California Wow? No Way!

[Zodiac]

This afternoon 18th September I paid a visit to the "California Wow" fitness place soon to open in the new shopping mall.

I was respectably dressed and polite.

At the reception I enquired if I could see the inside and was told "members only".

I asked how can I know if I want to to join unless I can see what i was joining.

It was said it was not ready yet.

There were two persons behind the counter a Thai male and Thai female.

The latter then said did i realize it was a gym?

And I said of course I did having been a member of other gyms for many years.

The male then came from behind the counter and basically tried to prevent me looking further inside though I notice that there were quite a few Thais seated down in the area for seating in the inner part of the reception.

I asked him when it would be open and he said "not sure.....maybe October!"

I asked the cost for a month, and he said do not do monthly, can have 3 or 6 monthly or a year, and he said around 7,000 baht for 3 months.

But his tone and that of the other person was unpleasant and not polite.

The hostility and abruptness of these individuals made me want to leave which I did.

I intend to make a formal complaint to the people who run the place as they cannot surely agree to this behaviour.

California Wow?

California No Way............!!!!

Edited September 18, 2007 by Zodiac

[Mobi]

If you do a search on previous threads, you will find very long tales of woe from farang and Thai customers who have been 'taken for a ride' and have various degrees of 'ripping off' performed on them over the past year or so by this company in Bangkok.

Everyone gets charged a different rate, and cancellation rules are magically changed after you sign up.

My wife was a member some years ago in BKK, and whilst we weren't completely ripped off, there was a definite air of 'conning' going on, and when we relocated to Pattaya I had to eat over 6 months of subscriptions.

My advice, (for what its' worth) is if you have room at home, buy an exercise machine, and some other fitness stuff (weights or whatever you need) and do it at home. You will save a fortune.

But if not - don't go to California Wow - I reckon their sales staff get their training from time share companies

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

As much as I would agree in principle (do it at home is cheaper, easier and faster), I think that most people do not have the determination, knowledge and staying power to do an effective fitness regime at home. If you can, great! If not, look around for a gym that can offer a better deal, with pleasant, helpful and competent staff. And you can get to do your stuff with likeminded people, and help and motivate each other.

[MisterFingers]

This afternoon 18th September I paid a visit to the "California Wow" fitness place soon to open in the new shopping mall.

I was respectably dressed and polite.

At the reception I enquired if I could see the inside and was told "members only".

I asked how can I know if I want to to join unless I can see what i was joining.

It was said it was not ready yet.

There were two persons behind the counter a Thai male and Thai female.

The latter then said did i realize it was a gym?

And I said of course I did having been a member of other gyms for many years.

The male then came from behind the counter and basically tried to prevent me looking further inside though I notice that there were quite a few Thais seated down in the area for seating in the inner part of the reception.

I asked him when it would be open and he said "not sure.....maybe October!"

I asked the cost for a month, and he said do not do monthly, can have 3 or 6 monthly or a year, and he said around 7,000 baht for 3 months.

But his tone and that of the other person was unpleasant and not polite.

The hostility and abruptness of these individuals made me want to leave which I did.

I intend to make a formal complaint to the people who run the place as they cannot surely agree to this behaviour.

California Wow?

California No Way............!!!!

Don't lodge the complaint. You'll be doing them a favour, maybe in time to save themselves.

These guys sound incredibly stupid. If they don't do a one month membership or less, they lose all of the tourists, plain and simple.

Don't wisen them up. Let them dig their own whole and bury themselves.

[Simmo]

Don't lodge the complaint. You'll be doing them a favour, maybe in time to save themselves.

These guys sound incredibly stupid. If they don't do a one month membership or less, they lose all of the tourists, plain and simple.

Don't wisen them up. Let them dig their own whole and bury themselves.

I'll let you in on a little secret in the gym business.

They majority of customers will sign up , come steadily for a few weeks, then stop after as little as a month.

Therefore to maximise your profits you sign up people for a long term contract with the maximum upfront you can get out of them. They're just bringing this established US business model here.

[qualtrough]

I'll let you in on a little secret in the gym business.

They majority of customers will sign up , come steadily for a few weeks, then stop after as little as a month.

Therefore to maximise your profits you sign up people for a long term contract with the maximum upfront you can get out of them. They're just bringing this established US business model here.

I can confirm Simmo's little secret. I joined a club in Manila that was a 5 minute walk from my home. Used it about 2 weeks, and then never visited again even though I signed up for a year membership. In my case I was tired of having to wait for machines to be free.

I visited a California Wow with a friend who for some reason was interested in them and had the same experience as the OP. Why anyone would join a club that doesn't allow you to check out the facilities is beyond me. The place has scam written all over it.

[Agenda]

I had even worse experience with c.wow. I met their american manager who was so pushy, agressive and rude, that I storm out.

I agree... no way of joining this stupid club.

