Crunch Fitness - South Marlboro — Attraction in Marlboro Township

I am extremely disappointed with the level of professionalism that I received when trying to sign up for a membership with Jersey Strong in Marlboro. I was very excited to sign up with a gym again especially since I wasn't able to during COVID.

I went on the website where a 5 day free pass is offered to you. I immediately took advantage of that and was excited to get started. I received an e-mail from Jersey strong telling me to get started today with your free pass as well as that there is $0 down.

I received a call and text message from Cory and made an appointment right away to go in to learn about the gym, learn how to utilize my free pass and sign up for a membership. Again I was beyond excited and pumped to get started.

When I went in, unfortunately this is where everything changed. Cory brought me into an office (instead of giving me a tour of the place) and immediately went into a sales pitch. I knew exactly what I wanted which was a gym membership, no classes, no coaching etc. and wanted to use my 5 day trial pass. Pretty simply I thought and a slam dunk sale for the gym.

I was immediately told that since COVID, they are not doing any kind of passes so my 5 day trial pass didn't mean anything. I said the website and the e-mail I received said you are - Cory shrugged and said that they are not doing passes with an "oh well" attitude. He then went on to explain the 3 plans and that there is a $99 down payment (all gyms have this he said), a $60 annual payment (all gyms also have this he said), and a $17 processing fee to use a debit/credit card. I said that the fees were high and that other gyms I went to did not have fees like that. He didn't believe me and repeated that "all gyms do". I said the $99 down is ridiculous and he said he could ask his manager - John if that could be waved.

I asked for a tour and was not given one because as Cory stated "we have to finish talking about the pricing first".

I asked to use my 5 day trial and Cory told me that I can't.

I went into sign up for a membership and spend my money on a good quality gym. I didn't need a sales pitch, I was ready to buy. Somehow between the upselling, the bait and switch (not allowing me to use the 5 day trial), the enormous fees and the condescending attitude from Cory, I was done. I honestly was shocked that this was happening as I came in to buy and was beyond excited to do so.

When I asked to speak to a manager, Cory brought me to John. I will say John was very respectful, he listened, he immediately apologized on behalf of the experience I had but the damage had been done. As I was talking with John, Cory walked out of John's office and as we walked by me he muttered "fu**in crazy". The complete unprofessional attitude from Cory was quite honestly appalling. That sealed the deal - at that point, there was absolutely no way I was going to get a membership at that gym. I voiced this all to John, who listened and apologized again which I appreciate.

It takes a lot of effort for some people to walk back into a gym especially after everything we experienced through COVID. I drove all the way there, walked in, was pressure sold, talked to in a condescending and dismissive way. I imagine that if other people are experiencing similar treatment, a lot of customers will be lost. This was a missed opportunity by Cory and he lost a good customer...

I have been a member of the Marlboro Jersey strong for four years+, I didn’t attend for two years because of a medical condition and was still paying and made no complaints. Recently after a year of being In lockdown because of the unprecedented time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I returned. To be told i needed to pay a processing fee to be reinstated and sign a new contract at a higher price with a lower membership option. I have no problems paying my monthly dues but to try to get more money is unacceptable. When trying to resolve, it was basically approached as “ my way or the highway”. Additional money is what they were expecting to get rather then reinstate and continue with the membership we had or same membership a person in our household has from the same time of signing. Talking to a manager or person to handle things in the facility is not an option. You must contact corporate, if you call a number you receive a message to contact by email. After much investigation on multiple Facebook groups and communication platforms, I realized that this is an ongoing issue. Do your research before signing up. The gym itself is large and has a variety of equipment, the trainers are knowledgeable, however keep in mind that teenagers populate the gym and many walk around with masks under their nose and/ or chin. The lady who works at the front desk/ manager is beyond unprofessional, classless, and talks in a deeming way, as if talking to her personal husband or child. The professionalism of the staff at the front desk with their chit chatting while turning around to check you in as a favor is a joke. Communication skills need to be worked on with other staff in the offices. Corporate having made your own personal investigation on your gym, I hope you correct the professionalism of your establishment, customer service, and honor your loyal members without trying to swindle them...

I am adding an amendment to this review. After posting it, I was contacted by Jersey Strong owner concerned about my experience. She made it clear that this behavior is not what she wants portrayed. Kudos to her! I was encouraged to resubmit a ticket to support and they are going to refund my membership dues. I truly appreciate this and applaud them stepping up. This is customer service that cares. Thank you Jersey Strong, you are an example of what a customer service should be!!!

I have been doing a back and forth for refund of the charges since my account was reinstated in June. I did not see the emails sent to me informing of the freeze lift being in effect. Once we discovered this, I immediately canceled my membership since I did not feel comfortable going back right now. I was charged on Oct 1st my annual fee though I cancelled on Sept 28, 2021. Called the club 4x's with the manager, Jillian, never returning my calls. Finally got ahold of her to find out she didn't handle this and I needed to go thru corporate. Thanks so much Jillian for never returning my calls and no apology when I did get a hold of you, though you did acknowledge getting the messages. Went on BBB and saw they have a D- rating with people having similar and other complaints. Would think they would want to polish up their image. Will never recommend them and will let others know to take their business elsewhere. Plenty of gyms without the hassle. Other issues with them but too many to go into, this one was just the most recent and...