The Edge Fitness Clubs

Staff is not very helpful and rude. My wife just joined the Edge gym in Hamden. This was like the third time she went there and she was having problems with a particular machine and asked one of the staff if he could simply show her how it worked. He refused to take the two minutes it would have taken to help her, and told her she needed to pay $ 200.00 for a trainer before she could get help understanding the machine. He then walked away when she said she can’t afford $ 200 for a trainer. She finished her workout using other machines and left feeling really let down by the Hamden Edge. The crazy part, is that the rude trainer would have spent less time just helping her than he did telling her why he wasn’t going to help her. If he showed her kindness, who knows down the road, she might want to pay for a trainer, but now she wants nothing to do with them. I would recommend staying away for the Hamden Edge.

You cant cancel your membership if you move. I moved from Hamden to Westbrook, and it was not «far» enough away for them to allow me to cancel, on top of it to cancel your membership (once the year is up) is ridiculous you have to send a letter in.

The manager is super lazy and does not give straight answers. You will get no where with him. YES, read the fine print too. The staff doesn’t seem to know policy and always mess up. They should have a separate thing for managing accounts. The gym is always packed mainly because of the surrounding colleges. If you go try to go early or late in the day. But it’s even packed at 7am! Typical over packed chain gym. Some days you can’t even get on a machine.

READ CONTRACT BEFORE SIGNING UP. Signed up in the fall and tried canceling it 4 months later because I started going to a new gym. When I try to cancel they tell me I need to keep it for a year or pay off the rest of the balance. Funny, you’d think they would tell you something like that when you sign up. If you try to freeze you’re account they charge you even more. THIS PLACE IS A SCAM

If you have to go between the hours of 4 and 8 pm, choose a different gym, you can’t find parking, you can’t find room on the turf and you can’t get on the machine you want.
If you have to go at 5 am, this is the gym to choose.

Well now, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. My first day there I had an issue in the kid zone, and emailed the supervisor, who emailed me back at 1130pm and then called me at 830 am and totally managed the situation. I was really impressed. I think she might not sleep. It’s been great ever since.
The stuff is clean and new, classes are interesting.
Also, the lady, Cindy, who initially signed me up, freaking remembered me and talked to me the next time she saw me. I couldn’t believe she remembered what I looked like even, much less my name, things about me, and a week later. Super, super impressive. If I had a business that did customer service, I would recruit her in a second.
Anyway, great gym, excellent customer service. Great for moms.

For $ 10/​mo., this is the best gym I’ve ever been a member of. Facilities are great, staff and people aren’t unfriendly.
I especially like the wide open space where you can do all different kinds of workouts, the diversity of equipment available, and the cardio theater, where you can get in your hour+ run while watching a movie :)
I don’t do the group classes, but there are two class rooms with mirrors if you’re into yoga or stuff.

the reason I rate so low is not because of the gym itself, but because for the same price I can join planet fitness and be able to bring a guest whenever I Would like, not just on Fridays and from CT. I went to college outside of ct, and I have friends who lived in other states but reside in ct currently at school etc. and I cannot bring them to work out. yes they have facilities available at their schools, but I get motivated through a fitness buddy and the edge does not allow me to do that. What would it matter if the person paying the most each month could bring a guest any day of the week instead of only Fridays? what does it matter if theyre not from ct when its just a guest? just pisses me off… if I join planet fitness, I can bring my workout buddies with no stipulations or annoyances.

