California Wow Pricing Shenanigans

[Jingthing]

Perhaps people should share what best offers, deals good and bad, they are getting at the new California Wow?

This place is notorious for sharp pricing practices (these guys make baht bus drivers look like saints), shouldn't we all FIGHT BACK?

So, as this new place gets up and running, please share the best offer you were able to get from these characters, whether you took it or not. Please note any relevant details, such as term of plan, open to worldwide gyms, whether you are joining with more than one person, Thai or not, etc.

I guess my concept is that if one person gets a really good deal and we know about it, we will know what is possible and can try to push for that ourselves.

Edited September 18, 2007 by Jingthing

[JimmyTheMook]

Perhaps people should share what best offers, deals good and bad, they are getting at the new California Wow?

This place is notorious for sharp pricing practices (these guys make baht bus drivers look like saints), shouldn't we all FIGHT BACK?

So, as this new place gets up and running, please share the best offer you were able to get from these characters, whether you took it or not. Please note any relevant details, such as term of plan, open to worldwide gyms, whether you are joining with more than one person, Thai or not, etc.

I guess my concept is that if one person gets a really good deal and we know about it, we will know what is possible and can try to push for that ourselves.

I think anyones best option is to avoid a place that conducts business in such a sleazy fashion.

At best California Fitness is pseudo gym without a swimming pool or other decent rec. facilities.

Pattaya has much better offerings.

And yes I checked this place out and was immediately put off by their hard sell tactics.

[Jingthing]

The location is convenient for me, and would assume many others. Fairtex looks fantastic but too far for me, so I would never use it. Calfornia Wow does pick good locations.

[JimmyTheMook]

The location is convenient for me, and would assume many others. Fairtex looks fantastic but too far for me, so I would never use it. Calfornia Wow does pick good locations.

I have been told that other SE Asian locations do not honor their membership cards.

[wpcoe]

In which new shopping complex is the new California Wow?

I had thought it was "The Avenue" nearer to Royal Garden, but I just read where the "Central Festival" shopping complex next to Soi 9 (near the new View Talay 6) is going to have a large fitness centre complex.

Is California Wow at the Central Festival centre, or is that a different fitness centre?

[Agenda]

I agree with Jimmy, the best thing you can do is to avoid them. If they don't want customers, why to fight back?

[eljeque]

Just went in.

Equipment is shown on the ground floor, but the upstairs area where the exercise rooms will be are not complete. The bathrooms and changing areas are attractively laid out.

For the one year membership, they will discount the joining fee from 8,000 to 4,000 and the monthly fee from 2,999 to 2,399 right off the top.

After a few minutes, they offered my gf and I one year for 19,999.

I really bet that they would have come down to 12,000.

Any offers made now may change as they approach opening day.

One concern is if they close, will they refund membership fees?

Or, might they simply inform members that they will have their memberships transfered to Bangkok.

[basjke]

Just went in.

Equipment is shown on the ground floor, but the upstairs area where the exercise rooms will be are not complete. The bathrooms and changing areas are attractively laid out.

For the one year membership, they will discount the joining fee from 8,000 to 4,000 and the monthly fee from 2,999 to 2,399 right off the top.

After a few minutes, they offered my gf and I one year for 19,999.

I really bet that they would have come down to 12,000.

Any offers made now may change as they approach opening day.

One concern is if they close, will they refund membership fees?

Or, might they simply inform members that they will have their memberships transfered to Bangkok.

What's a joining fee?

[samtam]

However sleazy their sales pitch, they seem to be successful. It doesn't necessarily attract customer loyalty. But I think that's a built-in strategy. Pay up and f-off.

Edited September 29, 2007 by samtam

[tropo]

One concern is if they close, will they refund membership fees?

Or, might they simply inform members that they will have their memberships transfered to Bangkok.

The answer is NO, so don't be concerned about that.

I have no idea why anyone would want to pay so much for a gym in Pattaya...perhaps the richer Thais who don't want so many cheap Farangs surrounding them when they workout.

[eljeque]

I do not know what a joining fee is.

Just some amount they come up with.

Maybe a shower fee, or a toilet flush fee will come next.

[torrenova]

You'd have to be brain dead to pay a joining fee to contract to pay a regular sum each month wouldn't you ?

[dogit]

You'd have to be brain dead to pay a joining fee to contract to pay a regular sum each month wouldn't you ?

Walked past there yesterday music booming out as loud as they could make it go , gym or disco?

[oMega69]

did see on WC home page online can buy Diamond card 3yrs for 16 995 b . . You think can talk them around to drop it to 12 000 b ? . .

or even 10 000 b ? . . .

[Laawman]

Lifetime membership can be had for B10,000........... but you must pay B3,000 to renew every year. B19,000 gets you lifetime with only B100 annual renewal fee.

[PattayaParent]

The location is convenient for me, and would assume many others. Fairtex looks fantastic but too far for me, so I would never use it. Calfornia Wow does pick good locations.

It's what? All of 3 kms from The Avenue?

[buckeroo2]

The location is convenient for me, and would assume many others. Fairtex looks fantastic but too far for me, so I would never use it. Calfornia Wow does pick good locations.

