Soul Fitness

Updating from my previous review where I tried to get pricing over the phone and failed since «they don’t give prices over the phone»
So after some thought I told myself «Working out at lunch is probably worth the horrible customer service; maybe I will only join for the summer» and I decided to run across the street to check out pricing options (since they don’t give pricing information over the phone). When I arrived I was greeted by and was told to wait while someone else would come out to give me information.
Lindsay (who was very nice) came out only to tell me that she couldn’t give me pricing information; only the manager can give out information and sign people up for memberships. So, once again I had to deal with people at this gym that are next to useless.
Long story short these people are making it almost impossible for me to give them money… which is an interesting tactic for a business…
Side Note — this gym doesn’t do trial memberships! I don’t think I have ever came across a gym that doesn’t offer at least a 3 day trial!
There is definitely something wrong with how this gym is being managed. Not for me!

Do not join this gym unless you are willing to be billed forever. Their business model is to make it as hard as possible to discontinue the membership. Don’t let them tell you otherwise.
My contract has long expired but they make it nearly impossible to terminate the membership. I have filled out multiple cancelation forms in person, and made numerous calls to the gym in order to facilitate the cancelation. They keep claiming they don’t have any record of my cancelations, and continue to bill me every month. They are now saying I need to schedule an appointment with the general manager to get my cancelation taken care of.
And I was an A+ customer. I was a member at Soul Fitness (it used to be called Rain Fitness, but they rebranded it because of so many bad reviews) for almost 6 years, and purchased literally 100’s of personal training sessions.
It’s a real shame that the owner is so greedy and unethical, because it’s a nice little gym, I’m sure it could be a great little business as it is right across the street from Amazon. But apparently There have been many email chains circulated around Amazon stating the same concerns I have.

I received an invitation to join this gym at what was probably an introductory rate ($ 29.99 a month) and decided to ask a series of basic questions about the addition costs or the «fine print,» most of which were simple yes or no questions but they consistently refused to even try to answer a single one of them. This made me think they were being intentionally allusive about costs and services so I’m deciding not to do business with them.

HARASSMENT! I just submitted Soul Fitness to the USPS Inspection Service with a formal complaint for Mail Harassment. I asked to be removed from their ENTIRE DATABASE roughly a year ago (I could pull up my notes on who I spoke to and when if I wanted to), and asked that I be removed. I was assured that this happened (given that I had to call them twice in a week to have this done because the response I received from them the first time was a postcard via mail giving me a membership offer…), but lo and behold here I am with another card. Luckily, they have my old address. Unfortunately, that mail forwards.
They do not care about what you want. They are out for the almighty dollar.

It’s average. I would go to the YMCA if it was closer to my place. Fortunately, my new place has a gym so I will be cancelling service here.
Pros
1) Location — right next to Amazon in SLU
2) Staff — the general manager, Kelsee is wonderful and accommodating. Most of the staff in the front are also very friendly and surprisingly make an effort to remember their customers.
3) Price — the monthly price is affordable and not ludicrous like some of the gyms nearby.
Cons
1) Treadmills — a third to half of the treadmills either have TVs that don’t work or need to be serviced/​repaired.
2) Cleanliness — there are no individual towels to wipe down the equipment — ITS DISGUSTING! They have buckets at different corners of the gym with a few thin red towels that are re-​used by different people. Yes, the sweat is basically redistributed.
3) Space — everything is somewhat cluttered, especially near the weights in the back.
4) Amenities — I think the website mentions a pool, tennis court etc… all of that is in their «sister» location in Edmonds.
I haven’t experienced any issues with cancelling the service — I think they ask for a 4 week notice or something so as long as you stay within that, it causes no problems.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS GYM. They do not care about customer service, they do not care about you. They only care about squeezing every penny out of each person when they come in the door. The staff has completely turned over since I started less than 9 months ago, which definitely says something.
They lock you into a 12 month contract, which you cannot get out of without paying a penalty, and then they raise their membership dues… What kind of place does that? They didn’t even send out a notification. When I called to see what was going on, they were wholly unconcerned and said that there was nothing they could do and that I should talk to someone in person the next time I come into the facility.
If there was a zero or a negative star option, I would have selected it. And, to be clear, I generally like to write reviews for places in which I’ve had really positive interactions that have surprised me, rather than negative reviews.
Also, they are not Better Business Bureau accredited and actually score a D-​! (
)

