Equinox Columbus Circle — Local services in New York

--Update--

Equinox Corporate turns out to be very unhelpful, keeps asking us to resolve the matter with Equinox Columbus Circle, where the incident happened and the GM doesn't care. Very unprofessional.

GM at Columbus Circle did not care, and chose to protect his lying/rude employees. The GM was supposed to contact us...but not until after 5 calls with Equinox Corp asking why no one was reaching out.

Issue was never resolved.

Assistant manager's name may not be Catrina, but is something that started with a C.

Avoid this place.

--Summary--

Front desk (Hanna) was rude and manipulative, assistant manager (Catrina) was extreme rude and lied to our face. Equinox Corporate (Corbin) was professional and helpful, but waiting for the general manager of this location to call us back to see if the issue can be resolved. Currently waiting for our refund and the status of our membership.

---Details---

I am not a member of the gym (although I was about to sign up since my gf is a member and I'm about to move), so I was using the gym with my gf's guest pass. Upon entering the gym, front desk (Hanna) right away gave my gf an attitude, claiming that she could have signed me up through her phone app, which would have been much easier (fine). We then realized that Equinox deducted us for 2 guest passes instead of 1, so we went back to Hanna for help. She told us (again with an attitude) that this is not her problem and she can't help. We asked her if she could speak with her manager, she agreed but just stood there and did nothing. Eventually she promised that she would speak to her manager and talk to us after our work out.

This is when the situation really turned south.

After our work out, we spoke with the manager, Catrina. Once again, we had to explain her the entire situation, and she simply said "call IT, I can't do anything", and of course with an attitude. She then pulled out my gf's guest pass history, noting that I've used her guest pass 4 times, and said "you've already used it 4 times in total, what do you want me to do? You are already taking advantage, because you are supposed to sign up after 2 times of use". At this point, we really got upset because we knew the "2 time use" rule was straight up just a lie (which was confirmed by Equinox Corporate afterwards, as long as you have a guest pass, you can give it to whoever you'd like). After calling her out by asking her to provide this rule in writing, Catrina became even more rude and aggressive, and said "you are not a member, so I refuse to talk to you". I later asked for both Catrina and Hanna's name, and said I would file a complaint against the both of them, Catrina simply responded with "I don't think this is necessary" and just walked away.

Catrina was rude since the beginning because apparently Hanna told her we had an attitude (Hanna mistreated us to begin with and we were a bit frustrated, but Hanna gave us an attitude ever since we walked in and throughout). I just think it's funny how Catrina believed a one sided story and labeled us as the bad people, and massively mistreated us by lying and disrespecting.

The next day...

We received a call from this location, saying that our membership will be canceled due to 2 incidents the day before. Management at this location only listened to the one sided story told by Hanna and Catrina, didn't care to find out what we had to say, and canceled our membership just like that. We are currently in the process of getting refund for 2 months, which they agreed to pay us back.

After filing a complaint to Equinox Corporate, they said the GM of this location would contact us and try to resolve this issue. We are still waiting for their call and they were supposed to call us yesterday. We hope that the GM will be professional (like Corbin from Equinox Corporate), unlike Hanna and Catrina.

---Aside---

After reading some of the comments below, it appears that this location can be discriminatory against minorities, not sure if our experience here was related, but...

I've been a longtime Equinox member. Columbus Circle does give you the luxury vibe - equipment, cleanliness and location. The downside, on the other hand, would be the inequities and discriminatory attitudes particularly toward Asian men from staff and other members. CC Management has been unwilling or extremely slow to hire and retain Asian employees. In all my years, they had ONE temporary Asian Assistant Manager, no Asian membership advisors, ONE front desk Filipino employee, no more than 1 Asian personal trainer at a time, 1 Asian maintenance worker, and 2 Asian group fitness instructors. Front desk employees and assistant managers would give Asians the runaround should he or she files a complaint. Then comes the notorious retaliation and made believe rumors to shun, harass, degrade and humiliate the Asian complainants. Personal trainers and group fitness instructors will get into your personal space throughout the gym as well as spread vicious rumors. Furthermore, they will give nonverbal cues of disgust, disdain, and/or unwelcomed behaviors - (1) turning his or her face to the side each time you walk pass them, (2) grimace expression of disgust, (3) facial and bodily expression signaling intimidation, (4) pushing him or herself directly into your workout and using the equipment, (5) and much more. If you file a complaint, take a photo of the document while you're standing at the front desk. There will be notations on your gym profile with a copy of the complaint or the front desk employee would simply trash it. Group fitness instructors will spread rumors from one location to another. Having a photo safeguards you and your reputation vs rumors. My advice for Asian men is to ignore and continue to show up to workout. That is why you pay for your membership whether it's $100 (employer subsidized), $170 (corporate discount) or $250-300 (retail). Do not let them intimidate or harass you. You do not have to interact with them because they will never acknowledge your presence unless he or she is your personal trainer. Choose one who has a record of training and are comfortable around Asians, especially Asian men.

