1 /5 Christopher Watts: Please note: this review is predominantly about the customer service at head office and the general running of Fitness First. While I can’t say anything particularly positive about the staff at the gyms, I also can’t say anything overtly negative.
Over the two years I was a member of Fitness First, I changed gyms three times. I started at the Tottenham Court Road gym and was genuinely impressed by the facilities and what it offered. However, this location closed, and although we were expected to pay the same membership fee at the new gym, there was a significant drop in standards. This was the Marylebone location, which I eventually left due to how poor it was, not enough facilities, unhelpful staff, and absolutely not worth the price being charged. The selling points of the cold plunge and sauna were irrelevant as the sauna was smaller than Tottenham Court Road and the cold plunge didnt work over the 3 months I was there.
I then moved to the Oxford Circus gym. While it is very small, there is a good community of regulars. That said, it gets extremely busy, and it’s often not an ideal environment to train in.
The biggest issue with Fitness First, however, is how the company is run. There is no genuine customer interaction, and there seems to be a large disconnect from what I think should be more than a bog-standard gym. Head office refuses to speak on the phone and can take up to a week to respond to emails. When challenged about being forced to move gyms, you’re simply told you’re tied into a contract and therefore can’t leave.
I recently decided that I was tired of paying a high price for the bare minimum, so I chose to leave. The repercussions of this decision have been a nightmare. I cancelled through the app and was told I had nothing left to pay. A few days later, I received an email stating my account was overdue. When I called the Oxford Circus gym (the only location you can actually phone), I was met with a sarcastic response: “You should know you can’t just cancel your direct debit.” This is not what I did, nor what I would ever do.
This situation ultimately resulted in complete silence from head office once they became involved, and I was left having to pay regardless of the circumstances.
I would not recommend Fitness First if you’re looking to elevate your fitness experience beyond that of a cheap commercial gym. Fitness First is exactly that — a cheap commercial gym, just with a much higher monthly cost.
I do not recommend.
