How 24 Hour Fitness Lost Trust at Ladera Heights
Closing a gym for renovations is not the problem. Failing to tell paying members is!
A fitness club is part of a person’s routine. People plan workouts around jobs, kids, traffic, recovery, and discipline. When they show up and find a closure they were not warned about, the damage goes past inconvenience. It tells them the business did not value their time.
At Ladera Heights, the reported issue was simple. The club closed for renovations, and patrons discovered it the hard way. Then came the worse part: staff responses that felt deceptive, casual, and indifferent.
That is how a facility loses trust.
Scenario — Profit's Story
In late August, I entered 24 Hour Fitness Ladera Heights, surprised and annoyed to see the gym shuttered, with a frustrated patron asking a customer service rep at the front desk for the manager's information to complain about not being notified about the renovations — which would shut down this location for the next few weeks.
Of course, this patron was pissed!
It's not like the branch manager at this 24 Hour Fitness location didn't know renovations taking place at his location wouldn't inconvenience hundreds of customers! This mistake by the branch manager was compounded by unempathetic staff, who couldn't care less!!
I asked the customer service rep at the front (Let's call him Tony), "Why didn't you guys text blast customers about the renovations?" Tony assumed that since I am twice his age, I don't understand how text messaging works. Tony told me (paraphrased), "We did text our members. Did you check your spam?"
"It didn't go to spam" (as I never set up that "unknown message filter" in my iPhone).
Now, I was prepared to give Tony grace, as I was sure that disgruntled customers were giving him the business all day for a decision he had no control over...
That is...until Tony seemed totally clueless and unconcerned about the plight foisted on me by managerial incompetence!
Worse, Tony thought his BS answer would satisfy me, but he couldn't have been more wrong!
I explained to Tony, "It's frustrating to be bombarded by promotional emails all the time from 24 Hour Fitness, only to NOT be contacted when there is a lengthy closure due to renovation."
Tony was unmoved, so I decided to drop some knowledge on him.
"The reason this man next to me is going to complain to management is that you guys wasted our time. We drove all the way out here, can't work out, and it's too late and too far - given LA traffic - to go elsewhere. It's not a minor inconvenience. Furthermore, since you guys track members upon entry, it's not so difficult to text blast everyone who has swiped in for the last 60 days to inform them of this closure..."
"Unfortunately, since management isn't here to own up to their mistake, you have to face the brunt of the anger from unhappy patrons. Does that make sense?"
Instead of being a good face for the business to quell customer dismay, Tony couldn't even be bothered to muster up a perfunctory apology. Or even a half-hearted, "I understand your frustration. Our bad."
Tony could still give 2 drizzling sh*ts and looked equal parts clueless and careless, so I upped the ante: "I think I now want to complain to the manager too. Please give me their info. Thanks!"
So I will complain to management...not only by writing this blog...and not only by emailing his direct manager about their poor planning and communication, but I am emailing the regional manager, corporate, and tagging 24's social media accounts too!
I believe in being part of the change I seek.
If you want change, seek out the people who can make it happen! In this case, management made a dumb oversight that affected numerous members, while customer service was too inept to clean up their mess.
And I am going to include how the customer service rep at the front desk cares less than zero about the customers who make his paycheck possible!
Reality Check 1: Don't lie to your customer in a manner that insults their intelligence.
Customers can accept bad news when it is direct. If the business is wrong, apologize. If the customer just thinks the business is wrong, still apologize.
If a club is closed for renovations, say that. Do not pretend the issue is unclear, temporary, or out of anyone’s hands if the business already knows the plan.
PwC reported that 32% of customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience, according to its customer experience research on the future of customer experience.
That number matters because a gym is built on habit. One broken pattern can push members to try another location, another chain, or home workouts.
The lie does not need to be dramatic to do harm. Not only did I feel Tony was dishonest with his likely made-up answer, but I thought he was insulting my intelligence with such an easily disprovable lie.
Trust breaks fast when the facts are visible. The club clearly didn't do the bare minimum to notify its members. Staff make up a flimsy excuse to shift responsibility to the member.
