Virgin Active Gym Menlyn Maine — Local services in Gauteng

I am having a nightmare experience with Virgin Active, in particular VA club (Classic) in Menlyn Maine. My friend and I were tricked into upgrading our membership to Classic/Collection and I believe this is very unethical business practices. I met a salesperson called Moses Sebego and he told us about a promo that was taking place around December. We were told that the offer allows you to workout or try out their collection club for three months at a reduced rate. He also mentioned that members are welcome to cancel the promo before the three months passes if they are not interested in upgrading to Classic. I did contact Moses before the three months passed to tell him that I would like to go back to my normal membership, but each time i did this he would tell me that the system does not allow me to downgrade and that i would have to wait for a few months before downgrading. The reason I wanted to downgrade was because I was not going to commit to using Collection clubs as they are more difficult for me to access plus i do not think i would be able to afford it over the long term. Already i was getting convinced that Moses was being dishonest and this became apparent when i was told i would not be able to downgrade. So at the end of the month (i think January 2025), R1700 went off my account and this was a big surprise for me as I was still within the three month period. I was very surprised. I told Moses about this and he further lied to me and said that the reason i was charged R1700 is because VA had some issues with debit orders and that was what was affecting my account, and promised to have the matter resolved within days. its been close to two months now and the matter is still not resolved. I asked for a refund that was promised to me. Moses further lied to me and said he was working on the refund to get resolved, and over a month later i still do not have my refund. He later told me that the fund was approved and that i should have it within 7 days. I kept calling and even after 7 days i still do not have my refund. This really makes me angry as i have been a loyal member of VA for years on end and to be tricked and be subjected to this level of unprofessionalism is not only disgusting, it is also very very unethical. I got charged R1700 again and i asked him about this and demanded a refund. I have two refunds pending. I do not want to use Collection as it is not something i can commit to over the long term and i made this very clear to Moses. He still lied to me and said he would also process the second refund and he still hasnt. It was only when i went to another club and asked about this promo, and was told that there was no such promo. i was told that my membership is for Collection and that was not what i had signed up for. i want to downgrade my membership back to National and have my refund for both months where i was charged R1700. I have considered cancelling my membership with virgin active as a whole because i was tricked by one of your staff members into signing up for membership that i dont even need. i feel like i was tricked and scammed and i do not expect tis behavior from such a reputable company. can i please have both my refunds and also downgrade my membership. if that cannot happen then i would like to discuss the way forward. i do not appreciate being tricked and lie to! this is a major...

I’ve been a member at both Collection Sandton and Menlyn Maine, and the comparison is striking. Unfortunately, my experience at Menlyn Maine has been quite disappointing.

While the reception staff are friendly, the overall cleanliness of the facilities leaves much to be desired. The bathrooms are frequently in a messy state, including both the locker area and the toilets. It’s often challenging to find an available locker due to the poorly designed layout, and the second locker block only has one working blow-dryer and no straighteners.

The gym floor at Menlyn Maine lacks several key pieces of equipment, such as a seated low row machine and decline ab benches, which are available at Collection Sandton. Moreover, the fitness staff doesn’t seem to monitor the floor regularly. As a result, members frequently leave weights on machines, and it’s not uncommon to find yourself waiting to use equipment or dealing with members occupying multiple machines simultaneously.

The availability of barbell weights is also an issue. Menlyn Maine only has one set of median weights (16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 kg), which can be a struggle for those who lift these weights regularly. Additionally, barbell clips are in short supply, raising concerns about safety if proper equipment is not available.

One other feature I miss from Sandton is the ability to record workouts seamlessly with an Apple Watch at the cardio machines, which unfortunately doesn’t work at Menlyn Maine. Additionally, if you enjoy smoothies after a workout - especially weekends, be prepared for a lengthy wait. My longest wait was 30 minutes, which is far from ideal.

Overall, while these complaints might seem minor, they add up to a less-than-ideal experience, especially considering the premium subscription fee. Menlyn Maine has significant room for improvement to match the high standards set by...

Walked into the gym delt with the gentlemen at front desk named Tshepo, scanned my card(Virgin Active premium membership) the gentleman told me:

“Sorry sir you a premium member this is a VA Collection gym you won’t have access here, but the other VA is right around the corner just down the road” caught off guard not even knowing the difference between Collection and Premier I explained that “VA continues to be affected by load-shedding and I work right around the corner from this branch with no loadshedding and I’m also here from Cape Town what is the price difference to join up at this particular gym?”(buying signal)

He then Responded:

“You paying around R600 this club is R1400”. I then suggested out of my own to speak to a sale consultant which I then spoke to Patrick , coming over asking “How can I assist?” I said “hey buddy can we setup a appointment next week as I’m leaving to capetown I’m currently premier member and I’m actually interested” (buying signal)

bearing in mind this was at 5pm today 26th April 2023.. he suggested I take down his number and I left having to go back to VA down the road(So he now at this point doesn’t have my name or number to possibly have a lead to follow up next week as I need to call him back as he suggested)

now bearing in mind your product you selling (The gym facility) cost your sales team nothing to identify a potential customer and my problem and solving it by possibly getting me to upgrade. This message is not aimed at how the public views the gym but specifically to how your staff is trained, especially your sales department and I’ve seen guys at a robot selling pens more eager than what I’ve experienced today. And the only reason this post got a 2star rating was because I walked into a building with Air-conditioning 🙂...