Planet Fitness — Local services in Holland Charter Township

I've been a member of Planet Fitness for a number of years. Each year I pay the advertised $10.00 monthly fee for the entire year in advance in one cash payment. I've never tried to cancel my membership. Tonight when I tried to renew my membership, I was told that if I want to renew for the $10.00 monthly fee I have to have the amount deducted from a checking account or a credit card. If I want to pay in full for the entire year up front - I have to pay $199.00. So essentially, I would be penalized for paying up front in cash. The young man behind the counter told me not to worry, because I could always cancel at any time. I told him I did not want to cancel - I just wanted to renew and pay up front, in full, for the entire year at the advertised rate of $10.00 per month. I told him it did not make sense to me that Planet Fitness would walk away from a cash paying customer. The young man then smiled and told me - "It works this way, when a customer is on auto pay - when they stop coming they often forget to turn off the payments and cancel their memberships - so we still get paid that way whether they come or not and it auto renews each year." So long story short - I will not be renewing my membership this year. I would, if they would let me pay cash in full up front for the advertised $10.00 per month - however, I will still be using the gym whenever I like for free - because I have close friends and family members with Black cards - so I will now be coming as an unpaid guest.....Does this sound like a smart management team? (Note: if you read reviews below - it is apparently very difficult to cancel - with multiple customers complaining about having trouble canceling - which is apparently why auto pay and rollover contracts are more lucrative then cash...

IN 2016 MY DAUGHTER SUCCESSFULLY OPENED AN ACCOUNT AT AGE 17. SHE WAS ENJOYING HER GYM MEMBERSHIP AND SPIRATICALLY FREQUENTED THE GYM.IN LATE 2016 SHE WAS INBETWEEN JOBS AND HER BANK WAS NOT ABLE TO PAY THE MEMBERSHIP. 1/2017 SHE GOES INTO THE GYM TO PAY UP ACCOUNT AND ENJOY SERVICES. SHE WAS CHARGED $60 IN BACK MEMBERSHIP AND LATE FEES. THEN THEY TOLD HER AN ACCOUNT WAS OPENED IN 2013 UNDER HER NAME PER EMPLOYEE. MY DAUGHTER WOULD HAVE BEEN 14. EMPLOYEE STATED THAT THE BANK ACCOUNT WHICH THE ACCOUNT WAS OPENED WITH WAS ALSO IN MY DAUGHTERS NAME. AGAIN AT AGE 14?! HE ALSO INFORMED HER THAT SHE NEEDED TO PAY $200+ WHICH WAS LATE. WE EXPLAINED THAT MY HUSBAND I HAD AN ACCOUNT AND SHE WAS ABLE TO GO TO THE GYM UNDER MY ACCOUNT. WE PAID THE MONTHLY FEES FOR THAT FROM OUR ACCOUNT. MY HUSBAND AND I WENT 2 YEARS WITHOUT VISITING THE GYM AND DECIDED TO CANCEL. I CALLED AND WAS TOLD WE NEEDED TO COME INTO THE GYM TO CANCEL. WE DID SO. THEY SAID THANK YOU AND WE WERE ON OUR WAY. NEVER PAID AGAIN. WHEN WE ASKED THE EMPLOYEE TODAY FOR A COPY OF HER "SIGNED CONTRACT" FROM 2013 HE STATED HE WAS UNABLE TO "VIEW IT AS THE ACCOUNT IS CANCELLED" HE STATED THAT MY NAME WAS NOT ATTACHED TO THIS 2013 ACCOUNT AND THAT IT WAS SOLELY IN HER NAME. WHEN I ASKED TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER I WAS TOLD SHE WAS BUSY AND UNABLE TO TALK. SO WE DOUBLE VERIFIED THE INFORMATION GIVEN. THERE IS AN ACCOUNT FROM 2013 WITH A BALANCE OF $200+. SHE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE GYM UNTIL THESE FEES WERE PAID. SHE WOULD BE CHARGED A $50 CANCELLATION FEE TO CANCEL CURRENT CONTRACT. SO THEY WILL NOT ALLOW HER TO USE GYM, NOT ALLOW HER TO CANCEL CURRENT CONTRACT WITHOUT A FEE AND WILL CONTINUE TO CHARGE HER MONTHLY AND NOT ALLOW HER TO USE GYM AND KEEP HER $60 PAYMENT. THEY WOULD NOT PROVIDE A COPY OF THIS...

I just recently joined and staff during the morning were very friendly last weekend. However, this evening during my visit, I had a guest with me because my membership allows me to bring 1 guest and the young guy was instructing me to refer my guest to sign up for a free pass and to enroll for $1.00. He was so confident with giving me the wrong information , until another employee, stepped in and provided me the correct information because he noticed I was getting frustrated with this misinformation that was being provided .I’m not sure why this employee is working at the front desk that is not friendly and doesn’t seem to understand the difference memberships and clueless about information that he is sharing with customers . Please make sure your front desk employees are knowledgeable about the memberships, and providing the proper information. I was a few minutes away from canceling my membership base on the wrong information he provided. Night shift. Get it together please and he didn’t bother to apologize for providing the wrong...