Jersey Strong Gym — Attraction in Old Bridge

Club Metro Grand Opening, Provides Home to KiDz HuB

Mayor Owen Henry and Steve Mamkas, Director of the Old Bridge Mayor's Office of Economic Development officially welcomes the new Club Metro USA, Old Bridge franchisees Alberto and Fajardo and Alberto Siaba, with a Grand Opening ribbon-cutting at Club Metro USA 2685 Highway 516 Browntown Plaza in Old Bridge New Jersey today. Wences Rodriguez said "It's an honor to have been part of such an inspirational event. I look forward to continuing to provide a platform upon which the community of Old Bridge has the opportunity to grow mentally, physically and spiritually" as he reflected on the event.

This ribbon-cutting also made way for a second ribbon cut that was done on the second floor of the Club Metro facility, where the Gym donated an office space, training rooms and access to the boardroom for meetings to KiDz HuB Media Network Inc. (KiDz HuB). This made it possible for KiDz HuB to open its first local office to centralize its global operation to provide more opportunities for youth in Old Bridge New Jersey. KiDz HuB Partners, Karen Wilson-Robinson of Team Jamaica Bickle, Al Tariq Best of the HuBB Club and media personalities Ricardo Bryan and Catchcha Slater brought greeting and well wishes.

"The reason why I'm here is because I was at an event and saw a KiDz HuB junior broadcaster doing and interview and is was the most articulate, most beautiful interview I had ever seen by a kid and I just wished I had this when I was growing up" said Actor Raw Leiba who made yet another appearance after doing the keynote address at the 2017 KiDz HuB Awards Gala, held in new Jersey.

The celebration began with music from the KiDz HuB and partner The HuBB Club. Adults enjoyed a dance party, special classes - Zumba, Yoga, Yoga Trapeze, Spin, Kickboxing, special Club Metro prizes. Kids were well entertained with a bouncy Castle, LIVE performances and goodie bag surprises compliments of kidZdent. The Club Metro Ribbon Cutting ceremony was a KiDz HuB Red Carpet Experience with accents and decorations donated by Unique Party Concepts. Some samples of food were provided by a local pizzeria.

Many announcements were made, including Club Metro’s new packages for digital ads on screens in the facility that will help to increase visibility of local business partners and and events. Many special offers were offered for new member sign-ups.

KiDz HuB is an international 501 c3 non-profit with a mission to train and mentor youth as Junior Broadcasters, to improve the literacy of youth across the world by providing a platform for youths to express themselves. KiDz HuB support and empower kids, tween and teens, with life skills to be successful in the future.

Club Metro’s, core mission is to provide a world-class fitness experience coupled with unparalleled customer service delivered at an affordable price for everyone. Club Metro USA fitness centers are the result a vision of an affordable modern health club where everyone can enjoy resort-style amenities and world-class service. It seeks to expand its local presence in Old Bridge NJ through its local center and to provide a way for kids, tweens, teens (through its Kids Club) and their families opportunities to consistently work on their goals to be happy and healthy together.

Having established a new location in the Old Bridge community, Club Metro seeks to signal their intention to support the advancement of youth by announcing their partnership with the KiDz HuB Media Network. The partnership also includes KiDz HuB access to CluB Metro’s Pre-Sale Recreational Vehicle as a co-branded broadcast unit for KiDz HuB and community visibility...

I loved this Gym/Business so much, but the signup & cancellation policy is as TERRIBLE as any other commercial gym/Business. If you sign up as HEAD of your plan and have others signup with you, i.e. your wife/child, etc. they don’t tell you when you cancel the plan “as the head” that everyone else must cancel individually.

The only Business I can think of that is similar but doesn’t follow this policy is cell phone providers.

Imagine signing up for a family plan and then when you cancel they inform you must have your paperwork done for each person. Like? I’m the person paying and the head of the plan if I say we’re done here. We’re done. But sadly this isn’t the case.

When you cancel your membership with this Jersey Strong Gym/Business you must

A. Get your agreement # (pretty much must come in physically and ask for it at the front desk, which is what I had to do) B. Go to some random website and input your information & agreement # and then pay one last bill cycle.