Ok, I took advantage of complimentary personal trainer session and signed up but our schedules did match up until three weeks out. So, I just kept up with the stationary biking and logged over 100 miles in about three weeks. I surprised myself by really getting into the gym thing. I made it a high priority in my life. As I was recovering from a high blood pressure episode, I was cautious on pushing my 70 yo body at first. But as time went on I was feeling better and better AND my blood pressure was dropping. When I finally started with my PT, I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. I eventually figured out the personal was centered around him and NOT me. Examples, I am going to totally change your diet. Well, that wasn’t the problem as my wife and I pretty much follow the Mediterranean diet. My problem was inactivity due severe arthritis in my right ankle and a partial meniscus tear in my left knee! PT approach: you have to get rid of that knee brace! We met a couple of times a week for three weeks doing some simple stuff all of which tended to aggravate my sore spots. So, after three weeks I quit the PT program (happily they refunded my unused portion). When my son was home from college over thanksgiving, he came as a guest one day and showed me what I could do on different machines: Abs, glutes, quads, latt pull down, pec fly. This was all new to me and I loved it — mostly because they didn’t stress my injured knee and ankle. after two months I had been to gym every day but five when I was out of town. By-​product was I was now able to wear some pants that I had outgrown. Now thrEe more months have gone by. This gym has become the focal point of my day. The managers are great guys as are the greeters at the front desk who are very friendly and engaging. When I miss a day because I shoveled show for an hour I really do miss the social interaction. Plus, once I started using the machines, the pounds came more quickly (down to 210 which I hadn’t been at in 15 years). The next phase of my gym life will be dictated by the change of seasons as I am an avid golfer. To keep up my gym activities, I have already resolved to cut back on my golf rounds by a third which means I’ll be playing about 36 – 45 holes a week instead of 54 – 63 Holes!

When we moved to CT, finding a good but inexpensive gym was my top priority. I knew I wouldn’t find what I had in Philly (city vs suburbs *sigh*), but I hoped I wouldn’t be stuck with LA Fitness/​Planet Fitness/​Etc. The Edge Fitness in Hamden is a 10 minute drive from our apartment, and when I visited to start my 1 week trial, I knew I would end up joining.
The facilities here are big and well laid out, all things considered. Cardio equipment to the left (treadmills, ellipticals, upright, recumbent, AND spinning bikes, stairmasters, rowers, and a few more specialized ones, pretty much ALL with tvs), a large turf area with TRXs, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, and even a sled, middle area all of the weight machines (sometimes two of the same so it’s easier to share), back area where heavier dumbbells, barbells, power cages, etc are, a «cardio cinema» room if you need a movie to motivate you, a large spin room, two group workout rooms, one especially large for those REALLY popular classes (think ZUMBA, esp evening/​weekend classes), apparently there’s a pilates room in back (costs extra, and I’m not paying for that), tanning room (haven’t tried… yet…), and of course locker rooms that are very nice and clean. Basically, they had all of the equipment that I wanted, plus more that I’m starting to use.
Now, I’ve worked at a gym before, so I knew all of the questions to ask to understand their policies, especially pertaining to cancelling memberships. At the time that I joined, they had two ‘levels’ of general membership: cheaper and you just get access to the Hamden location, no classes/​extras, twice the cost and you get access to all Edge locations, classes (not the Edge Strong ones, but Spin and Zumba and a few others), and tanning. I had the choice to commit to one year or two years — with the two years I would continue at the same price after my term, but the one year would increase by about $ 5/​month after the term ended. If you cancel before your agreed upon term ends, you HAVE to pay the full amount your remaining term. Once you go month to month, there shouldn’t be a cancellation fee. There is an annual fee all members pay that contributes to ‘maintaining the high quality standards of the club for our members.’ The reality is, they use an outside billing company (same one the gym I worked for used), and typically the annual fee goes to the billing company — they are the also the so-​called ‘collections company’ others mentioned.
Now, I’ve highly enjoyed my experiences at The Edge for the almost 5 months I’ve been going. I have only had pleasant interactions with staff, especially the personal trainers (two of whom, on separate occasions, have gone out of their way to adjust my form) and the front desk staff (Woot Terrence!). The personal training is expensive, but they have professionals on staff, and the training package includes access to their Edge Strong classes (which otherwise cost additional per month), and combined with a very healthy diet could quickly make you reach your fitness goals. Don’t worry, the sales team makes sure that you undergo a free PT session and then sit down with their Biggest Loser-​approved system to see how a virtual you will look in X number of months. I’m happy I joined, it’s been the one place where I’ve felt at home since we moved to CT.

I am very pleased with this gym and all the edge gyms. I love the classes!

