2 /5 A Canadian in London: Okay facilities (a bit old and the pool is constantly closed for repair). Good selection of classes, decent gym facilities (although poor gym etiquette is a common problem here), plus kids classes and racquet courts, etc. But the systems and management are really poor.
Ive had loads of issues with their computer systems, right from how difficult it was to initially take out a membership (took weeks or trying and phone calls to get their computer to recognise my membership, and having to try with multiple email addresses). And even once I was finally setup, I found more problems trying to use my membership.
I paid extra for a multi-site membership (so I could use any facility at any of their centres) but their systems wouldnt fully recognise me as a member at the other sites, meaning I couldnt actually use the bits of them I wanted to use. And when I complained that I wasnt getting what Id been paying extra for (that theyre charging me extra for a service they arent actually delivering) they initially gave me attitude and tried to insist that I was getting the service (because their computer said I was entitled to it). I know Im supposed to be entitled to it - the problem is Im not getting it!
So i had to deliver proof that their system wasnt supplying the paid-for service. But then they didnt seem to have any idea how to fix the issue. So I asked them to change my membership to the cheaper single site option, as thats the only one their system will recognise my entitlement for. I didnt ask them to refund the extra theyd been overcharging me for months, just stop overcharging me going forward. Not unreasonable, I think.
Unfortunately they insisted theyd only stop over-charging me if paid an extra admin fee. They seriously wanted to charge a "please stop cheating me" fee. Unbelievable.
But its just so indicative of how poor the systems are, and how poor the customer service is, that this nonsense happens.