*C. Rinse & repeat this for each person who has signed up. It matters not that you have a family plan, or joined with a friend/family member.

So if you missed Step C. As I did because I was NEVER informed at ANY TIME that this would be the case. Since it’s not posted anywhere inside the gym, nor did it arise when I was cancelling as head of the plan and talked with the staff in person, that my wife (the person under the main head of the plan) must cancel on her own and jump through steps A. & B. again.

I want to make it clear the staff & gym treated me with respect & courtesy and I was able to accomplish my fitness goals. However I do think there is a major gap in the club’s policy in the above CANCELLATIONS. I find that this kind of behavior is very “anti-customer behavior” and “Not in Good Faith”.

I’ve spoken with ABC financial (the 3rd party company that handles billing) and they’ve said they can do nothing except collect $ from me and asked me to resolve it from the club. I owe roughly $200 past due as a result.

I called Jersey Strong OldBridge and spoke with Yani. He listened to my story and was empathetic, but sadly he does not have the authority to make any amends here. I had asked is there anyway he can resolve this/backdate cancellation for my wife’s account to match my own, but sadly, Yani is only able to follow the club’s policy and is powerless to right this obviously wrong situation. So I was informed by the club’s billing manager that I have to pay this $200+ outstanding balance. And also it’s my fault that I missed step C and now I’ve gotta go and cancel my wife’s plan now. (So much for the customer is always right)

Again I think this policy from my perspective (a customer) is dishonest and really just another way to squeeze out billing from folks trying to make their lives better by going to a gym. I want folks to see this review and think twice when you signup here.

If you plan on being a member for life then hey you’re good. If you are weighing OTHER Gyms/Businesses then I do hope that my story about the cancellation and the way this club runs their business via their “policies” and not work with customers makes you...

The neighborhood people that go here are nice and laid back. Brief list of pros and cons: Pros: A good array of equipment to work with to focus on whatever muscle you’re working on. Open 24 hours There’s usually always the price of equipment you’re looking for available.

Cons: I know you sign the contract with an early termination fee of $100. But there’s no consumer protection to break that contract if the maintenance fee you pay is not going to the actual maintenance of the club, rather just an extra bonus to whoever because it’s an industry standard to charge it. Look at the locker doors missing in the men’s locker room and equipment breaks often. It is repaired within a week or so. But still, equipment shouldn't be down for repair consistently. Micro purchases incentivized with lack of convenience. The water fountain for example, you have to turn the head of it to fill your water bottle which takes awhile. & the water tastes a little weird. Or you could always buy a water bottle every time you go. Lol it’s a little bit of a ripoff. I tend to shower at the gym after a workout so I can go to work after - just a personal preference. But the showers are pretty small and it’s impossible put your own shampoo and wash in them. Also, they’ve been times where the curtains get cruddy and not cared for. The manager who signed me up - while a really nice guy, had a classic car-salesman vibe about him. Always has a mitigating factor for the areas I saw an issue with after signing up. For example, he mentioned a study without reference that showed showing after a workout is not good for muscle growth. Lol in-fact, I can see a correlation between how unappealing the showers are in Jersey strong old bridge and East Brunswick with that bogus study haha. And for the $100 early termination fee… “if you don’t plan on quitting and put your health first, that’s not an issue for 2 years.” Well if there’s a better quality gym nearby and an implied contract of cleanliness with basic maintenance that’s not honored, it should be waved. As well as the maintenance fees that we don’t feel the difference on. Maybe a poster board in the front to show how the money was spend every 6 months would get more trust back with the members. There’s no way for them to opt you out of all sales calls / texts at sign up. I was getting messages by a personal trainer to set up an appointment for what?? To upsell. Let me just click or respond no and stop the upselling. It’s hard to find plates because they're scattered around the gym. Part of maintaining the club should be somebody organize them, or hold the other members more accountable.

Because the cons outweigh the pros, I’d like the $100 fee waived for early termination based on quality. But I don’t expect that to happen. If I do, I’ll definitely add that in at...