Nice employees, the place is clean and there is plenty of equipment. That accounts for the 2 stars.
Whoever owns the place and/​or makes the business rules accounts for the 3 missing stars.
Here is why I think this place lacks:
1) If you forget to bring your badge to sign in they tell you that you need to pay for a new one next time. I cannot remember exactly how much it costs but when you hear the number you recognize they are trying to make money off of it. What makes it more transparent is they take your picture when you sign up and can look you up by name to verify it is you. A badge is unnecessary. I don’t want to carry badges with my safeway club card, etc. Just let me tell you my name!
2) My credit card was suspended by my bank due to fraud while on an 11 day vacation out of the country. Soul couldn’t bill me, so they called every day. That is fine. But my first day back I went to pay them and explain the circumstances they took my new card and said they would run later that day. Now I see they charged me a late fee even after I told them why I was 10 days late. I thought it was strange that they didn’t tell me they were going to add the late fee.
3) Today when I was pissed off after discovering the late fee I said I was ready to cancel. Then I was told that you have to either come in and do it in person or through certified mail. That is right. Your mail needs to be certified otherwise they will ignore it.
The owner’s practices lack common sense and any semblance of customer service. And when they exercise this lack of judgement it errs on the side of nickel and diming the customer.
Again, on a day to day basis the employees are great and the place is clean. When you come in contact with the owner’s business model and practices your skin will crawl.

Every negative review here is completely accurate and matches my experience — terrible management, terrible staff (as a result of the management I am sure), terrible policies (particularly cancellation… why do you have to come in person???). I normally go out of my way to support local business, but in this case I would take the lackluster 24-​Hour Fitness down the block any day.

These guys really disappointed me.
PS If you’re considering joining, look at the other reviews, and then check out their ratings with the Better Business Bureau. They are deplorable.
When I signed up, I was reassured that if I moved away (my job is tentative) that I could withdraw my membership WITHOUT PENALTY so long as I could prove I had a different address. At the time I was living out of town and commuting to Seattle, so I considered that I had a safe out if things went wrong.
Fast forward six months, I’ve had no problems with the gym. Until one day I returned to find my lock gone and my locker empty. There my troubles began.
Not once was I apologized to. I got nothing but ass-​covering, making sure that I knew they weren’t responsible. I never once asked them to be responsible, but I was forced to ASK for an apology, and to ASK for someone to take action on my behalf, and never once did I have an advocate. I dealt with the manager, who assured me that the owner would call me. He never did. I had to continue to nag for follow up calls rather than being ignored. The manager had no power whatsoever to deal with me, every action had to be passed up the food chain.
Eventually I said I just wanted out of my contract. I was informed that was not possible and that I had been misinformed when I first signed up. I could not get out without significant penalty.
I am still being charged for a membership and a locker, neither of which I feel secure in using. I have finally been in contact with the owner via email and his tone was condescending and again, I had to ASK for an apology and absolutely no mitigation of the circumstance was offered. I again asked to be let out of my contract, and I got, essentially, «well if we let you do it, everyone would ask.»
In my last two exchanges with the owner, he told me what my locker number was and it was wrong both times. Two other employees reinforced that my locker number was the one I thought it was. All this does is strengthen my notion that they messed up and are making me pay for it.
I want out of my contract because I feel insecure using this facility. I have never asked anyone to take responsibility for my property being stolen, but I had to ask for apologies, and I was never offered an alternative to cancellation that would make me happy. This hasn’t been a negotiation, this has been me being shunned, blamed, called a liar, insulted, and made to feel like a second class citizen.
Finally, I have gotten different answers on what actually happened with my locker from three different people. At the end of the day, I think they threw my stuff out due to a clerical error and aren’t willing to admit it. So I get blamed and suffer for it instead.
Kelsee the manager really felt bad for me, I believe, but wasn’t empowered to do a single thing on her own. Glen, the owner, could have done something at any time, including call me and apologize. Instead he chose to reject me, avoid negotiation, and essentially reinforce the notion that I got, and will continue to be, screwed. There are other gyms in SLU. Find one of them.

