LA Fitness — Local services in Merrifield

Xsport in Merrifield was super friendly, I wasn't seeking services or a membership, I came in for an interview (I didn't accept the job, I wish I could have though!!!). Like with most businesses, you remember how they made you feel, Xsport in Merrifield and Alexandria, felt welcoming, helpful, and yes it was busy, but not overwhelmingly so. I think if enrolling in a membership, it's important to ask every single question relevant to your needs, and being assertive when it comes to that, otherwise, the salesperson will carry you into a membership before you know it. It is NOT UNFAIR, that would be like saying, you went to a car dealership, bought a car, weren't prepared or assertive enough in asking your questions, for big commitment....and then blaming it on the car dealer. You can point a figure at the salesperson, that is easy, I guess what is harder is taking the responsibility or assertiveness in pursuing complete information, even if its a tour, or just saying, ''listen, I need full disclosure, what (not are there any hidden costs, ask open ended Qs) are the hidden costs, what do members dislike, what is the catch, cancellation, upgrades, etc...It's a gym, the sales tactics may be aggressive, their membership advisors, PTs, basically the whole team, won't make a decent paycheck if they don't sell/meet their goals, and you know if you live in N. VA, a decent paycheck is ESSENTIAL. If they seem to only care about the sale, or are suddenly unkind after the sale, then that is them, it is not personal, they have to keep it moving, they see hundreds of people, IT IS SO EASY TO FORGET A FACE when you're in sales, it is not intentional, there are just so many people to interact with, and it is not disrespectful or uncompassionate, and if they are truly rude, then get up and address it with management. Email or speak to them, that's what I do. If your advisor isn't answering your questions or your gut is saying they're being shady, you have to be assertive, at that point ask tell them that, if need be, ask for the manager, say you seek full disclosure, what are the fees, any hidden fees, what are costs for this that, any unexpected costs to use any equipment, is the equipment in good shape, what are peak hours, what is included or not, a thorough tour, etc...GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED on what you are buying - IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, BE ASSERTIVE AND PREPARED, it is their job to sell memberships based on your health goals. The issues posted here are mostly all avoidable. Whining about an issue, especially after signing up, online without giving them a chance to solve it for you, is unfair, immature, petty, passive-aggressive, it's all ME, ME, ME, embarrassingly so, if you can see it that way. Time and energy can be spent solving issues hands-on. If it isn't solved or addressed within 48 hours, also, some things cannot be solved instantly (I wish weren't so impatient in this consumer culture...), then take the next step. Blasting on social media isn't fair, a company, like Xsport, who wants to make it right, skews the reviews, it is 10 times better than portrayed online. The same aggression in complaints can be used in the assertive action of info of what you're getting into. They do care, and if it is busy, that's good, like a busy restaurant. Knowing the peak hours and avoiding them if possible, or if you can't and you really need that much space to work out, then don't sign up, not every gym is for everyone. Isn't there a trial pass? This gym is Great and so is the Alexandria location, gorgeous gym, clean, tons of amenities, you can GET YOUR LASHES DONE IN FAIRFAX! And your hair, waxing, tanning, mani/pedis, massage and customized facials!!! The equipment is in good shape, there is a machine for everything. You can get fit here and support with it, of course it costs money. XSPORT IS A ONE STOP SHOP FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY, I was very...

I don't think I can write a review with NO stars so one will have to do. I should have read the reviews BEFORE signing up, but didn't see the signs until afterwards. If I knew, I NEVER would have gone here. As some other people have stated in the reviews here, this entire thing sounds like a huge scam. They reel you in with the membership price, tell you a lie about how that day (Monday afternoon) is the busiest it ever is (it was definitely super busy every time we went and we were always there before dawn), then don't fully inform you about their "awesome" 30-day money back guarantee. We were told we just have to come try it out 9 times, and then we'd get our money back!

After trying out the gym every day for over a week, and realizing how packed it always is, 50% of the equipment doesn't work, and it just wasn't worth it, we decided to cancel and get our money back since that's how it works supposedly... Nope. My bf went in to cancel and asked if we needed to come back in (they did not tell him how many times we'd checked in and if we needed to come back for another check in or more), someone signed the cancellation paperwork and sent him on his way. Maybe I should have gone with him and asked questions, but honestly, if you're running and HONEST business, it shouldn't have been that hard to communicate with a customer or client (and perhaps even try to KEEP their business...)