Tips to Save You the Headache:

Freezing your account - You can freeze your account once a year for any reason online or in the Equinox mobile app. You will incur the same monthly membership fee during your freeze if you're still within your initial 12-month contract terms. You will only incur $30 per 30 day freeze if you're outside of your contract terms or can demonstrate a medical reason. You don't have to do in person. It can't be done via phone or email.

Canceling your membership - You can't cancel your membership if you're within your initial 12-month membership unless you move 50 miles away from any Equinox club or documentation from a medical provider. If you're outside of your contract terms, you will need to give a 45-day notice in person with an assistant manager or a general manager. Unfortunately, cancellations must be done in person. You can request by sending a certified return-receipt postal mail if you're outside of your contract terms. You will still be charged for 45-days from the date of your request.

Locker Room Thefts - Minimize your chances by placing one hand covering the combo lock while you set it. If someone acts suspicious or hovers over you, leave and come back a few minutes later to move your items to another locker. Place all valuables inside the temporary small lock boxes located near...

The place itself is at a great location and hard to beat. The only drawback is the lack of windows since it's in the sub basement. The equipment and facilities are just like any other Equinox. Mostly clean and somewhat new. The proximity to apartment buildings make it a crowded place. This is also one of the few locations with a pool. The pool is small and crowded, 3 lanes, 25 meters long, and 4 feet deep. Water is a little green and highly chlorinated, OK if you're a die hard swimmer, but might be a little too much for the casual.

SO... the reason why only 1 star. WARNING, this is going to be a rant.

Worst customer service, ever. Befitting that they are in the Time Warner building, they must share the same customer service trainers.

I've been an Equinox member for years at the 43rd st location, loved it there. My company just moved to the Columbus Circle area and I was going to move my membership over to this location. What should have been an easy upgrade (READ MORE MONEY FOR THEM) ended with me cancelling the membership.

I'm there and ready to upgrade my membership to the all access pass since this place is called a flagship location and you can't get a localized rate. First the account services guy tries to make me pay the full price plus an upgrade fee, UPGRADE FEE!!! It's not good enough that I'm willing to pay them more every month, they want me to PAY for the PRIVILEGE to PAY MORE. Then I kindly let him know that my company has a corporate agreement and I should be getting a discount with no fees. Guy tells me that my numbers are wrong and it's higher then what I expected. The difference was not that much and I was somewhat OK with it so I agreed.

As I'm filling out the form, I let him know that I looked forward to working out after the paperwork was done. He then tells me no, I can't workout there until the next billing cycle.

What am I suppose to do until then? I'm not going back to my old location to workout.

Not his problem and he doesn't care. So I ask for the manager and he tells me the manager will tell me the same thing. As I'm sitting there wondering what's going wrong. He's also sitting there NOT getting the manager. Then I insist and he disappears for a few minutes. When he returns, he tells me that the manager is busy with someone else and would not be able to talk to me. Then he asks if I was going to sign the papers. I tell him that I'd wait so he should go get the manager.

When manager finally shows up, he gives me a weird greeting and asks what's wrong. I go through the whole thing over again and tell him that I've already paid for the current month, I'm upgrading to the higher price, and want to work something out so I could work out there. He then tells me that if I was a new customer he could let me work out as a guest but since I was already a member, there was nothing he could do for me.

In my mind, I'm wondering what kind of manager is this where he already knows that I'm a member and is willing to give them more money, yet not willing to make things right.

After another few minutes of chit chat I kindly let him know that I'd like to cancel my membership.

He couldn't help me with that either and told me to go back to my old gym. My OLD EQUINOX gym. Is this not the FLAGSHIP EQUINOX LOCATION?!?

Equinox, what is wrong with you that you'd let a member willing to pay your high prices walk out the door because...