LA Fitness — Attraction in Scottsdale

This club is okay if you want to be subjected to Liberal propaganda! LA Fitness Corporate is in Irvine CA and requires the PUBLIC TV's to be controlled by their Operations Manager--NOT the Club Manager. She takes her orders from LA and so they show non-stop CNN. On weekends, they subject members to watching 1/3 of their screens on INFOMERCIALS (courtesy of CNBC). As lame as this sounds, even then the Club Manager cannot change the channel! This facility sits smack in the middle of a Congressional District (David Schweikert) who is one of the most Conservative in Congress. Yet, management will not allow them to show Fox News in addition to CNN--even though it is technically an "approved" channel by their management. Plus, they NEVER admit this is political bias! How totally LAME!

Talk about "customer service," a month after posting this review--and I know others have complained too--and nothing has changed! I was there today (Saturday) and saw infomercials for gold/silver coins and a portable vacuum! With ten choices of channels, this is what they show on weekends!

UPDATE: I moved out of the area, so I don't know when they made the change, but since I posted my original review, they started showing both Fox News and CNN on their TV's. To my knowledge they are the only LA Fitness doing this right now. So, FINALLY they acquiesced to the wishes of many of their members. They (and all other LA Fitness locations) have to keep CNN on--even though it has gotten more political each year and lost ratings. Corporate HQ is in Irvine CA. Need I say more? Yet, they have advanced from far back in the pack to leading the pack in terms of respecting their members and providing an option in terms of a news channel. So, congratulations to them! I have therefore upped my...

Today started off on a bad note, and my experience at the gyms on Tatum and Paseo only reinforced my negative impression. The managers at both locations displayed impatience and unnecessary strictness, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

My dad and I went to the gym in the morning at the location on Tatum, and the manager there was something else. She asked for both of our picture IDs. Unfortunately, my dad didn't bring his ID with him, and no other location, including California, has ever asked us for pictures. I mean, there's a photo of us saved in the system. So, I had to drop my dad off at home and go somewhere else to work out. After being 'chased off' by this manager, I went to the one on Paseo. Now, I already had a bad day, and this manager asked me to sign up for the app first.

Signing up takes only a few minutes, but I already told her that it gave me a hard time signing up before, so I usually give my phone number instead. She insisted. Anyways, I didn't have the 'code' and failed signing up again. It's totally not her problem if I had a bad start with another location, but the way she communicated with me and her attitude just triggered my frustration. 'Save the code, and now it's your responsibility to sign up for the app,' she said, using a harsh tone of voice. From my standpoint, I've been with them for years, though they messed up my billing several times previously. I pay every month and give my phone number to work out at the gym, which takes only a second without an app or picture ID. But for them, I guess it's such a hassle to do that simple task. I don't know what they do when they sit in front of the screen, but it's inconvenient for them to use the keyboard and provide...

I would recommend many other gyms over this one.

Aside from a few passionate (and really excellent) spin instructors, the classes are average at best. There are two good trainers that I have worked with who are extremely knowledgable. Otherwise it sounds like a majority of the trainers aren't certified and are just "fit" people.

The front desk staff is a joke. I hate to be so abrasive, but I am pretty sure the requirements to work the front desk are having a pulse and the ability to swipe a key fob. Aside from a majority of them having terrible personalities, they totally lack basic manners and customer service skills. I could include a long list, but my most recent experience was that I called a handful of times to cancel my training membership. Each time I was asked to leave my contact information. Following no returned calls I explained to the front desk girl my frustration and her response was "well, you will just have to keep calling. It is not like they can drop what they are doing and talk to you about your membership." Really? Because when I wanted to join a year ago I received 11 phone calls in one week. (Yep, that is 1.57 times per day they had enough time to drop everything and call me when they wanted my business.)

The gym is generally clean. There are always a decent number of cardio machines that are flagged as down for maintenance.

Best time of day to go is the morning. People mind their own business and get a solid workout in. Later in the day you have a crowd made up of a majority of people showing way too much skin, looking to take someone home or blowing kissing in the mirror to themselves as they do...