A month later they charged him $174! And now they won't give us our money back because we "didn't meet the requirements". If he asked the person that cancelled our account if we needed to come back in and they said NO, why would we come back? We still had plenty of time to finish our check ins if that were the case. But instead we find out a month after the accounts are canceled that we didn't get our money back. We spoke to someone at the branch who tried to be as helpful as possible and told us she would send the request for the refund stating that we were misinformed about the cancellation. And that it would take 4 to 6 WEEKS to receive a CHECK in the mail from corporate... Two months later, NO CHECK. I called corporate and had to wait another WEEK to get through to the person that was "handling" our account... Also... there's no checks. It IS done electronically and refunded to the card on file. More misinformation. I explained the entire situation to her and reiterated that WE HAD TIME TO COME BACK IN, but no one told us anything. It isn't right to ROB people because your employees are full of misinformation.

She mentioned sending in a cancellation letter within 30 days of cancellation. We were never told that. She mentioned that we could have had our check ins printed out and gone from there. No one told us that either. Don't you think we would have done that if we knew? And would have, oh I don't know, CAME BACK TO ENSURE OUR REFUND? She also mentioned TEN check-ins. For those of you that don't feel like scrolling back up, we were told we needed NINE. And going back to a gym you didn't enjoy NINE times... I don't know about you guys but I wouldn't remember how many times I went. It seemed like forever. But again, NO ONE told us how many check-ins we had. I'm being told we cannot get our refund. And the entire thing is based on the misinformation given by their own staff. It's not right. And at the end of that day, if even the corporate office won't take responsibility, it's a sad company. I did manage to speak to a manager at the branch as well who informed me that (even though I was misinformed) that their staff is well versed in the policies and relaying that information. I guess not... And again, no responsibility taken.

I wouldn't recommend ANYONE go to this gym. It's crowded, there's a ton of machines but they're all extremely close together and half of them don't work. And their sales...

So far poor & very stressful experience. I signed up my 2 teenage sons on 03/19. Team will welcome you to sign contract and then everything will go down hill from there. Starting from billing mistakes up to poor customer service. They double charged my card on April, my son was denied access that month. Called accounting (on the phone for an hour to resolve accounting issues). Make sure you keep all documents and have credit card statements, you need them. Then, I asked to cancel exit classes, that the rep sold us with membership, they cancelled entire membership. You the member, have to call around to resolve their mistakes. They kept charging my credit card for the classes I cancelled for 2 moth , another one hour on the phone to refund my money. WAIT FOR IT, I signed up my son for personal training session AGAIN, once you sign everything will fall a part after. First trainer was not available. Waited 10 days before start date then, he said he will text me when HE get time on his schedule for my sons sessions. I told him as a working mom with 3 kids cant work this way and my son is a student I need schedule, he said he cant, (wonder why the GYM give trainer more clients if he was overbooked) . I froze my sons PT sessions cause nothing was working at this point and the stress for his finals was enough. . Came back mid June, my son was assigned another trainer who left the GYM after first session. NO CONTACT from GYM. My son called me and said his trainer is NO SHOW called the GYM TO FIND OUT TRAINER NO LONGER WORKS THERE. (again you the member have to deal with it. My son is assigned currently to a 3rd trainer. Each time my son starts with a new trainer, I will walk in to the gym with him to make sure trainer knows his fitness goals. Last time, I called to speak with the new trainer to go over fitness goals on the phone instead of walking in for the third time , gym worker on the phone, rudely told me trainers are not sitting around waiting for calls. I RESPECT that but this is NOT a free service. GYM manager will say sorry and offer a free session THAT'S IT. May son so far had sessions with 3 different trainers, he is very frustrated as each trainer has his own way. So far he didn't benefit yet from these pricey sessions. I called and ask to cancel sessions , they said you cant cancel PT session a very important point your rep will not mention when signing the contract. So you pay the money and receive very poor service BUT cant cancel. After all this chaotic horrible experience, I'm wondering is this how they...