Home › Forums › Open Discussion › West Seattle Athletic Club – Are it's days numbered?
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November 21, 2013 at 5:17 pm #799739
PLSParticipantyeah, wow – that was a little rough Cupajoe. But 400 towels for dollar is pretty funny. :-)
I do agree the minor thefts are not the problem here. In my short 5 months there I can easily see that it is bloated with staff. That’s one of the largest expenses I imagine and most of the people are just standing around. I was in on Monday and there were five people at the front desk chatting (with no towels btw) and another four at the desks by the locker room talking. One was signing somebody up (wow!). Some in the fishbowl offices on the third floor seem to work but who knows. I’ve seen a personal trainer being used twice. The class instructors are important but I think the most important people are the housekeeping and instructors. Get rid of the rest and you might be operational.
November 21, 2013 at 5:23 pm #799740
CupajoeMemberGenesee Hill, I have been a member for every year the club has been open and yes, the club was a financially profitable club prior to Sam Adams, however those profits were invested poorly in other projects which is what left the club out of money. That’s why the club can be profitable if it is run correctly. They only need to make a few more quarters with correct decimal points.
November 21, 2013 at 6:30 pm #799741
hammyMemberI was at the gym this morning and they had water. I agree with many sentiments posted above, club has gone downhill since early summer. Staff constantly changing. I counted 18 children in Kids Club this morning with one staffer in the room. They did buy some new machines for 3rd floor but half are out of order. We’d like to cancel but we are fearful of being sent to collections (as described by many others). Sending people to collections was IMO a huge sign the new managers are not in it for the long haul. Who would willingly alienate a large number of their members? I don’t see many regulars in the morning, I conclude many jumped ship.
November 21, 2013 at 6:40 pm #799742
katelnMemberI went to cancel my membership yesterday and was told by a couple of kids (who looked to be of high school age) at the front desk that the guy who could take care of memberships had gone to lunch, it was nearly 3:30 p.m. I refused to just fill out paperwork, I wanted to actually sit down with someone and make sure the cancellation was handled correctly.
I came back an hour later and the membership guy was there and processed the cancellation. I asked to be called when the cancellation went through to make sure I wouldn’t get creditors after me, and he told me they could do that. He seemed surprised that I was asking for extra assurances, as if he didn’t know they weren’t having this problem daily.
I’m not keeping my hopes up that this is the end of my contact with them, but I’m at least grateful that the process has been smooth so far and I’m now able to go to a different gym that isn’t running a shady business.
November 21, 2013 at 10:56 pm #799743
cathorseMemberAnyone know if the gym is open today? I’m hoping to get there tomorrow – Friday…
Ed Ewing is the spin instructor whose last day in next Tuesday.
Nikki (I don’t know her last name) is no longer instructing her kickboxing classes.
WSB: let me know if you need help tracking down their contact information.
November 21, 2013 at 11:07 pm #799744
sb2780MemberCrap. That’s what I was afraid of. Nikki’s kickboxing class was the only thing making me want to keep my membership at this POS gym. Unbelievable. Does anyone have her contact info, or know if she will start teaching elsewhere?
Also, does anyone know who owns the property itself? I am wondering if something similar will happen like down in Portland, where the owner evicted this clown. Good riddance.
November 22, 2013 at 12:11 am #799745
katelnMemberNikki is teaching today at 4:15, late notice, sorry. It may be her last day, I know both her and Laura have been taken off the schedule.
November 22, 2013 at 2:06 am #799746
CupajoeMemberEd Ewing is the heart and soul of spin at “All Star.”. If Ed is gone, that’s it.
November 22, 2013 at 2:14 am #799747
Genesee HillParticipantVery unfortunate situation. My wife thoroughly enjoyed this club. And still does.
In my many years of life, it seems that these clubs come, and go. I remember Family Fitness in the early 80s. Push folks to join, and in a matter of months, they are gone. Offer a bargain, at low rates, and then, a few months later…what happened? Broke. Buyer beware.
Hell. Just walk, jog, do a few push-ups, and forget about these so-called fitness clubs.
