The Never Ending Membership

About a year ago I signed up for a one year membership to the Gold's Gym in my office park.  When I signed up, I knew it was least a one year commitment, and I did not have a problem with that.  Now when it came time to pay, they only gave me one option -- although I knew there were other options.  They asked me for a credit card number so they can automatically bill me each month.  Being the sometimes lazy person I can be, I gave them my number.  Big mistake.

Running a membership-based business, I can tell you that not all monthly memberships are evil.  In fact, they are usually very convenient and hassle free.  This is when a good company backs up the membership.  However, when a desperate company has control of your credit card, that is when the trouble starts.

When I signed up for my membership, it was done verbally at the gym, with nothing more than a signature.  One would reasonably expect the same type of process when terminating the membership -- at the gym, in person, perhaps signing a cancellation agreement.  With Gold's Gym, that was not the case.

When I approached the front desk at the gym to cancel, they dismissed me by handing me a business card and telling me to "just call the number on the card".  So I did.  As expected, I was taken through a long automated attendant clearly designed to confuse and cause members to hang up.  I did not.  I followed the complex maze of instructions until I finally heard the option to speak to an representative.  A very stern gentlemen came on the phone and explained to me that in order to cancel my membership, I needed to write a LETTER (not email) that contained certain information and send it to their address via CERTIFIED MAIL!  How many people do you think forget to do this, or put it off, or just eventually cancel their credit cards to stop the charging?  Lots according to http://www.consumeraffairs.com.  In fact, on that site alone I found 48 documented complaints of a similar story -- but in many cases, the billing continues even after the cancellation.

Bo's general rule of thumb for memberships: 1) the cancellation process should be no more difficult than the registration process and 2) it should be done through the same media.  For example, how many times have you "subscribed" to e-mail lists, only to see in the footer that to unsubscribe, send a letter to "po box..."?  This is an obvious case of shady business practices and what Gold's Gym is doing is no different.

From a business perspective, it appears that this technique is nothing more than cheap attempt to squeeze more dollars out of former members.  On paper, Gold's can see how this increases their profit.  But what they do not see on paper is the bad reputation they are getting all over the country through the media power of the Internet, as well as people like me who will avoid that chain of gym at all costs in the future and recommend to others that they do the same.  When we support a business that engages in deceptive or outright fraudulent business practices, we are indirectly responsible for helping them rip off others.  Harsh, but true.

I did send in the letter as requested, and time will tell if they will automatically honor my request for cancellation.  But I have a feeling that something will, "fall through the cracks".