8 September 2014
The Edge Fitness Clubs
500 Kings Highway Cutoff
Fairfield, CT 6 824
Preface: A firm believer in second chances and quite frankly an admirer of the facility’s amenities. Yet again, I’ve been shown the true value and moral of this business’s leadership.
To Whom It May Concern:
Based on past interactions with your organization, I don’t expect this letter to result in any resolution nor is a resolution sought-​after. However, as a once paying and loyal patron of your gym, I feel the need to express the pure disgust with the treatment I’ve received from your company – to be specific those in the ownership roles of your company. The interactions I’ve had with this company nearly eight months ago and today have been completely unprofessional and outright unfair. Nearly eight months ago, I was approached by an individual – the owner or one of the owners, not certain of your company’s ownership structure – who: in plain clothes, without identifying himself as an employee and/​or representative of The Edge Fitness Clubs, approached me, verbally reprimanded me for making a simple mistake – accidentally hitting a ceiling joist over the «balls to the wall» area with a medicine ball. He then proceeded to walk to the front desk and point me out to the staff members. This is the equivalent of being pulled over and reprimanded by a police officer that fails to identify himself as such, wouldn’t be received all to well. As an individual who at one point loved your facilities, to the point I sought employment as a sales agent of your company because I had a personal vested interest in seeing growth in the organization, I was thoroughly insulted. In attempt to make it clear that it was not in my intentions to damage or mistreat the facility I later approached the still unidentified individual. This individual – who I’m assuming was intimidated and/​or insulted by my interaction immediately took a defensive stance and in extreme unprofessionalism and arrogance replied first stating I was breaking rules – rules that were posted nowhere in the club – by having a bench on the turf. He then continued to inform me he’s the owner of the establishment and if I don’t like the way he does things I can, in turn – in his exact words – cancel my membership because he has a millions of members and he could careless about losing myself as one. I am certainly no owner of a fitness club brand with multiple locations or any other business for that matter; however, I know such a statement is completely unprofessional when speaking on behalf of an organization. At that point I gladly obliged and canceled my member, which was no longer under contract. For the past few weeks under the influence of a few of your gym’s current members – who after hearing of the treatment I’ve endured, will soon be canceling their memberships as well – and also because I do enjoy the equipment of the facility; I have been using your Hamden, CT facility, each time paying the ten dollar single-​day club use fee. However, today, nearly eight months after the before mentioned incident with the owner of this establishment, I was, at the front desk in front of assumed employees and other members, approached by the manager or acting representative of the owner and informed I was not wanted on the property. This came as a complete shock to me being that I’ve used the facility multiple times within the last month, without incident, but because the owner – a supposed business man, who’s goal, or at least one would believe to be, is to maximize profits and minimize cost, that is the sole purpose of for-​profit businesses, correct? –Has a personal grudge my patronage is no longer wanted. As a once supporter of you company, I am beyond disgusted and offended by the actions of this company. As I said, I don’t expect or want any resolution or apology from your organization. Furthermore, to avoid being a defendant of a possible civil case, I can’t tell anyone to not be a customer of yours. However, I can certainly and will certainly share my experience with as many people as I possibly can, leaving the decision up to them. In my personal-​uneducated opinion, your company – specifically the owner – should heavily invest in customer interaction, relationship management training and maybe even invest in a procedure to interacting with customers in situations as such. I will also take this opportunity to relay to you, one of the biggest lessons learned in my military experience, a company, business, organization, team, etc. is only as good a those in leadership roles. The owner, an assumed leader of this organization, has in my opinion proven himself to be an – for lack of better words – arrogant, unprofessional and demeaning prick. With that in mind, what does that render his company?
God Bless,
An Extremely Dissatisfied Customer

I absolutely LOVE this gym. I joined about two months ago after ending my relationship with PF. I see a trainer every other week and although it is expensive to see a trainer, it is SO worth it. The staff here is so friendly and helpful, and the gym-​goers are also nice and everyone is really motivated to get fit. I love the atmosphere here. Many different machines/​weight lifting areas, not to mention the two different classrooms, the spinning room, AND the cardio cinema. Also, the bathroom/​locker room is always so clean, and the showers are so nice, I don’t mind showering there & getting ready for the day because there’s so much space for everyone. Some people have complained about parking but honestly what’s an extra 30 seconds of walking when you’re there to get a workout in anyway? I would 100% recommend this gym!

