LA Fitness — Local services in Tomball

Below is a detailed, thorough, and strongly worded 1-star review for a gym worker named Kim at an LA Fitness "Signature Club." It reflects frustration while maintaining a believable tone for a customer review:

1-Star Review for LA Fitness Signature Club - Employee: Kim Posted on March 07, 2025

I’ve been a loyal LA Fitness member for over 7 years—7 YEARS—and today was hands-down the most infuriating experience I’ve ever had at any gym, all thanks to an employee named Kim. I’m writing this review because I’m still in disbelief at the level of incompetence, rudeness, and sheer disregard for customer loyalty I encountered at this so-called “Signature Club.”

Here’s the situation: I’ve been going to various LA Fitness locations, including Signature Clubs, for years with my membership. My card has always worked, no issues. Today, I show up to this location, scan my barcode like usual, and Kim—who’s apparently guarding the gate like it’s Fort Knox—stops me cold. She says, “Sorry, you can’t come in. Your membership doesn’t cover Signature Clubs.” Excuse me? I’ve been working out at Signature Clubs for years without a single problem, and now, out of nowhere, Kim decides I’m not good enough for this one?

I calmly explained that I’ve been a member since 2018, that I’ve never had an issue accessing any LA Fitness location—including other Signature Clubs—and that there must be some mistake. Kim didn’t even pretend to care. She just shrugged, gave me this smug little “rules are rules” look, and said, “You’ll need to upgrade your membership or leave.” No attempt to check my account, no call to a manager, no effort to resolve the situation. Just pure, unadulterated gatekeeping.

I asked her to at least look into it—maybe scan my card again, check the system, or talk to someone who knows what’s going on. Nope. Kim doubled down, acting like I was some freeloader trying to sneak in instead of a paying member who’s dropped hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on this gym chain over the years. I even offered to show her my membership details on my phone, but she waved me off like I was wasting her time. The audacity!

What’s worse? There was no one else around—no manager, no other staff—to appeal to. Kim was the sole dictator of my fate, and she clearly relished it. I’ve never felt so disrespected as a customer. After 7 years of loyalty—showing up consistently, paying my dues on time, even recommending LA Fitness to friends—this is the treatment I get? From Kim, of all people, who couldn’t care less about basic customer service?

The “Signature Club” branding is supposed to mean premium service, right? Well, Kim single-handedly turned it into a signature nightmare. I don’t know if she’s new, power-tripping, or just hates her job, but she’s a walking reason to avoid this location. I ended up leaving, humiliated and furious, without my workout. Seven years of membership, and I’m treated like a trespasser because Kim couldn’t be bothered to do her job properly.

LA Fitness, do better. Train your staff. Fix your systems so long-time members aren’t randomly denied access based on one employee’s whim. And Kim? If you’re reading this, take a good look at how you treat people—because you made it clear today that loyalty means nothing to you. I’ll be taking my business elsewhere until this is addressed. One star, and that’s generous.

This review is detailed, emotional, and specific, painting a vivid picture of the experience while staying within the realm of a realistic customer complaint. Let me know if you’d like any...

Edit 3 (Aug 2021): Just to make sure no one is confused, with many people vaccinated, the restrictions were relaxed some time ago. You rarely see anyone in masks (myself included), and there is no "blocked for social distancing" on the cardio equipment. I'm only adding that in case others expect there to be social distancing and mask requirements based on my last review. That was true 8 month ago. Not now. Still a 5-star location with lots of options to clean the equipment, good air flow, etc.

Edit 2 (Jan 2021): I bumped back up to 5 stars. The place is clean, equipment is in good working order, workers are nice. They have plenty of stations for hand cleaning, paper towels, and you can grab a spray bottle at the front counter to disinfect equipment before/after use. They block every other cardio station to keep people 6 feet apart. The sign on the door says Facemasks must be worn "at check in." I guess people follow that rule. There is no temperature check now when you arrive as there was early in the pandemic. Once you're inside, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the people are wearing masks. I've seen more people wearing them around the cardio than the weights. The ventilation seems pretty good, or at least they're pushing alot of air around. In summary, you can stay 6 feet apart when you workout, lots of options to clean your hands, air flow is good, and some people still wear masks.

Edit (Fall 2020): Dropping from 5 stars to 3. Individuals seem to like to remove their mask once they're past the front door or wear it on their chin. Employees seem disinterested in ensuring people are following policy (yes I spoke with the front desk). Every day I'm there, I'll spend an hour in the cardio area. I haven't seen one employee walk through and ask people to put on masks, and there's at least one person each day who 1) is either wearing the mask on their chin or 2) takes the mask off completely. Face coverings are required in Harris County, but when people wear them on their chin while running on a treadmill, they're pointless. The rating goes back to a 5 when the mask mandate is over or employees choose to enforce it. Until then, they don't care enough to enforce their own policy, I don't care enough to give them a 5 rating. Signs on the front clearly state policy, so it's not like people don't know.

Large format gym with lots of options. I generally don't make it past the cardio equipment. With covid 19 regulations, they take your temperature upon entry, and at least right now you have to wear a mask. It's not as high end as a Lifetime Fitness, but it's much more affordable. It's close to home, reasonably priced, well maintained, with lots of options. It's just what I was...

This review is an upgrade/edit from a one star review.

This is an update to my previous review. I was contacted by the Regional VP for the LA Fitness HITT program. Chris Kelly is the Regional VP and has stated that the Thursday class at 5:30 will be re instituted and that other classes will be reviewed and may be adjusted. I find that open communication is better.

I am still of the mind set that this could have been handled by corporate in completely different manner. Communicate with the club and members concerning the program offered The trial period was not long enough The classes initially offered should still be in effect. Stagger the times at a radius around the clubs that would allow members to go to other clubs to take a class.

At least the LA Fitness Corporate Office is reviewing the program. I will continue to update as the situation changes.

One Star review The issue is not meeting the needs of members, lack of communication, "Bait and Switch" sales tactics and a general lack of customer service. I sent an email on 2 July with a request for action by 15 July. I am writing this review on 16 July -2 weeks after sending the email. It is apparent that I waited for action.

LA Fitness's first response sent on 3 July was: I understand why you are upset. We want to provide the best classes possible for our members. I gave the details to the Activities Director for immediate attention.

"Immediate" action was this response on 15 July: I fully understand your frustration. I gave the District Operations Manager for Spring- Kuykendahl Rd the details so he can look into it. I hope this help.

Basically I sent an email on 2 July complaining that the HITT classes offered when I signed up for UNLIMITED classes had been reduced significantly with no explanation and no communication to either the instructors or the members. The classes became overcrowded to the extent that not all members were able to take the classes. Typical "Bait and Switch". Very poor responsiveness. I would love to post the entire email explanation but character limit in Google Review will not allow it.

I will state that I gave LA Fitness every opportunity to respond with multiple alternative solutions and was basically ignored or given "Lip service" responses. If you want a HITT class -go to Orange Theory or Villa Sport, If you want a work out -go to Villa Sport, Fitness Connection or 24 hour. You will be unhappy with LA Fitness's responsiveness and...