Not more than a week after I was unnecessarily subjected to harassment by one owner, I approached the other owner of the the East Falls Church Planet Fitness, to voice my concerns as a patron of their club. I should have known that any effort to resolve the matter was futile as he continued to flip through his paperwork with his back turned to me during half if not most of the conversation. Owner #1 was out that afternoon and I felt that one way or another I had to resolve the matter at hand asap and say my peace.
Let me briefly explain the history behind this particular Planet Fitness. Formerly known as Olympus, or simply put, a real gym, upon changing names a flurry of drama ensued, which negatively impacted employees and patrons. If you are not familiar with the policies of Planet Fitness, a simple google search will yield plenty of information, mostly negative. And you will begin to comprehend exactly what I mean by real preceding gym.
The owners’ third rate henchman and porcine faced manager would roam the floors of of the facility in search of confrontation. Remember the guy in high school who was always looking for a fight, desperate to flex his muscles and prove his worth? Give that guy – all grown up – a modicum of authority and what you have is corporate Seppuku. But you’ve got to feel sorry for the little guy as he has no clue that he’s merely a puppet and a pitbull the owners employ to sic on “unruly” patrons who actually utilize the equipment in the gym to work out and not roll in to eat free pizza and bagels and tootsie rolls. As Owner #1 recently told someone, and I quote:
“What are we going to do about [the manager]?”
Perhaps someone should slip a note under the door and suggest that the manager cease calling patrons “fat and stupid” behind their backs and employ some diplomacy when dealing with those so called evil grunters rather than targeting certain individuals on the floor and irascibly laying into them in front of everyone. A little diplomacy goes a long way. However, when the owners themselves are apathetic to the needs of the people who pay them to use a service, you cannot set a proper example for your staff to follow without unwittingly exposing yourself as a hypocrite. I have managed to muster up some sympathy for the manager in spite of the trespasses he has committed because he is like a special child, and in a way you cannot fault him for doing wrong. Perhaps a modern day version of Lenny Small just “living off the fatta’ the lan” is the most appropriate way to describe him.
This corporate apathy and abuse of authority goes beyond the manager, beyond the owners, and is firmly rooted in the PF doctrine – as written and show here -
But I digress. I am not here to deconstruct the PF philosophy or offer a dissertation; rather, I would like to focus on the first two sentences which aptly underscores the original purpose of this blog:
we at pf are here to provide an environment in which anyone, and we mean anyone, can be comfortable. a diverse, judgement free zone where a lasting, active lifestyle can be built.
What happened after I was subjected to Owner #1’s negative ramblings and his indignation over my apperance may have been worse than the initial assault. Attempting to add insult to injury, Owner #1strolled over to the front desk and bragged about the incident to the employees. Showing how uncouth and ill-bred a a man he is, he unabashedly boasted that he had told me I was “too big.” It sort of went like this:
“I told [] she was too big,” boasted the uncouth man.
“That’s a way to a girl’s heart,” said the porcine faced manager.
“That’s not a girl, that’s a man,” he continued to malign.
“I’d still tap it,” offered a young employee.
“Out of all the girls, why would you want to hit that old thing?” questioned porcine faced manager.
All consideration toward the possibility that perhaps I had misinterpreted his intent had been eradicated.
I’d like to know, where in the PF contract II signed does it state that I am exempt from the level of respect that is supposed to be accorded to all members in the “Judgement Free Zone?”
To Owner #1 – Shame on you. I wonder how you would have felt if a coach or teacher spat on your son’s dream of becoming a baseball player, or if someone told your wife to give up her fight with cancer because the hospital bills were bleeding your family dry. Shame on your greed for turning a perfectly good gym into a farce, for spewing hate at one the best personal trainers in the world for which your gym is so fortunate to have him even though you continue to treat him like a second class citizen, and for allowing patrons to be mistreated and mishandled by management.
I have a suggestion for you – next time you want to make a ludicrous assertion about someone’s appearance, take a long hard look in the mirror. I am not only referring to your belly hanging over your belt or your frog-ish spectacled face but of what is inside that transcends the physical. The stuff that comes from within and you, my friend, you are sorely lacking the facets that comprise genuine beauty. The probability that you will continue to live a bitter and passionless existence is enough justice for me.
THE END
Tags: Civil, East Falls Church Planet Fitness, Fitness Facility, Harassment, Planet Fitness, The Owners of Planet Fitness
