracts when a National Health Emergency was declared, not pause contracts until we can attempt to “accommodate” our original promise. Makes no sense to keep a contract in place when you can’t uphold your end of the bargain. God forbid I got ill during a pandemic, I’d be forced to pay a payment to a gym that I can’t go to, I can’t cancel payments because you have to go to the Post Office to pay for a Certified Letter. Makes perfect sense, this is a place I’d trust with your financial...

After one year of weekly training at Edge Fitness with Jared Zimmer I felt it was time to write a review of my experiences. I started going to the gym after years of neglecting my fitness. I stopped by Edge one day to check things out and having been to other gyms I was surprised that a gym could be so clean. It had a sauna so I decided to try a free gym session.

After a few days of fumbling around the weights and machines I decided to talk with one of the trainers Jared Zimmer. I could tell Jared was knowledgeable at my first encounter. The questions he asked about my fitness were right on target. I decided to sign up for the 30 minute weekly training sessions. After several weeks of the 30 minute training sessions I started to see some progress in my fitness. I felt better and stronger. Jared was focused and easy to work with on scheduling and during sessions. I could text him my availability and we easily settled on dates for training sessions.

During training sessions Jared was always focused on me and my fitness. He wasn’t on his phone texting or posting his latest TikTok of his own personal fitness journey. Jared is a knowledgeable and professional trainer taking all aspects of training into focus; nutrition, stretching, body mechanics, weight lifting and rest. There were some days I would show up at the gym sick and Jared could tell despite all the medicine I had taken to mask my symptoms. Jared would simply say “You can’t get stronger when your body is fighting to get well” This was really telling about Jared’s character. He was focused on my fitness and my well being despite losing an hour of training pay.

If you exercise you know about having good days and bad days at the gym. Jared rolled with my highs and lows and kept me on track. There were even a couple of days during the year I could see that Jared was feeling down and he didn’t let those hard days that he was having interfere with me or my training goals. He stayed on target so I could stay on target. The professionalism is exemplary. I want to point out that Jared is kind but keeps you focused on you and your goals.

During this last year of training I became stronger, I learned directly from Jared how to get fit using the right form and proper weight. I never had an injury during my training and I learned how to maintain my fitness when I am training on my own. Jared is an aficionado of music so whatever sparks your fancy he will play it and be able to talk about it. Lastly, I made a friend. Thank you Jared for all...