Other than the “Y”, most of these clubs suck, long term.
November 22, 2013 at 3:07 am #799748
CupajoeMemberGenesee Hill, I was out of line earlier. You understand what it is all really about. I apologize.
November 26, 2013 at 6:09 am #799749
adidasguyParticipantSeems the new rich owners are pocketing the money – just like the last owner.
Why do I think that? Because the simplest of tasks they can not afford to do: SOAP IN THE SHOWERS!
How hard can that be? Haven’t they heard of Costco? I think not. No soap? Can it be that hard (now going on 2 weeks) to do a Costco run?
I walked in tonight and saw they grandiose list of upcoming fixes.
New steam room and sauna in women’s locker room? Why? You can’t keep the existing steam room working. YOU CAN’T EVEN BUY SOAP FOR THE SHOWERS! Hot tub? Been a year now without one. New tile? New carpet? Where is the money coming from IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD SOAP IN THE SHOWERS?
Personal training? That staff changes almost weekly. I have training sessions I paid for but can’t get a trainer and now after 6pm there is no staff to talk to about it. Time to have VISA reverse the charge for training.
AND YOU CAN’T EVEN GET SOAP FOR THE SHOWERS!
When things break, you remove it rather than fix it. Notice the number of stationary bikes keeps going down? Notice many of the new treadmills don’t work?
You want to paint, replace carpets, and do other things all while YOU CAN’T KEEP SOAP IN THE SHOWERS! You are good at excuses. “It is on back order” so go to Costco. “There is a process for restocking the soap” and that process is not going to Costco for soap.
Your days are numbered. If only LA Fitness at 39th and Alaska was open. I eagerly await for them to open. Until then I guess I take my own soap and towels while I ask VISA to reverse the charge for training which I can’t get and after all this time – really have no interest in since a trainer would only last a month so you can’t get on a good training program.
(I’m not a newbie whining. I’ve been paying for weekly training since January 2010 when the club was in good shape. After all the money they get from me for training, I’m entitled at least to soap in the showers.)
November 26, 2013 at 1:40 pm #799750
GreystreetParticipantAdidas I thought that Christmas list of items was odd as well, why does the women’s locker room get a steam room and sauna, apparently the men aren’t important enough to get their own private space either, we’ll stick a “media room” to watch the news and waste time.
Seriously, soap in the shower is not hard to ascertain, go to Big Lots for freakin’ sake and buy hand soap if you must. I find it comical that they’ve hired two kids that can’t be more than 17 to man the desk in the late afternoon/early evening who can’t answer a question beyond “is it sunny outside” with regard to any membership questions. I have been scouting other gyms it just sucks that none are as convenient as this one for me in the parking and location aspect.
I really wish they’d get a move on up there on Alaska, but it looks like it won’t be done for a W H I L E :( Godspeed friend
November 26, 2013 at 5:16 pm #799751
ElizagraceParticipantAnyone know about the update after the instructor meeting?
I know some instructors are leaving, any word on who/which classes?
Are they adding more classes?
Oh the classes!!! (and the soap, of course)
November 27, 2013 at 5:04 pm #799752
adidasguyParticipantAgain no soap.
There was some one to talk to about training but “Soap is not my department but I can help with training”.
If the staff and management can’t do a simple task like get soap, what does that say? No money? I had trainers tell me their checks bounced or they had trouble cashing them and then left the club a couple weeks later.
Money problems? Greedy owners? Or just plain bad management?
The odd and humorous sign about “Please ignore the burning smell… we just turned on the heat after being off all summer”. That sounds like turning on a heating system without inspecting and cleaning it. Was that legal or proper?
November 27, 2013 at 6:47 pm #799753
LisaParticipantI swam this morning and noticed a few positive changes: pool water quality was really good & clear, pool deck air temperature was warm – not freezing. And, my shower had shampoo & conditioner, and there were towels.