Real gyms stay open later than 9pm on Fridays. The hours Friday through Sunday are not customer motivated. They’re staff designed. If this club were based on hours of operation. This wouldn’t be the place to recommend.

Fine and clean. It’s a chain gym so what can you really expect? The rules and membership and lock in agreements are the same nonsense as everywhere else. They sent us free one day guest pass to use but gave us trouble at the front door trying to use it. Go figure.
Kudos for providing short term options like a week and a month membership.

I am updating this since I wrote it back when the club opened– I have been unable to go to the gym due to injury/​surgery and had to bring in a note from my ortho doc in order to get my membership suspended. They politely honored this and put a freeze onto my account. I thought that was great.
The bad:
One day before entering the gym, I had to call the police on a young kid (probably 11 or so years old) and his «friends» who started to yell at our car when we were looking for parking and pulled out a gun and said «YOU WANT SOME OF THIS?» This club’s location is starting to dwindle and the recent thefts have not helped its reputation. I am no longer attending this location and will go to their newest addition instead. I should mention Hamden PD was there in .2 seconds and arrested the little punk…

Staff is friendly and wide array of equipment, but there are many downfalls at this gym.
Parking is horrible. Very over crowded unless you’re able to go at off peak times. The clientele is very sketchy to say the least. Numerous friends of mine have been robbed at the gym. Both inside and in the parking lot. Last week I walked outside the gym to see a squad of police cars apprehending a felon.
It appears clean but I don’t believe it is. I have never once seen «the clean team» clean off any of the machines or benches. Often times there’s grease left behind on them. It’s not sanitary and it’s just gross.
Will be researching other gyms since my year is almost up.

Think twice before joining this gym. Terrible customer service. I tried to cancel my membership before moving out of state and my request was not honored. In fact, I continued to get charged several months after moving. When I called to try to resolve the issue… I was told «people make mistakes» and that they could not credit me back my money.

This gym supplies awesome equipment and opportunities for a low price. They are super affordable and everything inside is very up to date. They often offer free trial classes for the more advanced ones though most basic classes are already free with your membership! Tanning is always included and they also have a «cardio cinema» that constantly plays movies on a huge screen in front of all cardio machines. Their service is amazing and you can’t beat the price. I got a special student rate for the summer and plan to do it again next summer.

There are so many things to love about this gym, I don’t know where to begin! Perhaps ill start off by saying that it is absolutely immaculate inside; the floors, machines, bathrooms/​showers; everything is extremely well kept! Two thumbs up to the cleaning crew!
Next, I have to address how professional The Edge staff truly is. I am always greeted when I zap in, and have rarely ever waited longer than 1 min at the counter for a shake or just a simple question about my training appts; they are always ready to assist you with whatever you need, and they do it with a smile. I will also add that they are so supportive of their clients’ fitness goals as they have been in tune with mine since the day I joined. They really care and are genuinely happy to see that you are reaching them!!!
I’m a lover of a variety and this gym provides a whole lot of that; They have TRX bands («what are those» you ask? Well, look it up on YouTube or im sure 1 of the staff members will definitely show you how to use them once you join) They also offer SO MANY group classes, an indoor track/​turf, and a cardio cinema; I can’t see myself or anyone ever getting bored because it is plain to see there are ample opportunities to change things up!
The last thing Ill say is that they have a child care center so that hardworking parents can still find time to take care of themselves without having to find a babysitter, and I would definitely trust this staff with my kid if I had one.
So, for only $ 20/​month, you get to enjoy unlimited fitness classes, unlimited tanning (they have really strong beds– another plus) AND workout at any Edge location with amazing staff and impeccable service. Really can’t beat it! Go get your swell on and thank me later ;-)