BSC

I have been a member of BSC for about four years, I joined because quite honestly it was the "best" gym in Boston at the time (other than the Marino Center at NU) and I couldn't afford to pay the entire membership fee up front at the same time. So, at the time I joined the BSC at Fenway and overall, I was OK with the service I received and the services available at the gym. It was also close enough to work that I was able to walk there within 10 minutes and not have to worry about moving my car.

However, as BSC opened new gyms it seemed like the Fenway gym was being neglected. Machines were breaking, showers didn't work for weeks at a time, and personnel were pulled out of that location to help with the new locations. The gym was still usable but it was frustrating to see my membership fees which were always going up not helping the gym that I was working out at.

When my job moved across the river at the beginning of last year I changed my home gym to one of the new gyms. The main reason for the change was that this new gym had parking that was free after 5:00pm and since I would no longer be able to walk to any location the free parking was going to be key. I signed up for the passport membership at this BSC and paid $69.00 a month for it. Quite expensive but it was the special they were running. Since then my fee had gone up to $75.00 per month. It was really amazing to see the rates increase while the services, machines, and cleanliness decreased. The new gym (which was a bran new gym) never had clean towels, the entire winter last year two showers were broken and if there was somebody else in the shower then you couldn't get hot water. Shower heads were broken, machines would break and not be replaced and things would just disappear. It was incredibly frustrating.

Over the past few months things continued on a downward spiral in a way that I found was more devastating than the breakdown of the "physical plant." The people at the gym just seemed to stop caring. They are laid back and indifferent. When I asked a trainer a question about a machine he told me that I should make an appointment and then he would help me out (asshole)! The other night (at 9:30pm) I used the cables in the personal training area because nobody was in there and the other set of cables were being used. Another different trainer came out and asked me if I could read the sign that said personal training area! These are the problems that I have with this gym. Not to mention the "rumor" that a homophobic trainer is working at a "gay" gym and causing issues with his clients.

All of this frustration came to head this week when I went to the gym and they told me that they had cancelled my membership because of non-payment. Well I went through the roof because for the last three months I have given them my new credit card information countless times. My card was stolen in November and I changed my card. Since then I go in and they say my membership is inactive so I give them my new card number and sign a paper. Somehow this didn't work and they cancelled my membership. And here is the kicker, because they cancelled my membership my old fee is no longer correct and they wanted to charge me $94.00 a month plus a reactivation fee of $35.00 and another $50.00 charge. Needless to say I went through the roof. I yelled at the manager and expressed my concerns and the only solution he came up with was that he would call his home office and check but there was nothing he could do to help me, even though his employees are retarded.

The next day I came armed with my evidence but the manager was not "available" to speak with me so I left copies of all my receipts and charges. He called me on Friday to tell me that there was nothing he could do about the rate, but it was already to late for him I had filed a complaint with his home office and they secured my rate at the lower rate of $75 for me. Guess there was nothing he could do, but I sure as hell was not going to stand by and let them fuck me over!