Fitness One

My overall rating

(Saturday, April 18th, 2009) I showed my card to Mrs. Blake* as I entered Fitness One club at 117 Peter Street, as I have done previously and as outlined on the STOP sign on the front desk -- “show or swipe you card” -- there’s no mention of...   +

(Saturday, April 18th, 2009)
I showed my card to Mrs. Blake* as I entered Fitness One club at 117 Peter Street, as I have done previously and as outlined on the STOP sign on the front desk -- “show or swipe you card” -- there’s no mention of taking a photo of you, or showing a photo ID. I entered the gym and she shouted “have a good workout”. She never asked to take my photo or a photo ID, nor have I ever been asked for a photo ID since 2003, and 2006 when I joined the Fitness One gym on Peter Street. Note that I have always simply shown my card and entered the gym with no hassle or incident.

(Sunday, April 19th, 2009, before 10:30 AM)
I entered the gym and swiped my gym card, as I did yesterday and before. As my account opened “Mrs. Blake” said “there’s an alert on your account” — you MUST take a photo to be stored on my account profile. I told her that storing a photo is not part of my contract, but I can show you a photo ID. I told her that none of the gym employees have aver asked me for a photo, since 2003 and 2006 when I joined Fitness One on Peter Street. At which point, she said that her employees are “not doing there job, I will fire them…” 3 weeks ago, I inquired about taking and storing my photo on my profile so that I don’t have to carry my gym card and the employee on duty told me that they charge $35 for that — it’s no longer free and even then, you still have a swipe or show your card on each visit. Did Mrs. Blake expect me to pay $35 for the photo, which she insisted I needed to take?

As the conversation went, Mrs. Blake told me that she owned the gym — I have noticed the dirtiness of the facility, including the washroom with 3 toilets and the stench and I have been meaning to talk to management— so I asked her how many times the gym is cleaned, and she said, 3 to 4 times a week. I asked her again, do you mean to tell me with all the number of people using the facility; you don’t clean the gym everyday let a lone several times a day? She arrogantly told me that “you can’t expect the gym to be cleaned everyday if you pay (she opened my account) $20/month for membership.

I had previously reached for an ID from my wallet, which was in my hand, on the front desk counter, in view of Mrs. Blake, pulled out my citizenship card and was waiting to show it her, and as soon as I finished asking her questions about the dirtiness of the gym, she told me that “your account has been cancelled as of today”! She got a pair of scissors and cut my gym card into two, which she had forcefully grabbed from my hand! She went on to say that as the owner of the gym, and she can do as she pleases with my membership. At which point, I told her that I would alert Health Canada about the dirtiness of the facility — a gym with 3 toilets can not be cleaned 3-4 times a week, it should be cleaned at least one’s a day. I also asked her if there’s any active ingredients in the liquid provided for members to clean the equipment with before and after use — I have always suspected it was just water — the liquid has no smell. She said that the liquid is “organic”.

(Refund)
I asked Mrs. Blake to give a written notice of cancellation of my membership and she refused & told me to provide my e-mail so she can send it to me. I asked her to send the cancellation notice and that Fitness One will not go into bank account and take any membership fees as of today, April 19, 2009. She became belligerent and asked me — “do you understand English”? Then said, that she will send the cancellation notice to the address on file (she looked at my account) and then asked me — “did you lie about your address as well”. The she said that she has to ensure the security of the club members from “people of your type”.

(“People of your type”, “did you lie about your address as well”, “do you understand English”)
After these chosen words, I now confirmed that I was being racially profiled as of Saturday, when I showed my card and Mrs. Blake asked me to swipe it instead. She had no interest in seeing my photo ID and that she had decided to cancel my membership for the following —
1. She could as the owner.
2. “People of your type” were not welcomed to her gym and were viewed as a threat — I am black from Sub-Saharan Africa with an accent. She quickly let me know that her father is from Africa, and she is married to black man when I asked her what she meant by “people of your type” and “do you understand English”. Mrs. Blake is a white or south Asian woman with black flowing hair — she is eloquent when she decided use the phrase “people of your type” when referring to black woman from Sub-Sahara with a Sub-Saharan accent , and when she asks me condescendingly, “do you understand English” when I am speaking with her in English, not a dialect.
3. I challenged her on the cleanliness of the gym, when I realized she was the owner.
4. I am still waiting for a communication on my refund.

(Don’t Join Joining Fitness One)
Unless you are on welfare, do not join Fitness One. The facility and equipment is filthy and the owner, Mrs. Blake told me, that she can only afford to clean the gym, including washroom, showers and toilets 3 to 4 times a week. You guessed it, they don’t bother to clean the equipment. The gym is filthy FILTHY. Yes, “Mrs Blake” is rude and ***– she referred to me, a black woman from African, “people of your type” she also asked me in a demeaning, condescending manner “do you understand English?” DON”T WASTE YOUR MONEY. WOMEN, WE NEED TO GIVE OUR BUSINESS TO COMPANIES THAT DESERVE IT AND TREATS US WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY REGARDLESS OF OUR ECONOMIC STATUS, RACE AND COLOR OF SKIN. Fitness One preys on women insecurities – that’s why they are belligerent, rude and ***.

Ex member

**Editor's Note: portions of this review have been removed in accordance with the ChickAdvisor review policy    -