Gold's Gym

Great gym. See the last reviews are 2+ years old. The dynamic of the place has obviously changed since then, thank God. The place is clean, all equipment works and if something is broken it is fixed in a timely manner. It is a franchise so the downfall to it is not being able to spend millions annually to keep up with new technology that is always coming out. This is NOT a corporate Gold's Gym, so things will be a little different there than a corporate location, also with a lower price. I paid $55 as a corp member and $30 at this facility. They do a great job with working with what they have and give a great experience to the members. A local facility in the Clayton area with plenty to give!

This gym is deceiving. Looks nice and the equipment is nice but THE PEOPLE make it the worst gym I've ever been to. The owner, Tim is a complete tool. Rich? yes and loves to flaunt it and drop names like crazy.. Beware the 9am crowd if you don't like drama...or Gymtimadation. Roids anyone? But if you are a first responder groupie or wanna be, go for it.. there are some of JoCo's finest FM, PM and Ems (about 5-6) that use that place as their personal pickup spot (yes they are married). It is ridiculous. They have chased off so many people it's almost funny.. Clayton Fitness may not be much better but anywhere is better then Golds.

Dishonest billing!!!. Once you finally get to talk to the owner Tim Murphy he talks to you like it's your fault that they screwed up. Good luck ever getting your money back even after providing bank statements that prove they were wrong. I have been a member of many gyms over the years and have never encountered a more rude and dishonest company. Make the drive to Planet Fitness or Club Worx , I do.

I was a long time member, but no longer when my month ends. I came to Golds (when they first opened) from another chain franchise, also open 24x7 - but tons better. You get what you pay for, trust me.



This Golds is like no other I've been a member at anywhere else - it's the worst. With the exception of maybe 4 or 6 machines, every other machine is either poorly maintained, or missing or broken something. Most need weight adjustment pins replaced. I also started bringing in my own WD-40 rag to clean and oil the slides. I swear they were so sticky that it added 10 pounds to your lifting weight. There are many old machines that got a new coat of paint (terrible job BTW), and the padding and covers replaced.



To be fair, it's 24x7 - rare for a Golds, a new machine or two come in every year or so, the cardio equipment all have TV's (when the cable connections are actually connected), and it's pretty clean. Members are terrible at putting away free weights and equipment, and staff put up signs to remind them to put them away instead of helping to keep things nice and organized.



They've expanded in the back of the building, which is good - but why close off the bathrooms back there? I feel sorry for anyone with an emergency!. There's a lot of work needed to finish the original remodel. Lots of electrical outlets are exposed with bare wires (didn't want to touch them to see if they were live), clocks need put up or need worked on, there's a wall light right above the member's desk that's been removed about 2 years ago and it's still not been replaced - just a bunch of wires hanging out - for 2 years, and carpet tiles are all coming up and are loose. This is definitely not something I'd expect from a Golds.



People? Well the members are great and friendly, and I'll miss them. The staff, at least the ones I've run into at Taco Bell across the street, are okay. Ask for someone with any authority and watch out. You will always be wrong, your suggestions for improvement will be returned with a statement like "you can leave if you don't like it", and they're very combative instead of listen to members concerns or improvements. I think they forget we are the ones paying the monthly dues that go into their paycheck. Additionally, the owner doesn't care about you. That's a problem in my opinion.



Safety? Seems like it's okay (but concerning, keep reading), but I go when other people are there. What does concern me a lot is the fact that there's no emergency push button on the walls, no cords to pull, no phones except at the front (what happens if you're way in the back?), and no lanyards with a wireless "help" button. What if you came when nobody else was here and were alone? What would someone do in an emergency and couldn't move or get to a cell phone? Die waiting for someone to find them under a bar with 300lbs on it? I think that needs addressed.



Why am I writing this you ask? Because you have choices, and if I were you and have the means to be anywhere else, go somewhere else until things change for the better.

The gym in this area has changed ownership three times since I was a member. I joined Kx Fitness back in 2006, which then changed to Peak Fitness which is now Gold's gym. Since I was a member for such a long time, I was on a month to month payment plan using my credit card. In December of 2011, I received a notification that my credit card was going to expire the next month and that if I did not provide my new credit information, my membership would be cancelled. I told the folks at gold's gym to go ahead and cancel my membership because I was attending North Carolina State University College and was going to use their facilities instead.



I have not been to ANY Gold's gym since January of 2012, and I was CONTINUALLY CHARGED $30 a month until November 20th 2012! My credit card company informed me of this, so I called Gold's gym billing department (866) 347-5808 and they told me that they would cease payments immediately but NOT refund me for a product I did not use.



I thought perhaps if I spoke to the owner of the Gold's gym (Tim Murphy) in Clayton, North Carolina, that I could possibly work something out. Wrong. He was much more difficult and even condescending. I was told that I would have to fill out a REQUEST form to cancel my membership that would be reviewed. When I asked about a refund, he bluntly said, AND I QOUTE: "Look, you're not going to get your money back".



I then called the Billing Department for Gold's again (866) 347-5808, and tried to reason with the woman (who was polite, but just doing her job) about how I could be refunded for the 10 months I was charged for...but she told me that my contract stated I was still responsible. I asked her if I could get a copy of the Kx Fitness contract that was assumed through golds gym. She told me that she would have to dig through paperwork to find it and "wouldn't even know where to begin looking for it".



I told her to fax it to my mother's office and gave her the fax number, which she said she would.



The amount charged to my credit card was $359 for this year. It is money that could go to help pay for my student loans, rent or food. I'm a reasonable guy, all I want is what I am owed... But since Gold's gym is making it difficult for me, I'm going to make it difficult for them by contacting a consumer attorney service. Even if its costs me more money to file a suit in the long run, I'm going to take a stand.



Its a shame to because the gym is nice...and when you are living in a small town with nothing to do, a gym is great. If you do decide to get a membership there, make sure you pay cash, up front. DO NOT LET THEM GET THEIR HANDS ON A CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD!!!