Fit4Life Health Clubs - Durham — Attraction in Durham

I’ve been a member at this gym for a little over a year now. The location is super convenient, and I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few standout people here who make the place more enjoyable—Allison and the gentleman who cleans during the night shift (who, quite frankly, is friendlier and more helpful than some of the Helpdesk staff) they deserve the biggest raise. It's a shame that the friendliness doesn’t seem to be a consistent requirement for working the front desk, as some are either on their phones on calls while customers are waiting for their attention or casually working out while on shift. I suppose multitasking is in nowadays. The monthly price ($52) is fair. However, for what you get, it’s starting to feel like you’re paying more for potential than actual quality. A few machines were recently reupholstered—which was nice—but considering how long they were left ripped and worn out, it felt a little overdue. Several machines are still broken, and cables are often unusable. Also, the AC was out for months, which was... fun during all summer. One of the more frustrating aspects has been the inconsistency in communication. When I first signed up, I was told my membership wouldn’t auto-renew and that I’d need to come in and pay in person. Turns out, that wasn’t true. When I tried to cancel due to working and going to school full-time, I was still charged for the following month—even though I officially cancelled on April 3rd after couple calls trying to cancel. Apparently, there's a 30-day cancellation policy that no one mentioned until it was too late. So yes, I was still allowed to go in May... because I’m being charged for it. How thoughtful. The website is also confusing. I joined partly because I believed this location had a pool (important to me while recovering from knee surgery). The site listed amenities for the entire chain, not this specific gym. I even asked about it on day one, having noticed the pool wasn’t on-site. Couple weeks later when I was assigned pool exercises I found out there was not pool and I brought up the misleading information, I had a very tense exchange with someone I believe was the manager (Chris?). Let’s just say it didn’t go well. He raised his voice at me while I was simply trying to clarify how the website was misleading, obviously, that day I was offer a 5 or 10$ discount for the next month, I do not remember the amount. Later, I found out I was being blamed for the misunderstanding due to a supposed language barrier (according to a friend who happened to be there that day near the desk). Not exactly the response I expected. I asked about downgrading my membership, but the fee to do that was more expensive than just staying locked in. To be fair, a few great staff members truly improved parts of my experience. But between broken equipment, confusing policies, poor communication, and a management team that doesn’t seem open to feedback, I can’t justify more...

This review is for 3 months in the summer of 2023. I only used the weights and cannot comment on the classes or personal training. As a reference, I've been weight training for 18 years, mostly at public gyms.

Positives - Usually not too busy and don't need to wait for equipment -Abnormally large selection of kettlebells -Good selection of dumbbells, except for heavier ones -Older machines are nicer than newer models that you find in many commercial gyms -The staff allows people to take shoes off and use lifting chalk, meaning they care about performance more than vanity -They offer a week free trial without any hassle, which is nice; many gyms don't offer this. -Steel plates, from 2.5-45lbs are much nicer than rubber coated plates for most lifting. They have old school deep dish plates, which are nice.

Negative - Only 3 squat racks and no deadlift/olympic lifting platforms. Nowadays, it's expected that a gym has lifting platforms. -Very old bumper plates with sharp steel edges. I've never seen bumper plates like this before. -The floors are lumpy, making deadlifts and cleans annoying (since there are no lifting platforms) -Given that they have twice as much cardio equipment as they need, parting with this equipment provides ample space for additional lifting platforms and squat racks. The use of space in the facility could be easily improved. -Most, if not all of, the barbells are bent. In addition to new bumper plates and platforms, they need some nice new bars. -They recently changed their hours and are only open for a short time on Sundays. Sunday afternoons are no as busy as rush hour on a Monday (not sure what they are thinking here) -This gym is relatively expensive. They market as $30 per month, but that isn't accurate. I signed up June 21st and it cost me $95.21 (monthly fee, sign up fee, undisclosed fees). I was billed $29 on July 1. I was Billed $78 on August 1 (annual fees). I expect to be billed $29 on September 1. In all, my monthly cost to attend this gym was $77. If it wasn't for the convenience I would have chosen to go someplace else. I have a membership at Crunch Fitness ($16 per month plus a $50 annual fee), but that would have been a longer drive. As a note - Crunch Fitness has an abundance of bumper plates and lifting platforms (are you paying attention, Fuel Fitness?). -They require over 30 days notice to cancel a membership and not have the next months fee deducted. Feels slightly predatory.

Overall, this isn't a bad gym, but needs to make improvements. All it takes is for a Crunch Fitness or another cheap chain to open a location in Durham to put this place out...

I had a membership with Fitness World when I lived in Durham. I came on a regular basis, followed their rules and enjoyed walking in silently, working out silently and leaving silently. Things were fine UNTIL I had to move. If you plan to move, do NOT join this gym. There are other reviews concerning this and they really should work on it considering I'm not the only one having a problem.

I asked to speak with a manager after my workout one day and told them that I would be moving and needed to cancel my membership. I walked into the office with them, sat down and signed the paperwork to cancel my membership. Granted I had a fussy 4 month old in tow so apparently the guy "forgot" to mention that I had to provide any further details for the cancellation. I specifically asked this person if I needed to do anything else and was told I did not. I'm 100% certain of this.

After my card continued to be charged, I called to speak with a manager and explained my situation. The person I spoke with said that getting it fixed would not be a problem and that they would have someone call me back the next day. So I waited...and no phone call back.

I once again called back and was handed off to Ben. I was told to provide a job offer letter. Already annoyed because this could have easily been done when I initially asked, I complied and sent it over to him. Then was told that it did not prove my move. The offer letter was two states away, was dated, with contact information etc. Ridiculous....so I was asked to provide a lease. Well, I didn't have access to a scanner due to a hurricane barreling over my new home in October, so I sent a copy of my brand new issued South Carolina license which I HAVE to prove residency in order to receive. Apparently that wasn't enough either. Doing all of this WHILE on my honeymoon.

I feel I was extremely compliant and even rather enjoyed my time at Fitness World. But the way their management has treated me afterward is unacceptable by any business standard. Communication was flawed from the beginning and should have been recognized and acknowledged upon first contact. There is no reason that a company or any management team should make anything this complicated on a customer attempting to do the...