Planet Fitness — Local services in Phoenix

I visit this location several times a week. The best way for me to describe my feelings toward Planet Fitness as a whole is "reluctant acceptance." PF is a good value. I started at the Arizona Ave location in Chandler with the $10/mo membership, but upgraded to the $20 Black Card when I changed offices. With the Black Card I am able to utilize any location (max 10x a month) even if it's not my "home" location.

Essentially, you get what you pay for with Planet Fitness. PF has a lot of cardio equipment, and an okay amount of weight machines. This seems to be consistent across all locations. From an expectation standpoint, it's good that they're fairly consistent. However, there is some variation in machine availability and design from facility to facility. As I have continued to progress in my workout routine, I do find myself wishing my gym offered a larger variety of equipment.

For the price, it's hard to complain (until you compare them to Eos...)

As for THIS Planet Fitness location...

The Crowd: During the time of day that I utilize this gym (early morning), there are not many people there, but I can't comment on how busy their peak hours are. For my needs, the amount of people is perfect. From what I can tell, the "judgement free zone" mentality isn't really an issue. I've seen evidence of this business model causing issues either with patrons or staff members at other locations, but I've never seen any issues.

The Equipment: As mentioned above, PF doesn't have a ton of equipment, but it has what you'll need for basic weight lifting, cardio and stretching. My gripe with this location is that some of the attachments for the cable machines seem to have disappeared over time, and have not been replaced. For instance, there has not been a V-bar attachment for several weeks. This is a pretty standard accessory to expect from any gym. The other attachments are limited in quantity and condition, which hasn't hindered my workouts yet, but I imagine it has for those who come when the gym is more occupied.

Additionally, the equipment seems to get to the point of needing to be serviced before it actually is, instead of being consistently maintained. On one occasion, as I was using the cable row machine, I pulled the weight plates up, and they did not come back down.

The Facilities: This location does have a bit nicer of a layout in the locker room and shower area than other locations. The 3 main showers have a changing area attached to each of them, which is very convenient. This offers more privacy and ease of use. Much like the equipment, this area does not seem to be consistently maintained. I recently went into a shower to find a soaked box from a bar of soap and a used Band-Aid on the floor. I opted to use a different shower. After my workout the following day, I returned to this shower again to find the same box and Band-Aid still on the floor.

The Staff: I have little input to offer regarding the staff. There is generally the same gentleman there whenever I work out. I haven't interacted with him a whole lot, but he is very sociable to many of the regulars. He's rarely manning the counter, but he always has the phone on him for patrons to call him back over if needed.

PF does offer training at no additional charge, but this is limited to one trainer's schedule during typical workday hours.

Overall, Planet Fitness is perfectly adequate for someone wishing to be physically fit. It doesn't offer the frills of higher-end gyms, and would not be great for someone looking for intensive body-building equipment. The ability to location-hop with the Black Card is a big perk, as PF has several locations nation-wide. This is the main reason that they have my business. There are competitors in a similar pricing structure that have more to offer than PF, such as Eos and YouFit, but they do not offer the same vast array of locations. I'll be sticking with Planet Fitness until I decide I want to spend a significantly higher amount on a fancy gym or their competitors...

This is a mediocre gym but it is priced right.

Price: You really can't get a better deal in terms of price. PF is priced right in line with most of the low-cost big box gyms (i.e. EOS, Vasa, etc.) However, you do get what you pay for.

Cardio: This PF is good for cardio. They have a wide variety of treadmills, ellipticals, stair climbers, etc. The machines are middle of the road in terms of quality but they get the job done.

Strength Training: This is where this PF suffers. First, the machines are often in disrepair and it takes multiple weeks before machines are repaired. (For example, the leg curl machine, one of the cable towers, and one of the smith machines are currently inoperable, and have been inoperable for over a month).

This normally wouldn't be that big of a deal, but since the gym simply does not have a lot of strength training equipment in the first instance, it can be frustrating. Furthermore, the gym does not use its space wisely. Most of the gym floor is dominated by cardio equipment, however, it seems that the strength training portion of the gym is consistently getting more use (i.e. the smith machines are almost always occupied, same goes with any leg press machines, and cable towers). The gym also has this "30-minute workout section" that isn't used often and is an awkward space that would be better served by adding more equipment for general use.

Finally, there is just not enough equipment. I know it is hard to add more machines, but the gym could easily add more dumbbells, kettlebells, and plates. These free weights are often in use or otherwise strewn about the gym making them hard to find (which really isn't PF's fault... re-rack your weights!). Still, wouldn't hurt to toss some more equipment around. Add another stack of dumbbells, triple the kettlebell selection, and add more plates (it can be hard to find 45lb plates for the smith machines or leg press machines).

Otherwise, it is very clean and quiet. This PF can probably get away with more than normal because it is really the only big box gym in the area, and if budget is your primary concern, you really don't have another option...

Ive been a customer here for 2 years. This is why im leaving planter fitness: I canceled a credit card 2 months ago, and tried to change my billing info. I couldn’t do it through the app. I tried emailing and calling customer service, no response. I came in person with the new card number, and after 15 minutes of manually entering numbers it turned out a physical card was necessary. I came again (if youre keeping count this is my 4th attempt to pay them 10$). The girl behind the counter tells me i need a routing number. I tell her that i have more protection with a credit card and am unwilling to pay with a routing number (its a good way to get your identity stolen). She says “no problem” takes my card and updates the info. She then tells me there is a 10$ late fee. This is frustrating, but I let it go. She apologizes, doesn’t wave the fee, and tells me the issue wont happen again. Its exactly one month later. I’ve just gotten a notification that I have a billing issue. I’ve called and the guy over the phone told me there’s no way to update the credit card info, that I need a routing number. He also tells me i need to come in person to solve the issue. I tell him I am unwilling to give planet fitness a routing number. He tells me there’s no way to solve the problem. This despite the fact that they currently have a credit card on file, just the wrong one. I’m pretty sure there are other gyms in phoenix where it’s not difficult to give them money. Id better cancel my membership soon before they charge me a late fee for refusing to...