LA Fitness — Local services in Phoenix

I am not one to complain about things. However when it comes to customer service, I like to be honest with companies so that they can see how the customer is experiencing their product and make the changes they need to ensure that what they are doing is driving business, sales and improving their reputation and their customers experience.

There are a couple things I would like to see the company take some time to improve but for this session I will only focus on the most obvious. The first and number one area I see a massive need for improvement is at the front desk. I would like to see the company spend some time hiring people who act like they love their job, the company and the customers. Because I am compassionate and understanding of how and why this condition at the front desk exists, I find myself coming in and trying to cheer these poor people up.

So here is the normal experience when I come into an LA Fitness. I usually feel like I am an annoyance to most front desk personnel as I always seem to be interrupting them when I check in. If they are not on a phone talking and ignoring me, they are working on the computer, reading a book or playing on their cell phone. It is also really common to see the front desk personnel talking to each other and having a good time while showing zero interest in me as a customer coming into their establishment. It seems like the managers are only hiring attractive young girls solely for their looks rather than their ability to interact in a genuine meaningful manner with their customers.

Here is what I would like to see from front desk and staff in general. Act like you want to be there. Act like you care about the customers experience. Act like having a job is something that you are grateful for. Act like the customer is the person you work for. Everything starts with management and to change the culture you will need to start at the top.

It is also important to properly train your associates and hire people who understand who they really work for which is us, the customers. We pay your bills. You exist because of us, not the other way around. We do not exist as customers because you came into business. We do not work for you, you work for us. You need to treat your employees like the president of the company would want you to treat their finest customer.

As an analogy, you should learn from Amazon and obsess over the customer experience. You should have systems in place that reward associates who go above and beyond for the customers and how they treat each other as employees. You should have some kind of system where you can monitor how the front desk is interacting with your clients and how employees are being treated. You should be hiring passionate employees who are extroverted and who love to make the customer number one. Have some diversity in who you hire as well as I very rarely see anyone over 20 at the front desk. Train your front desk personnel. Train your managers. Become number one in the industry for customer service. Re-brand yourselves as the gym who is obsessive over the customer and who focuses on the...

THAT JUST HAPPENED!

I am just going to give the verbatim conversation to explain my one star review.

Background: I worked out at this LA fitness for about 4 years. The pros were the equipment options and that it is literally next door. I didn’t understand why there were only 8 random tv channels on the cardio equipment or why I received 2 phone calls per day, every day, each year that it was time to renew. The front desk people were okay. All in all, I wasn’t in love, but I don’t need to be in love to work out—I just need equipment and convenience. In September of 2016, I took a break from the membership because of other priorities.

Today, I visited a new local gym and was impressed with the set-up, the no-pressure approach, and the full set of channels on the cardio equipment ;-). It was slightly further away and a higher financial investment, so I stopped by LA Fitness on the way home for a quick comparison. I wanted to ask if there was a change in the channel situation, and get the current membership pricing. I anticipated a conversation, some pressure to join, and the information to make an informed decision.

Me to Young Lady at Front Desk: “Hello, could I please speak to someone in membership services?”

(She glanced over, membership section looked empty—I expected that I might have to wait a little.)

Her: “Well, what questions did you have exactly?”

Me: “Oh, I just wanted to check in on the number of cardio channels.”

Gentleman at desk “8.”

Me: “Okay, and I’d like to talk to someone in membership services about your current membership options.”

Her: “Okay, just write your name and phone number on this piece of paper, and we’ll get someone.”

Me: “Okay, here is my name. I’m not going to list my phone number because I’ve had a lot of nuisance calls from LA Fitness before." I wasn’t a jerk--just stated my preference and assumed that she would say okay.

Her: “You can’t speak to anyone from member services unless we have your phone number."

Me: "Ok. Thank you." Walked out.

Still stunned. I honestly never had someone refuse to try to sell me something unless they had my phone number.

I'm a healthcare professional and coach. I speak with people about health, and give them opinions about local fitness options. Apparently, LA Fitness just turned down my membership and the potential memberships of my clients.

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