[jetjock]

The only good things I can say about Calif. Wow is that they have great equipment and I can understand them asking you to wait until the club was finished before showing you the facilities. The bad thing about Calif. Wow is that in my experience at the Sukhumvit club, it is run and staffed by a bunch of aggressive, don't give-a-shit about the customer, con artists that are only after the quick buck. Many different prices on memberships available depending on who you talk to and how good you are at negotiating. One month memberships used to be available for 2000 Baht after some negotiating. Some members have been quoted 30,000 Baht for a lifetime which would be a great deal if they don't sell club or change the rules or declare bankruptcy after a few years as many health club corporations have done in the past. In summary, a corporation owned gym with great equipment and nice locations run and staffed by a bunch of people with a slimeball mentality that cannot be trusted. The history of health clubs is that they can suddenly shut down and close their doors at any time so there is always a risk involved. In the case of Calif. Wow, understand the type of people you are dealing with and read the contract carefully and assess the risk.

[tropo]

My advice, (for what its' worth) is if you have room at home, buy an exercise machine, and some other fitness stuff (weights or whatever you need) and do it at home. You will save a fortune.

Why would anyone need to train at home to save money in a town that has so many gyms, some of which are practically giving away memberships and loaded with good quality equipment.

Very few people can do productive weight training at home. Even if one has the motivation, it would cost a lot of money (and space) to buy the right kind of equipment to do good full body workouts at home.

Edited September 19, 2007 by tropo

[tropo]

They majority of customers will sign up , come steadily for a few weeks, then stop after as little as a month.

Therefore to maximise your profits you sign up people for a long term contract with the maximum upfront you can get out of them. They're just bringing this established US business model here.

This is the only way a gym can really turn a good profit. Most gyms would be far too crowded if even 50% of members turned up for workouts. I believe 10% turnup is considered the norm at most gyms.

[MisterFingers]

Don't lodge the complaint. You'll be doing them a favour, maybe in time to save themselves.

These guys sound incredibly stupid. If they don't do a one month membership or less, they lose all of the tourists, plain and simple.

Don't wisen them up. Let them dig their own whole and bury themselves.

I'll let you in on a little secret in the gym business.

They majority of customers will sign up , come steadily for a few weeks, then stop after as little as a month.

Therefore to maximise your profits you sign up people for a long term contract with the maximum upfront you can get out of them. They're just bringing this established US business model here.

I would agree with your logic for most other cities besides Pattaya.

But in Pattaya, the majority of people you see walking around are people staying one-two weeks, one month....

Most gyms in Pattaya offer a service to these people. Why? It's simply more logical, more revenue.

And most Pattaya gyms aren't overcrowded anyway. The "supply" far exceeds the "demand".

For example, Tony's gym offers everything from a single workout to a lifetime membership.

And most people who buy a three month membership intend to use it whether it turns out that way or not.

i.e., They'll get the three month membership based on the discounted price, not just that one month is not offered.

Trust me. The revenue they'll lose based on shutting their door to all tourists will far exceed the revenue they would lose from quitters getting one month as opposed to three month memberships.

That's why all the gyms are this way in Pattaya.

The California Wow policy may be smart in other cities, but not in Pattaya.

Edited September 20, 2007 by MisterFingers

[Mobi]

My advice, (for what its' worth) is if you have room at home, buy an exercise machine, and some other fitness stuff (weights or whatever you need) and do it at home. You will save a fortune.

Why would anyone need to train at home to save money in a town that has so many gyms, some of which are practically giving away memberships and loaded with good quality equipment.

Very few people can do productive weight training at home. Even if one has the motivation, it would cost a lot of money (and space) to buy the right kind of equipment to do good full body workouts at home.

I completely agree if you're into serious weight training etc.

But many (including my wife and I), only wish to do 30 minutes a day on tread mill to keep ourselves in reasonable shape, and that can easily be done at home with a single machine which will not break the bank.

I used a tread mill for years at home to keep my weight under control and my body in decent shape, and found it most convenient - usually using it before breakfast in the morning, or occasionally before my evening meal. Recently my knees have been playing up, so now I just do my walks and swimming. However, under my encouragement, my wife continues to use the treadmill more or less daily, and also uses another simple machine for stomach muscle exercise This is in sharp contrast to her 'failures' with several gym memberships when enthusiasm always faded after the first few weeks.

Of course as with all things, it's 'horses for courses', and if you are into a serious exercise and body building regime then gyms are the only place to work out, but home exercise, IMHO, is a realistic, cheap and viable option for many of us who just want to ensure we don't end up as couch potatoes.

[bangkapiboy]

Why would you want to tour the club and sit around the reception areas when it isn't even open for business yet?

[Humphrey Bear]

I walk a lot, I use skipping ropes.

When I was playing competitive sports - basically rugby union - we had team training evenings, team gym evenings, but since then I have seldom used weights or mechanical exercise machines.

California Wow has also been attacked on television in the states, programmes such as Oprah and Dr Phil that are syndicated in the Middle East. It seems that they are very much into the hard-sell of accessories and products other than simple exercise machines.

I would suggest that this is a place to avoid - but if you are a member of another C.Wow! club - do you have visiting rights in Pattaya?

[ruds]

I joined Calfornia wow over a month ago for 2500 joining fee and 888 baht per month with a minimum 2 year contract. I think this is a pretty good price but my understanding is that the price has gone up since then, however if anyone is thinking of joining this should give you an idea about price. I agree with a previous comment about the American manager, I complete wingnut, in fact I plan on going to the gym everyday when it opens to build up my muscle and then give him a smack in the mouth. However I did make it very clear that I didnt like him so hopefully he wont approach me again, if he does ill tell him I dont like him.

The gym will open next month sometime and I will post my thoughts after I see what it is like