TL;DR
TL;DR
- Body odor is so bad you can’t breathe in the gym
- Machines are broken and owner does not care (after multiple complaints from me)
- Payment system has become awful, emails telling everyone they are in debt collection
- Staff is helpful and does their best, but they are not equipped by the owner to succeed
FULL REVIEW
I have been going to Strive Parramatta for a year now. Staff tries to be professional. Easy to talk to, always cheerful and try to address issues. Whenever I point out something is not quite right, they try to address it or walk over with me to the machine that doesn’t work. But they can’t replace a broken machine that’s been broken for 4 months. They can’t make people clean themselves.
Many of the gym users do not bathe regularly. When the gym is busy from about 5-8, it can be difficult to draw a full breath because the body odor is so bad. This is not an exaggeration. This is the atmosphere. It seems users do not wash their armpits. Strive provides deodorant but they put it on TOP of unclean armpits. That’s not how it works. There’s a reason there are no women at this gym. Even anaerobic exercise still requires you to breathe occasionally.
The smell is not as bad in the mornings, so I try to go between 10-12 when the gym is empty. I completely stopped going at other times. Their towel rule doesn’t fix the problem. What doesn’t help is that people often tailgate through the door and skip the ID scanner, letting their friends in at night. This group of people is who cause much of the damage I mention here.
The gym equipment is constantly in need of repair. Since it’s ‘smart’ equipment, many of the machines use screens and software. All it need to do is count your reps and keep track, and maybe upload it to your account. But often times the account is not connected so you can’t track your progress, and that’s if you’re lucky. Often times the software is glitchy and can’t be started, effectively bricking the machine. Everything is there, weights, pulley system, handle, but the software is so poorly written it prevents users from using the machine, even after a restart.
It seems the software is being upgraded. I tried out one of the new software packages loaded onto an old machine and the number of steps just to get to working out is time-consuming. I just want to lift weights, why do I need to press a touch screen 5 or more times? The brand (Ronfic?) is not user-friendly and worse, is not even stable. Technogym at Universal Fitness (where I just started going) is a good example of software that works and is intuitive.
On top of the software issues, the machines are often broken physically as well. I pointed out to staff back in November and the staff person walked around with me and wrote down my comments on the stationary bikes upstairs. Out of 4 bikes, 3 were broken. I went back last month and one had been repaired. The other two were still broken. One with the same jammed seat in the shortest position for 4 months, and the other with a broken pedal. I have made similar complaints about how the pulley mechanisms on some machines are worn and the cables are fraying, which could lead to snapping cables in the middle of a lift. This was 4 months ago, and I can see they are still in bad condition. For the machines that do work, I didn’t notice how badly maintained they were until I started using the machines at UF, wow it’s like driving a BMW compared to a tuk-tuk.
I was excited when I signed up for this gym as it is conveniently located near Westfield Parramatta and Parramatta Station. Last week was the end of my 1-year contract, and I did not renew my membership. I use My Fitness Passport so I have more options like UF.
But Strive will not let go. For the past month, I have been getting emails telling me I haven’t paid my bill. I set it up for autopay when I first joined over a year ago and there is no shortage of money in my account. So why the emails? Staff, to their credit, told me the billing system and changed and everyone is getting emails about not being current. She told me to ignore the emails, so I have. But now according to the emails I am past due.
This email was 3 weeks after my last bill for my 1 year membership, which has ended. I went back to the gym and I didn’t even get a chance to show them the email, immediately staff (again, to their credit) apologized, telling me all gym members are getting “debt collection” emails because the gym is switching payment systems. This warrants an apology from the owner, not the poor staff members how have to field complaints. Imagine all the users, even the ones who refuse to clean their armpits, getting emails saying their are in debt collection.
I hope the owners are reading this. This gym needs investment in machine maintenance and member education. Your employees are trying but you are positioning them to succeed.