GLNews New York: Bronx residents feeling burned by LA Fitness

Friday, April 11, 2014

Bronx residents feeling burned by LA Fitness

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, April 11, 2014, 2:00 AM

<p> LA Fitness has Bronx residents all pumped up over poor customer service.</p>

Handout LA Fitness has Bronx residents all pumped up over poor customer service.

Hear me now and believe me later.

LA Fitness representatives have offered nothing but excuses — and absolutely no compensation — after months of pumping up would-be patrons about a delayed Bronx athletic club.

“Because it’s the Bronx they’re treating us like second class citizens,” said would-be gym-goer Justin Coren, who laid down a $ 99 reduced fee last year after being told the Hutchinson Metro Center gym would be open by November.

Because it’s the Bronx they’re treating us like second class citizens.

“They were downright rude on the phone,” added Coren, 31. “It’s a complete scam. I can’t believe how unprofessional they have been throughout this whole ordeal.”

The LA Fitness popup office on Eastchester Rd., where many have forked over hundreds in fees, has hung out a sign that has proclaimed “Final Days of Pre-Sale” since February.

Frustrated Bronxites have taken to Facebook to vent their anger over the delayed opening of an LA Fitness gym in Pelham Bay.

A representative for the national chain told another Bronx resident that the extreme weather was to blame for delays.

“I signed up January and was told it would open within 10 days,” said frustrated would-be gym rat William Winchester. “The weather is not a valid excuse for lying to me.”

Stockbyte/Getty Images/Stockbyte Silver

Instead of burning calories, Winchester and other Bronxites have taken to the club’s Facebook page to burn off steam.

Adding insult to injury, pictures of the facility’s barely completed building are being posted by the company regularly, prompting angry responses from customers.

Denis Slattery LA Fitness location still under construction.

“If you call, they’ll say it’s opening in two weeks,” Winchester said. “They’ve been saying that for nine months. But the pictures tell a different story.”

LA Fitness did not respond to multiple requests for comment — which didn’t surprise Bronx residents who signed up.

The yet-to-open Bronx LA Fitness posted this photo in the album “Club progress” on Facebook, angering customers who signed up for the workout facility more than six months ago.

“They don’t care because it’s the Bronx,” Coren said.

Company representatives have offered irate customers access to Yonkers and Queens gyms, but most say they don’t have the means to travel out of the borough for a workout.