December 3, 2013 at 5:11 pm #799754
A.R.ParticipantI was a member at All Star (now West Seattle Fitness) for years. Due to the issues they’ve been having, I cancelled my membership in October. I was charged for November which I shouldn’t have been, so I called multiple times and spoke with multiple people to try to get my money back.
I finally went in yesterday to get it resolved and waited over an hour to speak with the woman in charge of billing.
During the hour I waited in the lobby, I saw the Puget Sound Energy man come in and ask to speak with a manager about turning their gas off because they had not paid their bill. I also witnessed an employee calling on the phone to find out where their paycheck was, a man complaining about them being out of towels, and another man asking when the soap for the showers was going to be there- apparently a manager had run to the store to get some but no one at the front desk knew when this person would be back.
The comments being made by an employee standing around the front desk was particularly concerning. A woman (who also worked there) asked him if he had turned the volume of the radio down in the workout room because several people had complained. His response was, “they just need to turn their hearing aids down. It isn’t my problem. I turned it down as much as I could. It’s mind over matter- I don’t mind, and they don’t matter.”
December 5, 2013 at 4:56 pm #799755
on boardParticipantLooks like there are new developments and delinquent taxes, unpaid employees at the Tacoma location.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/11/22/2908481/tacoma-athletic-club-employees.html
and
December 5, 2013 at 6:17 pm #799756
sb2780MemberOne of the articles mentions that the Seattle Athletic Club just filed a trademark infringement claim this past month against Sam Adams for changing the name from All Star to West Seattle Athletic Club. This place is toxic. All but about three of the instructors have quit teaching, it’s really sad. I hope this guy gets what’s coming to him, and a legitimate business owner can step in to resuscitate this gym at some point. I have cancelled my membership, but since it was the day the EFT came out of my account, they said it wasn’t technically 30 days notice, and i’d have to pay for an extra month. Ridiculous. It seems wrong that I’m being penalized for meeting my financial obligation to their business, when they’re not meeting any of theirs.
December 5, 2013 at 6:31 pm #799757
wakefloodParticipantI have no dog in this fight whatsoever but it occurs to me that Athletic Clubs aren’t much different from other “pyramid” type entities. They cost a ton to start and maintain and the only way they stay viable over time is to keep fresh blood ($) coming in at rates that at least replace those who naturally fade away. And as soon as there’s blood in the water (bad publicity, loss of coolness factor, etc.) that compounds like a run on a bank and the death spiral starts.
It’s like the old saying, “How do you make a small fortune with a restaurant? Start with a big one.”
I suspect we’re days away from doors being padlocked at all of Mr. Adams’ facilities…
December 6, 2013 at 12:43 am #799758
adidasguyParticipantStill no soap.
Come on – if you can’t afford basic soap which is just a Costco run, what can we expect from anything else?
The locker rooms were pretty cold, too. Save money – don’t turn on the heat (or they can’t afford the utilities.)
I don’t give it much longer. I have a few months of paid membership left. When that’s up, time to go elsewhere or at most, month-to-month.
December 9, 2013 at 6:52 pm #799759
on boardParticipantI went in on Sunday and classes were cancelled due to an “emergency”.
December 16, 2013 at 10:25 pm #799760
on boardParticipantNow it looks like both of his Oregon clubs have been put into some kind of hold with a financial company.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/12/two_oregon_athletic_clubs_loca.html
And another story I hadn’t read yet about billing going on despite the closure.
December 16, 2013 at 11:23 pm #799761
JanSParticipantand y’all are still members why?
December 17, 2013 at 2:56 am #799762
maplesyrupParticipantFor what I want in a gym, the neighborhood doesn’t offer a lot of options. Basically I am looking for: an abundance of free weights and bodyweight equipment (abundance being the key word), an area to stretch, some cardio stuff, lockers, towels, drinking fountains, and TV’s.
I don’t need classes, showers, a hot tub, a pool, a women’s only area, or many other frills. If you signed up for X and got Y, I sympathize, but as far as my needs from a gym, the changes have been improvements and the negatives haven’t affected my experience much.
So that’s why I’m still a member.
January 2, 2014 at 10:26 pm #799763 -
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