LA Fitness, Newbury

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Poor
Is it part of a chain?	yes
Service	Very poor
Cleanliness	unacceptable

Advantages:	Location
Disadvantages:	Customer service, facilities, hygiene, indifferent staff

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

LA Fitness is located in the centre of the small town of Newbury in what used to be the cinema and competes with at least 3 other gyms in the area.

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE PART OF THIS REVIEW, PLEASE MAKE SURE IT IS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE BIT AT THE END - thanks.

COSTS
My wife and I joined LA in January 2004 as they had an introductory monthly rate of just £18 and, importantly, no inflated "joining" fee which we saw as a bonus.
Compared to other gyms this was really good value and we accepted that we would probably be compromising some of the facilities to get such a low price but were desperate to lose the "Christmas fat" that we had piled on.
We also bought a padlock for the lockers at £5 each which didn't seem too expensive, and an introductory pack for £15 which included a water bottle (£1), a towel (£2.50), headphones (£3), a bag (£1) and ..err....nothing else apart from some vouchers which were next to useless as the products they promoted were free anyway. I wasn't too impressed with that and wished I'd had the resolve not to fall for the receptionists sales patter and flirty smile - but I'm only human and will try not to make that mistake again.

FACILITIES
When we looked around the gym in the afternoon, the facilities looked okay and there weren't many people using them giving the impression that the gym wasn't overcrowded.
There is a half size swimming pool on the ground floor with jacuzzi and steam room. This is also where the changing rooms are - more about these later.
The second floor has all the main free-standing equipment - bikes, running machines, weights machines, rowing machines plus some mats to stretch out on. There's also a room used for "LA spin" - a masochistic cycling work out held in regular classes.
The third floor has a large room used for aerobics classes and a free weights room.

A couple of observations that I made were these :-
1) the equipment looks old and is constantly breaking down, including the satellite TV screens, 2 of which never worked for over 3 months of my 12 month membership.
2) the swimming pool is not big enough for more than about 6 people - any more and you start getting legs and arms in your face.
3) the jacuzzi was out of order more than it worked and didn't look particularly clean (scum on the water surface).
4) the headphone sockets worked on only half of the equipment.
5) the gym became incredibly crowded between 5pm and 9pm and you end up waiting to use any piece of equipment. I got so fed up I went home on more than 1 occasion. LA's way to combat this isn't to buy more equipment and utilise the 3rd floor - oh no, what they do is place labels on the equipment limiting you to 20 minutes use at a time - not that anybody paid the slightest bit of notice and why should they ?

CHANGING ROOMS
The changing rooms look like something out of Tom Brown's schooldays. Dark wooden doors, gloomy showers and a floor that has seen better days (probably before I was born). I can't believe these were ever new although they must have been as this building used to be the old cinema (hence the gloominess - no windows). A large number of people seem to store things in their lockers permanently restricting genuine gym users to a small number of smaller or damaged lockers.
The showers are a health hazard - dirty looking tiles coverd in hair and (in the ladies according to my wife) a tampon was stuck to the wall. In the summer, the smell is unbearable - eau de sewerage.
The manager explained that the cleaner only visits once per day - that's okay then ...

STAFF
In the whole 12 months I was there, none of the staff ever made the effort to speak to me or any other member, unless they were slim, attractive females.
Most of the time, the staff on duty would be huddled together having a good laugh amongst themselves rather than offering advice or assistance to members.
I used one piece of equipment incorrectly for 4 weeks before another member showed me the correct exercise - none of the staff even noticed despite walking past me.
The only person I can say is helpful is Tina who taught my 2 children to swim last summer.
The general manager is ineffective - complaints about hygiene and broken equipment seemed to get no response for weeks at a time.

CHILDREN
Children are no longer allowed into LA Fitness in Newbury. They changed their policy half way through last year, closed the creche giving them 1 days notice to quit and failed to tell any of the members of these plans until they turned up to use the facilities.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
I had an issue with direct debits not being collected from my bank ( I had 4 for LA as I had "introduced" 2 friends to the gym) shortly after joining. I noticed this after 12 months and informed the manager at Newbury, who contacted head office, who sent a "final demand" letter asking for £630 within 5 days or face a debt collection agency. I was gobsmacked - if it wasn't for me they wouldn't even have noticed. All my complaints fell on deaf ears. The staff at head office were more than rude - if I ever get hold of Darren Knipe I'll be imprisoned for a very long time.
After many e-mails, they eventually admitted to a typo - should have been £360 not £630 (they had transposed the 3 and 6) - and accepted my cheque for £360. They said it was my fault for not checking my bank statements and that they had "come across people like you before". No discount was offered for my
inconvenience nor any apology for their rude staff.

SUMMARY
LA Fitness starred in tonight's edition of "Watchdog" and it seems I am not alone in my experience of these people.
Their strategy is to attract new customers by offering low monthly fees which then double at the end of the 12 month period - it would have cost me £36 to renew. Once signed up you are forgotten about and treated with contempt by the staff.
If you complain you are labelled a "whinger" and ignored even more.
If you want to terminate your membership you MUST complete a 12 month contract or continue to pay - even then they will try to keep taking your money and threaten you with legal action denying any letters you may have written.
These people are wolves in sheeps clothing and should be avoided at all costs.
Finally, my wife joined Canons in Newbury for £40 per month (off-peak membership), no minimum subscription period, friendly helpful staff and facilities which wouldn't be out of place in Beverley Hills.
If you want to join a gym in Newbury - choose Canons instead.