Catalyst Fitness - Maple — Local services in Town of Amherst

I’ve been a member for over 3 years. Catalyst has great facilities but unfortunately, zero business ethics and no regard for safety. My wife signed up over 2 years ago, used the facility maybe 5 times. She starts getting calls about a month ago saying the account is past due and billing method no longer working. We were unwittingly paying for this membership all this time (our bad for not noticing, thought it expired after a year). Talked to Michelle in billing/collections today, asked that they cancel the membership and to remove any remaining balance + late fees since my wife hasn’t walked through the doors in 2 years. Not looking for any refund, just want them to wipe out anything they show as owed - a couple months of membership and late fees Michelle tells me they can’t do that and I would need to speak to the manager. “Ok great, let me speak to the manager” - “oh, they’re not here, you would have to call them directly” - “ok, we’ll just have the manager call me at their convenience” - “I can’t do that, you need to call, I can’t ask them to call you” - “Seriously? You can’t pass a message to the manager to call me?” - “No, I can’t do that”.

Wow! Just wow! Why is the fitness industry so shady? I have had my own membership there for years, really like the gym, but now I’m going to have to cancel my membership as well as my wife’s because of their predatory and unethical business practices. So instead of them just canceling a membership that a person didn’t even know they had anymore and simply removing the last couple months of past due charges (after having already collected hundreds of dollars while providing no service), now they are going to have 2 memberships cancelled ( my wife’s and mine), bad reviews like this one, I will warn anybody who mentions Catalyst about their shady business practices, and they will continue to cost themselves money by trying to collect a faux debt that will never be paid.

When they could have just done the right thing and they would still have me as a paying member, no bad reviews and no further collection expenses. When a company makes a decision to shoot themselves in the foot like this, it tells me everything I need to know about them. Good riddance Catalyst!

Now I have to find a new gym that isn’t shady, which will be a very difficult task. What is it with this industry? Absolutely chock full of degenerates who operate fitness facilities with no ethics whatsoever.

At least now I won’t fall and get injured when they shut all the lights off in the gym right at closing time to encourage people to leave. Yeah, seriously, they do this as a standard practice while people are holding heavy weights and trying to navigate in the dark through a maze of steel equipment and weights. I complained and they told me it’s the only way to get people to leave and it’s worth it even if someone gets hurt, even if it’s an employee, not just members.

What else would anyone need to know about this company, management and ownership. Really is a shame when the facilities themselves are great but the people running them have no ethics and zero regard for the safety of their members and their...

I have never written an online review- I have never felt the need to until now. I have been with Catalyst since Colvin was women-only, and then I transitioned to Maple once Colvin was under renovation.

I was frustrated at how long the renovations took, but I stayed loyal to Catalyst. I loved the equipment and amenities. As a college student, I was also happy to pay a "freeze plan" in which I only paid $5 a month to keep my membership active while I was away at school. I looked forward to going to Catalyst during my winter and summer breaks from school, knowing I was paying a fair price and getting great perks.

This plan no longer exists (which was not clearly communicated to me until I called for clarification). As I am now moving to my college town full-time, I decided to cancel my membership.

Attempting to cancel my membership has been an exhausting process. I never complain, but I have had to hunt people down, call several times, and be told "the back office is still processing this" far too often. I looked at my bank account, and to my dismay, realized that I was still being charged the new increased membership fee.

I was even asked to send proof of my move, which I did. I got no response after that, and then, after I called for clarification, I was told to email my proof of move to yet another person. I am lucky I called and clarified, or else who knows if my information would have ever been processed. Members (especially of several years) should not have to hunt people down to make sure their membership can be processed and cancelled. It's that simple.

My mom and I called, to which the representative said the documents still needed to be processed through the “cancellation department.” It turns out, she herself is the cancellation department. Lots of smoke and mirrors.

I love Buffalo. I love people. And I love moving my body. I hope Catalyst can get back to these simple roots rather than recklessly pursuing profit over people. I miss the intimate and compassionate feel of this gym.

I hope these sentiments can be a Catalyst for change! While this business model may work for some, it simply isn’t conducive to a student’s lifestyle, especially those who go away to school. I feel that Catalyst should offer more for students.

I wish Catalyst all the best, and maybe there would be a day I return. But a lot would have to change between...

Message for owners, Amy and Joe: Yesterday evening, I arrived at the Meyer Road location and was told I could not enter without proof of vaccination. I want to be very clear that I think this is a terrible business decision. I’m a new member and have been enjoying the club, until this.

Personal choice to participate in any medical procedure, including vaccination, should not allow or preclude any person from access to any place or service. This goes down a very bad path, of tying together, public access and personal healthcare decisions .It’s a slippery slope and I disagree with it. Of course if this was mandated on a government level that would be another matter and this would need to be dealt with at that level. However, there is no requirement by the county to show proof of vaccination to enter a public venue at this time.

I spoke with a manager, Reagan, this morning by phone, and asked him what the rationale is for this. He stated he didn’t know. He did explain that single club members are now allowed to attend any Catalyst club wearing a mask and with no proof of vaccination. However, your decision is more impactful than you realize. You assume that everyone has equal mobility, and they do not. So this actually runs into a disability / access issue. I myself have a disability. I have a vision impairment. I cannot drive. For me, your other locations are not accessible.

I’m very disappointed. Last winter you were crying “open up the clubs” and “quit the lockdowns.” And now you’re shutting people out.

UPDATE: I called my insurance and I am now free to choose another gym. I called Catalyst this evening and the staff I spoke with said that my membership was canceled yesterday. I didn’t ask yesterday for it to be canceled. So my membership was canceled without my knowledge. The membership was supposed to be for a year, but he said that the person who initiated it only put it in for two months. But I was calling to cancel anyway. He assured me they will be no further charges.

I will consider Catalyst in the future but you will have to change your policies on how you treat the public. I would have given a five star review, but because of this decision about requiring the vaccination and cancelling my membership without my knowledge, I’m just going to have to give one star. And as I do with all my reviews, I...