Up front: I haven’t used the gym. This review is based on a ridiculously bad customer service I got when I called to inquire about membership and amenities.
I talked to Keith, and had the most awkward and uncomfortable conversation. He answered a few basic questions, but then proceeded to ask me if I have a gym membership somewhere else. I said, yes, and he asked me more about that. Why do you need to know what I’m doing now? I’m asking about your club.
RED FLAG #1: I asked if they had a trial pass for a few days to see if I would even like the gym. No, they don’t. I’ve never encountered a gym that didn’t let you try it out. What are they hiding? A quick tour and list of amenities is not the same as really experiencing the gym, when you can see how busy it gets during your regular workout times, how clean they actually keep it, and how the rest of the patrons behave.
RED FLAG #2: He explained that they offered incentive ($ 200 – 300 off) if you sign up with a contract the first day you come in, rather than waiting to think about it. Based on the other reviews here, I’m guessing they do that so you don’t visit Unilocal to discover how bad they are.
That aside, it’s so convenient to my office I said I’d try and stop by later in the day. Then he asked for my phone number. I said, «No, thank you.» He said they had to have it for their schedule, and I told him I didn’t want to give him my phone number. I’ve had too many gyms I visited call me incessantly after visiting once. He said I’d have to give it when I signed the waiver. Fair enough, but I’m not giving it over the phone.
Then he asked what time I’d be in. I said I didn’t know. He said «well you said you were going to come in today.» I reminded him that I said «I’d try,» because I didn’t know if I was going to have time. Apparently, they will talk to you by appointment only. I guess that’s fine, but it really felt like he was pressuring me to make an appointment right now.
I hung up feeling like I just got pressured by a used car salesman. And I was pissed off enough that I decided I’d come write a review about it. Guess I should have started by reading the reviews already on here. Would have saved me the 5 minutes on the phone.

Incredibly rude staff/​manager.
Continue charging months after canceling membership.
Reinstate membership without your knowledge, then tack on late fees.
I can only assume the manager there has small-​man syndrome, is unfathomably insecure, or else lacks the common sense to treat members with courtesy. He pretty much called me a liar and said he wouldn’t do anything to help me cancel my membership, but would continue charging me and it was my problem whether or not I used the membership. I probably could’ve been talked into renewing if I’d spoken to a normal human being that understands customer service.
All of this, after I’d canceled over 6 months ago.
I didn’t take much heed to previous reviews about how horrible this place is, but it is the worst gym I’ve ever been a member of (24Hour and LA Fitness are much better). They should fire the manager or close this place down.

My experience with this gym has been nothing but positive.
When signing up, I had specific goals in mind for how much I could pay and what I wanted the contract to be like, and the manager, Riley, was very accommodating to all my requests. After a few months it came time for me to move gyms, and the cancellation was as quick and painless as the manager promised it would be.
If you are considering not going to this gym because of the poor reviews, I encourage you to meet with the manager, be clear about your expectations, and see if it works for you. You may actually have a very nice experience there. I know I did.

I joined this gym after rejoining the SLU work force. My coworkers work out here somewhat regularly on their lunch breaks and convinced me to join.
It’s a small location based on it being in the heart of Amazon land and I believe it used to be another brand of fitness (Rain perhaps?)
The gym itself appears to be nice. With newer equipment and when I came to sign up it was absolutely dead.
The only issues I’ve had with them is that they don’t have all the equipment you might be looking for. For example, I asked the front desk one day before a workout if they had jump boxes. You know, the ones you have do lunges off of, jump onto, etc. And he looked at me like I was crazy and he had no clue what I was speaking of. The gal he was chatting up said that they don’t but ‘most people’ use the aerobics steps and then just add levels. I asked her if I could do that as well and she said that she’d let me just ‘once’ take one out of the class room but that usually they do not allow it. Strike one.
Strike two occurred when I actually started coming everyday after my work schedule calmed down a bit. And it was PACKED. I’m not sure how or why but while trying to lift weights in their small area (only 4 benches and 3 mirrors); men were standing about 1ft from me and then constantly blocking my mirror to strut back and forth. It was making me so crazy that I almost cut my workout off.
For me, they are meant to be a supplemental gym for when I can break away for lunch and not take time away from my daughter to sweat. But. I’d like to at least get a reasonable price if they are not going to provide the level of service I need. Cause right now, it’s highway robbery to work out there and I never leave feeling I got the sweat I wanted.

Thank you, Unilocal,for reminding me not to re-​join this place. I was a member several years ago, and was actually considering joining again since one location is near my house and the other is super close to my work. Super convenient! I want to like it! BUT THEN I decided to look on here, and I saw all of the reviews about not being able to cancel and I remember what happened to me years ago! Long story short, I unexpectedly had to move to Renton. My new address was 20 miles away, but apparently not far enough to warrant getting out of my contract. I paid and paid month after month, without ever using the gym (really didn’t have extra money to be throwing around…), and then when my contract was FINALLY up, I still had to pay an extra month or two because I couldn’t pin Glenn down in person! AVOID!
And yes– I really did sign up for a Unilocal account just to review this place.