It's what? All of 3 kms from The Avenue?

3 KM is an eternity if you are talking about getting there on public transportation. If a gym is not convenient to access, that membersghip will be useless - you'll never use it. I can walk to WOW or Tony's in 15 minutes - I go religiously every other day - if I had to get to Fairfax - I might make it once a week - too easy to look for excuses to blow off the gym - inconvenient location would be at the top of my list. If you want to get into a routine and maintain it - make the process as convenient as possible starting with Location! Location! Location! - (same same real estate)

[boiledegg]

Fairtex is crap unless youre a novice, the gym area is very small with a limited selection of free weights, and the boxing equipment is constantly being used by the classes they run, has a nice outdoor pool though.

[tropo]

The location is convenient for me, and would assume many others. Fairtex looks fantastic but too far for me, so I would never use it. Calfornia Wow does pick good locations.

It's what? All of 3 kms from The Avenue?

3 KM is an eternity if you are talking about getting there on public transportation. If a gym is not convenient to access, that membersghip will be useless - you'll never use it. I can walk to WOW or Tony's in 15 minutes - I go religiously every other day - if I had to get to Fairfax - I might make it once a week - too easy to look for excuses to blow off the gym - inconvenient location would be at the top of my list. If you want to get into a routine and maintain it - make the process as convenient as possible starting with Location! Location! Location! - (same same real estate)

Are you serious? It would take all of 10 minutes and 10 baht (and no wait as it's on the baht bus route) to get from The Avenue to Fairtex in a baht bus to the Dolphin Roundabout which is less than 100m to Fairtex.

With your attitude to training it's obvious you aren't too serious. Just to highlight what dedicated training is all about, I recently spent a month in a rural province of the Philippines. I religiously road my motorcycle 23 km to the gym 4 times a week and never missed a workout rain or shine. I even bought my own fan and extension to use in the gym as they didn't have fans. It's all about personal motivation and nothing to do with location. Some people have home gyms and never use them. If you make more effort to get there, the chances are you'll have better workouts. I wasn't about to ride 46 km to the gym and back for a lazy workout.

If I had the choice of two gyms, one nearby and one 5km away, I would gladly choose the more distant one if it better served my training needs.

Edited August 12, 2008 by tropo

[buckeroo2]

The location is convenient for me, and would assume many others. Fairtex looks fantastic but too far for me, so I would never use it. Calfornia Wow does pick good locations.

It's what? All of 3 kms from The Avenue?

3 KM is an eternity if you are talking about getting there on public transportation. If a gym is not convenient to access, that membersghip will be useless - you'll never use it. I can walk to WOW or Tony's in 15 minutes - I go religiously every other day - if I had to get to Fairfax - I might make it once a week - too easy to look for excuses to blow off the gym - inconvenient location would be at the top of my list. If you want to get into a routine and maintain it - make the process as convenient as possible starting with Location! Location! Location! - (same same real estate)

Are you serious? It would take all of 10 minutes and 10 baht (and no wait as it's on the baht bus route) to get from The Avenue to Fairtex in a baht bus to the Dolphin Roundabout which is less than 100m to Fairtex.

With your attitude to training it's obvious you aren't too serious. Just to highlight what dedicated training is all about, I recently spent a month in a rural province of the Philippines. I religiously road my motorcycle 23 km to the gym 4 times a week and never missed a workout rain or shine. I even bought my own fan and extension to use in the gym as they didn't have fans. It's all about personal motivation and nothing to do with location. Some people have home gyms and never use them. If you make more effort to get there, the chances are you'll have better workouts. I wasn't about to ride 46 km to the gym and back for a lazy workout.

If I had the choice of two gyms, one nearby and one 5km away, I would gladly choose the more distant one if it better served my training needs.

me, 2- I walk 15 minutes to WOW - which is healthier? - talking a songtaow to the Dolphin Turnaround or walking 15 minutes in each direction to the gym. Your reasoning doesn't hold water - how many people would jump through hoops to get to a gym like you did in the PI? I am 55 yrs old and work out to stay fit - I am not a serious weight trainer - and I do not enjoy the gym - but I go to the gym for a 90 minute workout every other day and I never miss a session - I do it for health reasons - move that gym 3KM and have me navigate the songtaows and try to figure out which ones are going to the turnaround and which are turning at TOPS and that every other day routine would be history. Yeah, I know - just ask the driver - been there, done that - "Go to Big C Central Festival?" - and I get a nod of the head and hop on and a few blocks later the songtaow turns off on some small soi and I have to get off and get on another one - I am talking about your average Joe who goes to the gym to tone up , stay fit, etc - put up a few roadblocks or inconveniences and watch the workout frequency plummet. Just like New Years resolutions - people are full of good intentions - and it lasts about a month - work, family, business - all sorts of things take get in the way - make the gym an extra 3 KM songtaow ride and the chance of a workout program decreases -

As I said, I am not a serious weight trainer but for 2 yrs I went to Tonys and hired a PT there. It was my way to stay motivated - 1) I had an appointment so I had to go regularly and 2) the PT was tough but made the work-out enjoyable. Without the PT I would have slacked off. After 2 yrs I can see the positive results and have enough motivation to get my butt to the gym on my own accord without outside motivators.