That insults people.
Poor managerial planning also creates more work for staff. Every confused member becomes another confrontation at the door, another phone call, another complaint, and another bad story told to friends.
Solution: The better choice is plain and omnipresent communication when disruptions occur. Apologize when at fault.
Text blast every member who has checked in within the last 90 days
Send an email blast before the closure.
Put notices everywhere in the club.
Update the app.
Post the closure dates in the parking structure.
Explain nearby alternate club access.
Train staff to give the same answer.
None of this is complicated. It is basic operations for businesses that care about their customers.
Reality Check 2: Nonchalance is "No Bueno"
Nonchalance makes a service failure feel personal. The customer hears, “Your problem does not matter.”
In fitness, that lands hard. Members are not buying a one-time item. They are paying for access, consistency, and routine.
Zendesk has reported that 61% of customers would switch to a competitor after one bad experience, based on its customer experience trends research.
A cold or careless response at the front desk can turn a repair project into a brand problem, especially when that brand charges $40 per month.
Members remember tone and treatment. They remember being brushed off more than they remember the renovation schedule. Tony's nonchalance came off as arrogance.
This is where Customer Service either saves the relationship or destroys it.
A staff member does not have to fix the construction schedule. But staff must show respect. That means no shrugging. No dismissive tone. No acting annoyed that members asked why the facility they pay for is closed.
A useful response would sound like this:
“We should have communicated this sooner. The club is closed for renovations during these dates. Here are your nearby options. Here is where you can get billing help to get a prorated credit for this month's membership fees as a courtesy. I understand why this is frustrating.”
That takes 20 seconds.
It also changes the temperature of the interaction. People may still be upset, but they are no longer being treated like a moron who missed a phantom notice.
Nonchalance is expensive because it turns confusion into resentment. A member who might have accepted the closure now starts questioning the entire company. They wonder if billing will continue. They wonder if the reopening date is real (which it wasn't). They wonder if management cares. (Unlikely.)
Once that doubt enters, the relationship is no longer about a treadmill or a squat rack. It is about credibility.
Reality Check 3: Indifference loses customers
Indifference is worse than a mistake because it signals the mistake may repeat.
Members do not expect perfection. They expect follow-through, especially when payment continues during disruption.
Salesforce reported that 88% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services, in its State of the Connected Customer research.
For a gym, the “product” is access. If access disappears and the experience is bad, both sides of the bargain fail.
Indifference gives customers permission to leave without guilt. Tony's indifference was the worst part. Even after I explained my frustration, inconvenience, and annoyance in great detail, Tony remained stone faced.
This is the real loss at Ladera Heights.
The damage is not only the closed facility. Renovations end. Equipment returns. Floors get cleaned. Paint dries.
But trust does not return that easily.
Members may forgive construction. They may even appreciate improvements later. But they will not forget being left uninformed, then treated like their frustration was unreasonable - while 24 Hour Fitness billing cycles are as relentless as the ocean tides.
A fitness company should understand commitment better than most businesses. Showing up is the whole point. Members are told to be consistent, stay disciplined, and keep coming back.
That standard should apply both ways.
If members are expected to honor monthly dues, the company must honor basic communications. If a location must close, tell people early. If plans change, update them. If staff does not know the answer, give them one before the public asks.
Silence is not a strategy. Shrugging is not service. Confusion is not an acceptable member experience.
Conclusion
The reported handling of the Ladera Heights closure shows how a manageable renovation can become a trust failure.
The fix was not complicated. 24 Hour Fitness needed honest notice, clear dates, trained staff, and practical alternatives for members. That is the floor, not the ceiling.
Customers can handle inconvenience. They handle it every day.
What they should not have to handle is confusion created by the business, vague answers that insult common sense, and a casual attitude toward wasted time.
A gym membership depends on trust. When a club breaks that trust, members do not need to make a scene. They can leave, cancel, and tell the story to all their loved ones, "Guess what this tool at 24 Hour Fitness told me..."
That is the part management should worry about most.
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