YOU CAN’T QUIT THE CLUB :/
WOW, if i could give zero stars, I would. I should have read these reviews more carefully before joining…
Let me just preface this to say that the gym itself is fine. But it’s the customer service and attitude of the corporation that is so horrible, that I really can’t separate it from the gym. If you’re down on your luck or having any kind of issues which prohibit you from maintaining your membership, don’t expect any sympathy from them.
I signed up when they were still Rain Fitness, in September of 2013. Soon after that, I lost my job, quite unexpectedly. Our company was closing at the end of November, and I wasn’t told until the month before.
Since then, I have been struggling immensely, so I tried to appeal to their sensitivities and explained my situation, begging for a membership cancellation. I spoke with some dude named Glen, in their «Member and Guest Satisfaction» department. He basically told me to keep paying or pay $ 199 for the termination fee. $ 199?! I don’t even have that right now.
Just be warned: you could be losing everything you have in your life, and you will still have to pay these greedy bastards if you try to quit. YOU CAN’T QUIT THE CLUB.

I hear all the negative reviews about the billing issues and trust me, I had some minor ones too. But I honestly think this gym has some really nice qualities that people should be aware of and not completely write it off.
First of all, the gym has great views. I love looking at the beautiful elliot bay while running indoors on a rainy day. The gym is clean, spacious and very well-​lit unlike a bunch of dingy other gyms. The open floor plan is great.
The staff at the front desk always tries to be helpful despite high-​turn over and being new. Their openings hours are very decent compared to some of the others in the area.
They actually offer boxing, barre and yoga classes for free and I know a lot of other gyms charge for these on top of the normal fee.
Finally, the prices are actually not out-​of-​whack for a annual membership.
I wish they would stop nicklel and diming on towel use ($ 2, seriously) and take care of the billing pains people have. Also, sometimes I find it noisy (from upstairs room and nearby cycling classes) during yoga which is not pleasant. But other than that, they have it in them to do really good!

Worst gym ever. Th contract is such to extract maximum money out of your pocket. I called to cancel the account and was told to go the office and cancel in person. Then I was told of the 30 days notice to close the account. WTH, why do they 30 days to process closing of my account? Aren’t there laws around this?
I also have automatic electronic payment setup, I hope I don’t have to give 30 days notice for closing that too, like other reviewers mentioned.
There are plenty of good gyms around this area. STAY AWAY FROM THIS GYM!

The old Rain. I’ve been a member since the SLU locations inception. Pretty decent gym. Not a lot of meatheads. Tons of cardio equipment, decent amount of free weights, overall a pretty nice space for working out in the city. Clean. They offer classes which I never attend so I cannot speak to them.
Yeah the cancellation policy might suck but whatever — this place is far superior to 24 HR fitness and a lot of the other chains. Its pretty fair priced per month as well. It’s worth a good look if you live/​work in the area.
And FYI I don’t work here — not sure WTF Darrell is talking about

*** Avoid At All Costs ***
Wish I could put ZERO stars. This place borders on the criminal.
Joined up on a month to month membership and recently requested that this be cancelled. I gave them a 30 day notice. They came back saying that they need a 30 day notice to cancel by electronic processing and another 30 day for cancelling my membership. Essentially attempting to charge me for multiple months after I wanted to cancel.
The only escalation path that I would recommend is the Better Business Bureau as I got the run around from every single ‘manager’ I spoke to. Pretty sure they just walked around the corner and grabbed another employee to be the ‘manager on duty’.

Don’t be fooled – this is Rain Fitness rebranded. Look up those reviews; they’re still accurate.
First, the good: The club is clean, members are friendly, there are rarely lines for machines, and there are some good classes available. It’s convenient for people working in SLU in particular, and most members seem to be corporate employees who work out after work. Weekends were blessedly quiet. ***** for the actual club itself.
Now, some advice: read the contract. I did and understood the cancelation rules, so when I moved out of the area and this spot was no longer convenient, I put in my notice and waited for the final billing cycle. They really want it to be a hassle to cancel – you have to be there in person, a manager has to sign off on it (why? just because!), and the manager is only there M-​F during business hours. When I finally got there during one of the magical hours when a manager was supposed to be present, I had to wait 15 minutes anyway, and she didn’t even talk to me – just glanced in my general direction with disdain and signed the paper. For good measure, there was a «payment problem» that I had to call to fix, which seemed like a clever ploy to delay cancelation. Minus *** for the hassle.
It would be such a great club if not for the ridiculous cancelation policies.