Charlie Black / 25 April 2017 / Categories: Corporate Brands, Sports & Leisure

David Lloyd Club Narborough Leicester

I am frustrated. Why do companies think we the public are stupid?

I recently went to join David Lloyd club in Narborough. I have been considering it for a while, had already had the tour and had decided it was time to bite the bullet and go for it. A friend of mine had been a member for a couple of years before moving overseas and she had invited me a couple of times on a guest pass so I got to check things out for myself.

When I saw a promotional email saying they were offering new members the chance to have a "3 month flexi" membership to try things out without a contract or any penalties I thought fantastic, where do I sign.

I have to say the best thing about the joining meeting, (I didn't end up joining) was the free coffee which was delicious and much needed as the sales person kept me waiting 20 minutes even though the place seemed really quiet for the weekend.

Her opening gambit, when I said I didn't need the tour just the pricing and options was to go into the super doopa expensive, top of the range membership which was too pricy for me at £125 per month plus a £50 joining fee (although I did get a free towel with this package whoopie)

When I brought up the 3 month flexible promotion, she proceeded to explain I had to pay a £15 per month premium to have the flexibility to cancel after 3 months, (not much of an offer really) and if I did want to cancel how I had to give them 2 weeks notice before the end of the month to cancel at the end of the following month and if I wanted to put my membership on hold for any reason how I had to pay 25% of the monthly subscription even though I couldn't come and told them ahead of time.

In fact the whole meeting pretty much was not spent getting to know me and then selling me on how much I could benefit/enjoy the facilities but instead making sure I was aware of all the clauses, policies and premiums before I committed should I wish to cancel.

I left feeling deflated, didn't get to join the club I had already decided I wanted to join and all I could think about was how the lack of excitement, enthusiasm and positivity in a health and wellness business about what they offer was overtaken by just focusing on money and how a model like this in such a tough market could never be sustainable.