[PattayaParent]

me, 2- I walk 15 minutes to WOW - which is healthier? - talking a songtaow to the Dolphin Turnaround or walking 15 minutes in each direction to the gym.

Then using your own reasoning I'd say walking 30 minutes in each direction to Fairtex would be healthier????

[tropo]

. Your reasoning doesn't hold water - how many people would jump through hoops to get to a gym like you did in the PI? I am 55 yrs old and work out to stay fit - I am not a serious weight trainer - and I do not enjoy the gym - but I go to the gym for a 90 minute workout every other day and I never miss a session -

You're being too hard on yourself. A person who trains 90 minutes every other day and never misses a workout is extremely motivated in my book.

Do any of us really enjoy the sessions? To be honest, probably not. It's the results we enjoy.

There's got to be some reason why home equipment is seldom used.

[buckeroo2]

me, 2- I walk 15 minutes to WOW - which is healthier? - talking a songtaow to the Dolphin Turnaround or walking 15 minutes in each direction to the gym.

Then using your own reasoning I'd say walking 30 minutes in each direction to Fairtex would be healthier????

I already walk 15 minutes to WOW which is in Pattaya Tai. Fairtex is another 3 KM to Pattaya Nua. I am not sure how many people can walk in 20 minutes the distance it takes a songtaow to go 10 minutes. I have a friend who has a small shop at the Dolphin turnaround and I have walked many times fom Pattaya Tai road to this shop - never in 30 minutes - I can get to Tops in Pattaya Klang in 30-40 minutes - add another 20-30 minutes to the Dolphin Turnaround and the 100 M to Fairtex - so I should walk 1 hour in each direction to get to the gym in tropical heat and torrential downpours - usually it is one or the other this time of the year- who needs a gym after that exercise? It doesn't always work to say that if something is beneficial then doing that twice as much or twice as often gives one 2X the benefits. With that reasoning maybe instead of working out 90 minutes every other day I should double that to 3 hours and increase it to a daily routine. I have PAD - peripheral artery disease and already have 3 stents in my legs and one in a coronary artery. My right calf hurts a lot when I walk more than a few blocks - yeah, probably time for another stent - but again I walk as much as I can - but 4KM from my house to Fairtex and then back is not an option.

Edited August 14, 2008 by buckeroo2

[buckeroo2]

. Your reasoning doesn't hold water - how many people would jump through hoops to get to a gym like you did in the PI? I am 55 yrs old and work out to stay fit - I am not a serious weight trainer - and I do not enjoy the gym - but I go to the gym for a 90 minute workout every other day and I never miss a session -

You're being too hard on yourself. A person who trains 90 minutes every other day and never misses a workout is extremely motivated in my book.

Do any of us really enjoy the sessions? To be honest, probably not. It's the results we enjoy.

There's got to be some reason why home equipment is seldom used.

Tropo - checked the dumbells today at WOW - I stand corrected - they start at 10 lb - from 10 lb-50lb they have 2 sets of each weight class. The rest go from 55 lb - 100 b and they have 1 set for these higher weights. The 110lb dumbell I spoke about before must have been a figment of my imagination - no dumbells at WOW over 100 lb.

[Laawman]

It's the fixed weight barbells that go to 120lbs.

[buckeroo2]

It's the fixed weight barbells that go to 120lbs.

I was speaking about fixed weight dumbells - they go up to 100 lbs at WOW - nothing higher

[royzino]

Lifetime membership can be had for B10,000........... but you must pay B3,000 to renew every year. B19,000 gets you lifetime with only B100 annual renewal fee.

I have some bad news for California Diamond (Lifetime membership) members if you are used to using your membership outside of Thailand.

Effective last August 6, California Fitness Wow has be kicked out of the Worldwide California Fitness family.

I discovered this on my last trip to Singapore. You can be sure that staff in other Asian countries are well informed. I am really bummed. Being an American, I used

my Diamond card to get me into 24 hour fitness clubs in the US. No longer.

Now I am looking for the best deal on a club in Bangkok that I can use around ASEAN at least. The US would be a nice bonus. My short list is True Fitness, Fitness First and Clark Hatch.

[tattoodrob]

oh dear,i think they are accidently forgeting to tell new members that the diamond is not effective around the world......they can use the bkk one though so thats a bonus.

do u know the reason for the split??

[nouvo135]

I pay 1299 per month ???????????

All i can say.

Oh

and the personal Fitness girls Nice Butts Which helps make you forget about the pain.

Pool???? Never mind......

[Spiny]

Perhaps this is slightly off topic but just recently I have been receiving cold calls (4 so far) from California Wow sales people requesting to talk to someone, a girls name, who is not the owner of my phone.

Usually the person hangs up without saying anything when I start speaking in English.

I have called back each time and explained to them (in Thai) that I am not interested in a California Wow membership and to stop calling my number.

I have now saved the name on my phone so that when they call I can disconnect, but I was wondering if there was a way to prevent them calling me, apart from changing my number, as this has occurred at various odd times of night and day and my wife is becoming supsicious of these strange calls.