I joined Curves for Women in March of 2005. Upon sign up, I asked them about cancellation of the one year membership, and the assured me, that with a doctors note, you can cancel your membership with just a charge of one months payment - fine, I joined! In November of 2005, I became pregnant and did not wish to continue with my memebership for fear of losing the pregnancy. My dues were not due until the 7th of the month - well on the evening of the 6th, my husband dropped off in person the dr. note, yet they still deducted my dues b/c they said they did the banking, etc the night before! Then, about a month later, I unfortunatly miscarried. I didn't feel the need to tell the gym my personal business, so I left it at that (since my husband and I were planning on trying for another baby). So in May, I receive a letter saying my membership will be taken off hold and I dues will resume being taken out on may 15th (I receieved the letter on May 5th or so). I immediatly called the following day and the manager was not in, I left a message and she called back the following day. I explained to her the situation (miscarriage b/c she would know anyway b/c my sister attends that gym and everyone knows everyones business). I also told her that if I was still pregnant, I would not be anle to work out at 6 month pregnant! She says she will look into what she can do - fast forward to June of this year (2006) and she calls and says I never called her back (she was supposed to call me back). She says the same thing - I will be charged a $89 fee for cancelling - I said fine cancel it then but I HAD a dr. note - she then says the only dr. note that allows to to cancel a membership is when it states you can never work out again! I told her i was never told this upon joining! Then I again told her it made no sense b/c if I was still pregnant, I would be 8 months now - and she tells me "well we have an 8 month pregnant woman working out now" - I dont care, i tell her - i think that woman is crazy then! I told her i can't come back b/c the hours stink and i have no one to watch my girls - she says bring them in - i told her i tried that once and got an attitude from an employee. Finally i told her i would come in sept when the girls start pre-k and she said she would call me back and let me know if i could hold it that long! if i am coming back - i am going for the 2 or 3 months left on the contract and then i will never, ever renew again. On a side note, the hrs. stunk, i never felt i had privacy there - i felt the employees would discuss private stuff they knew about you with other members (i heard it myself while working out there) and the overall attitude stunk - plus i dont think it was a good workout - 3 different employees showed me 3 different ways to work out on one machine!
the Unity Twp Curves in Greensburg PA is also run pretty much the same way as stated in all of these complaints. owner is very unfriendly and behaves as if she is doing you a favor by letting you work out there; hours open terrible; circuit never changed for resistance levels; the owner is constantly pushing products to sell or requesting donations for one of her selected charities. however, when we asked to raise funds for one of her employees who was out with cancer she replied" no as I would have to do that for every member who asked for help". when I repeated that comment to another member, she called me and told me I was no longer welcome there and was terminating my membership! talk about a christian oriented business... I was a member for several years and after reaching a plateau with weight loss and strength(as everyone does after about the 1st 30 days), I continued to work out at Curves because it was close to home. I would not recommend Unity Twp Curves to anyone-- after attempting to sell the business for over a year, the owner continues to be non-customer service friendly (even firing a member for disagreeing with her over helping a fellow Curves member!)... if you are looking for a friendly individual results based workout where you are truly valued as a member, try Jazzercise! After 4+ years at Curves, my weight never changed after the first month - just maintained. AFter 2 weeks at Jazzercise, lost 5 pounds and the fitness instructors/owners actually are certified trainers teaching you the correct way to challenge your body.
Curves issue solvg is ### I am still waiting for a refund after heaps of visits and letters, they just smile and say they ae on to it, well I have news for head office they are not onto it.
I joined my local curves in September of 2009 and loved it. I really liked the exercises we did and, really, the entire work out program was great. Really fun. I was a high school student at the time and found the program to be much better than my school's PE class. I liked how everything was fast paced and you were always on the move, plus nothing was too intense. I'm overweight so I'm a tad self conscious and found the program nice because every one is too busy paying attention to their own machine due to the fast pace (something I found that isn't so true at other gyms).
I didn't like the way you were weighed and measured in the main room. Yes, it was in the back, it wasn't like you were in the middle of the circle of machines, but because the room was so small you might as well be. I did not see why members couldn't have been weighed and measured in the manager's office or even in the dressing room. It was a little embarrassing being told you had gained instead of lost when you are five feet away from the rest of the room.
I found that the manager hosted a lot of fund raisers, such as the one around Christmas where you would donate a gift and it would be silent-auctioned off, the proceeds going towards "new machines". The fund raisers wouldn't have been bad except for the fact that the manager always tried talking you into donating. Another fund raiser type thing she had was trying to get everyone to get their family and friends to join. When we reached ascertain number (150, I think. A large number for such a small gym.), we would get new equipment. We never did. It turned out the manager was having a hard time paying the building's rent and the fundraisers was her way of trying to pay for it. It stunk that many members joined and then not even a month later the place closed.
I didn't like the hours. They were closed on Sunday, open Monday through Saturday, 7am - 5pm, with a lunch break between 11am and 1pm. I'm not sure if all curves have strange hours like this, but if they do, I don't see how they're still in business.
The building was also very small. And there was too many machines for such a small area, even though there was about a total of six machines, plus those running boards. Due to the small number of machines, wierd hours, and all of the new members, it became miserable trying to workout. I used to go between four and five, which wasn't a bad time, but after the rush of new members, became very crowded and the group would get bogged down like a traffic jam.
I loved curves when I first joined, I thoroughly enjoyed the work out program, but I did not appreciate the way it was ran or set up. If it was in a different building ran by some one else, I think the program would be great! I would definitely join!
Curves at Biggera Waters, Gold Coast, Australia. I have been a member for some years and myself and others have since resigned since new owners have moved in. I have enjoyed my time there but with the sudden removal of Curves Smart and a "Male Instructor" it was certainly time to move on!