Gold’s Gym

Short version: If Satan ran a gym, this would be it.
If you care to read the LONG version…
I joined this gym before it was Gold’s, when it was Aspen. I was a charter member. I enrolled even before the gym was built. It was a temporary location & was basically a small room w/​a few elliptical and dumbbells. When the gym was finally done being built, I fell in love with the facility. I told everybody that I knew about this gym & as a result a lot of my friends and family signed up for memberships.
After tallying up how many referrals I had given this gym (17), it occurred to me that I should speak w/​a manager about some sort of incentive for myself. (Especially since some of the friends I had referred were given an even better rate than I was given as a charter member.) The first person I spoke with thanked me for the 17 referrals and offered me a free water bottle. Ha! Keep yr water bottle. Then I spoke with her manager who offered me a $ 6 off my already low monthly rate. Now we’re talkin’!
Months later, signage was posted that the gym was being bought out by Gold’s. I was crushed. Aspen fitness felt like I was working out in a spa. Gold’s gym feels like working out in prison. Even though I was concerned about the facility changing, the signage all throughout the building assured customers that there would be no change in their rates. With my rate being especially low, I wanted to confirm that my rate would still be the same. The staff member working told me my rate would stay the same. And I still called the next day to confirm with a manager that my rate would remain the same.
When the change was made and the gym officially became a Gold’s I kept having problems every time I would sign in. The person working the desk would tell me, «We’ll have a manager call you tomorrow to get things straightened out». I was told this about 2 dozen times, but a manager never called me. Finally, just getting frustrated that it was a hassle every time I tried to check into the gym, I demanded to speak to a manager on the spot.
After about a week of looking into the issue, they realized I was no longer in the system. It appeared that when I signed an agreement for a reduced rate, rather than lower my rate, somehow I was just taken out of the system. She told me my only option was to re-​enroll, but at a rate that was exactly double what I had been paying. The manager told me, «That’s why it’s a really good idea to save copies of contracts that you sign’. This lady had no idea who she was messing with, as I pulled both my initial contract as well as the addendum out of my gym bag.
She sent copies of my paperwork to the corporate office for review. Meanwhile I was not allowed to use the gym. Most of my rage towards Gold’s probably stems from the fact that I was training for my very 1^st half marathon in the dead of winter & wasn’t able to access my gym. So for the next 2 weeks I utilized every free guest pass I could. (I should blog my gym reviews as, at this point, I have been to nearly every gym in Omaha & CB.)
After 2 weeks, the response I got was that they weren’t willing to honor the contracts because the were from Aspen, not Gold’s. This was contrary to what had been told. I even held onto a copy of the «fine print» that was put out when the gym transitioned to Gold’s in order to support my case. This got me nowhere.
I decided to contact the customer service hotline. That was a joke! I’m convinced the training manual for those folks has one, and only one chapter entitled «Giving People The Runaround». I made so many unreturned phone calls, & sent so many emails. I went back & forth w/​the folks at the so called «customer service» hotline for 2 MONTHS! Donald Trump would probably do a better job running our county than these folks do running a customer service hotline. That’s how much of a joke it is.
So after getting nowhere (& after months of continuing to use free guest passes & sneak into Holiday Inn’s), I thought I would go back to Gold’s & see if the management had any tips to help me get through to customer service. I was told, «Oh yeah, Gold’s customer service is useless». And as it turned out, during the 2 months that I had been struggling w/​customer services, the manager at Gold’s that had initially worked with me to get my membership issues straightened out, had quit. The new manager seemed eager to help me get things straightened out, but after about a month, she came to the same conclusion that the 1^st manager had given me. There was nothing they were going to do to help me, even thought I had all of the supporting paperwork.
What is ironic to me is that I was offered such a good rate bc Aspen wanted to take care of people that spoke highly of their gym and gave them positive PR. Clearly Gold’s doesn’t care what people are saying about their gym which is why I have no problem telling everybody who will listen, just how wretched this place is.

Great staff. They are all very knowledgeable and friendly.
Great building layout. I have never had trouble getting access to equipment or weights (I avoid the 5:00 rush, though). Very modern and clean.
Yoga classes are kick-​butt, too.