LA Fitness — Attraction in Los Angeles

In early 2021, we were driving by the LA Fitness in Van Nuys and decided to sign up for a 3-year membership, even though we live in Chatsworth. We verified at the time that the Chatsworth location was still open, we were told yes and signed up, and it wasn’t cheap. Shortly after, we learned the Chatsworth location had actually closed and we were given wrong information, so I got in touch with someone who worked at the Woodland Hills location to cancel our memberships. As a compromise, she gave me access to the Woodland Hills location because it is relatively close to us. As it turned out, I rarely ever went to the Woodland Hills location anyway, primarily going to the Sherman Oaks and Devonshire locations. Because I appreciated the way this manager handled the situation (with class and integrity), we always planned on renewing this April and upgrading to include signature locations, as well as adding two additional memberships. Last week, just as we were about to sit down to dinner in the evening, we got a call from Sara, who claimed to be some kind of membership manager at the Woodland Hills location (she can’t even have the foresight to call during business hours). She told me if I ever wanted to go back, I would need to pay $10 every time I visit. I was baffled as to why this was happening now, as the front desk never had an issue, but more importantly, when a verbal agreement is made with a customer, it needs to be honored, whether you like it or not. She said, “that person had no right to do that and is no longer here anymore.” She also did not seem to be willing to understand the circumstances as to WHY this had occurred. The whole situation just felt dirty, gross and embarrassing. This is not a case of wanting special treatment or the money, it is the principle. What a petty way to do business and treat a customer, and when our contract is up, we will be joining Equinox. I am not sure of the psychology of some of the “managers” in this area who are on some kind of a strange power trip, but as a manager myself in the customer service industry, I would be mortified if a customer of mine was treated this way. I even resent that I have to take the time to write this, but do yourself a favor and stay far away from the LA Fitness locations in the valley. They simply don’t care and once they get you in the door, treat their customers horribly.

And what makes the Woodland Hills location “signature” anyway? They (sometimes) have towels, that is it. But the pool/hot tub is always crowded and dirty, the Wi-Fi is horrendous, the weights are always disorganized, it is always overcrowded and the locker rooms are a mess. Sara should spend her time fixing the numerous issues with this location and stop wasting time harassing customers who want to give her their money and business. I would love to hear from a DM with their thoughts on...

This review is for the coach / training program

Received this message and met with Benjamin

Hello My name is Benjamin, head health coach with LA FITNESS Woodland Hills location. As a free service, every new member gets a fully paid session with me. We can work out, figure out a great cardio plan, and/or spend the session on customizing a nutrition plan for you. These sessions have become a big part of our new member results.

Would you be interested in taking advantage of this customized free session? (Y) Yes (N) No

Yours in health, -Benjamin

He had questions about my exercise habits and did a range of motion assessments in the training area. That's it

10 - 15 min into the session, Benjamin asks if I'll be interested in the $165 / mo training program 3x / week

I said yes, and immediately he starts fast walking back to his desk... not a word

It turns out that the terms were 2 trainings with another coach - Benjamin couldn't do it himself -and the 3rd session with Benjamin, $165/mo if you agree to 6 -12 months contract or $240/mo with no contract, -month to month -

Decided not to enroll since it was 30% more expensive than what was pitched a few minutes before. Also, wondered how that 3rd session would go... based on recent experience... 15 min 😱

Asked if he / someone could teach me how to use the machines / help me create a routine - use the physical assessment results for the members' benefit ??

Nope. That's what the coaching program was for. Not even help to learn how to use machines, talk about SAFETY ...

Save your time. This is nothing that bait and switch scam for their benefit ... not even a nutrition guide chart was provided

I remember the time when the prior owners offered an introductory session using the machines and provided guidance on a routine... good old days when your gym actually cared about your...

The place itself is nice although they do not service the elliptical or treadmill machines enough and they are often misbalanced making them unusable. This causes problems because even though there are a lot of cardio machines it's tough to find a free one at timesso a broken one makes me feel like I am not getting enough for my membership fee. They also do not seem to be able to wash enough towels to service their guests and often run out bexause they're being washed. Not a big deal but it doesn't seem like it should be too difficult to time their washing schedule better. A number of the members are rude in that they take up mutliple machines at once by placing a towel on one and walking away to work out on a second machine. Many people will also go to an area such as the cable machines and do stretching or ball excersizes so they can see themselves in the mirror thereby tying up a machine they're not even using. This is irritating because there are other areas with mirrors they could use instead. The staff is kind and attentive though and the locker rooms are clean although I have had my lock stolen from a locker even though it was locked and no one knew anything about it which is odd to me because it would either have to have been picked or cut and I find it hard to believe no one saw it. Nothing was stolen however so that's good! Also people tend to congregate in the locker rooms and chat for long periods of time making it difficult to navigate around a bunch of old sweaty hairy men. Again it's a nice facility but Woodland Hills is a rich area and there are a lot of entitled people that prevent the gym from being the best experience. All that said I still go frequently and none of this ruins my workout so I'll...