Planet Fitness – Reading

The reason for 1 star is simple — I asked of any possible charge increases, vaguely remembering that the person singing me up mentioned something about June changes. So I stopped by in May and asked about that, however I was told I shouldn’t expect any changes. Should have read the fine print rather than ask employees… I got charged a $ 40 fee in June. When I called the manager, she claimed there was a miscommunication and she can’t help. Not a good business practice, I’ll be going elsewhere, and recommend people to not support this kind of business. my 2¢

I belonged to PF a few years ago, and joined this club after taking a job near the area. I joined online and the first time I went in, I was just asked to stand to take a picture — no offer for a tour, if I had any questions, and no free t-​shirt that I was promised when I joined. :(I’ve also been left standing at the desk waiting for the employee to finish their conversation before taking my tag to check me in. There was also a time where both water bubblers were out of order. At a gym. Both of them. For at least a week. I don’t go to this location anymore, I’m switching to the one closer to home.

Good value. Very clean. I never find it to be too crowded. On occasion, the parking lot gets full, and it is difficult to find a parking spot.

I’ve been going there for years, it looks like they are hiring young people-​kids lately. The manager Alice is the rudest person I have ever met– and shes continues to be rude with her attitude. I haven’t been there for 2 months, when I went back she was at the desk talking about people (customers) and gave me a dirty look as I was entering. Just Rude!! ii

There is a reason your local PF branch won’t accept cash or checks as payment in advance. A key part of their business strategy is to use their ability to access your checking account to collect money from you by surprise — both during, and after, the terms of your membership contract.
If — like most of us! — you’re human, and you don’t memorize your gym contract on the day you sign it, and maybe because you like the place you let your membership drag on a little longer than you originally planned, at some point you will probably get blindsided by a $ 29 annual fee. You might accept this as crappy but fair game, OR you might be thoroughly annoyed (like I was) and head straight to the PF service desk, to cancel your membership.
When you cancel your membership, you will sign a «cancellation agreement». It has today’s date on it, and a «date of last payment». You might walk away believing that because you just terminated your contract, as of today, you no longer owe them anything, and after the «date of last payment», they will no longer be able to access your account.
One or two weeks later, you’ll receive another bank statement and see that PF accessed your checking account three days after you cancelled your account, and they’ve withdrawn yet another month’s fee.
When you ask them to fix the mistake, they will stonewall. They’ll say it wasn’t a mistake, and they’ll refer to the terms of the contract you had already terminated, saying that because (after receiving your bank statement) you didn’t (go back in time and) cancel before the 10^th of the month, they had a contractual right to bill you again. When you complain, they’ll say that every PF branch follows these exact same policies, and that every manager all the way up to corporate will back them up. Then they’ll refuse to tell you the names of those managers. They’ll tell you to google it. (Go ahead, google «Planet Fitness complaints».)
You might ask, do you think charging fees after cancellation is a reasonable way to treat people? Do you care about your reputation as a local business? Do you realize you’re competing for customers against probably a dozen independent and/​or locally controlled gyms in this town alone?
The local PF owner, brand new to her position, will paraphrase the same script as her clerks: «I’m following the rules. All the branches do it the same way. I’m just doing what my boss tells me to do.»
Good luck to you, local Planet Fitness. On the first day that I drive by your location and see «Lease Available» taped to the window, I’ll know that you at least followed the rules.

This is a great PF location: new equipment, clean, and plenty of room. The locker rooms are really nice and there is a lot of parking. I visited this one with a black card membership at the Woburn location and decided to transfer to Reading because it’s a lot nicer and there is a wider variety of machines.

I’ve been a member at this location since it opened, and I like it. Sometimes it can get a little on the warm side but it’s generally fine. Locker rooms are clean and there’s always enough room to change (at least during the times I go). Sometimes maintenance isn’t taken care of as quickly as it may be at other places e.g., missing water bottle holder in an elliptical for over a month) but for the price, it’s doing quite well in my book!

So, Planet Fitness got a slight change and I’m giving this a 5 star review.
They recently gave the previously terrible and crappy WiFi a boost, from ¹⁄₃ bars to ³⁄₃ bars. And, there are 5 different Planet Fitness WiFi networks. And, man is it fast!
The passcode for the WiFi is planetwifi :3

I’m not a big fan of low-​cost treadmill/​weight farms filled with meat heads staring at me while I run/​lift. I was convinced that PF was full of them. Even the attempts to destroy this image with the «I lift things up and put them down» commercials couldn’t change my mind.
Then my bf joined PF at this location with a black card membership so that he could visit multiple locations as he needed. And because my gym was closed this weekend for the holiday, he asked me to go work out with him.
Needless to say, I was reluctant.
But it was snowing outside, so running outdoors was not a safe option.
And so I went with him. And was pleasantly surprised by a few things:
1. Parking availability
2. Large, open facility with plenty of cardio /​strength training equipment, including free weights
3. A 30-​minute rotational work out area
4. A 12-​minute ab exercise area
5. Large ladies’ locker room complete with showers
We were greeted by a personable employee at the front desk, signed in quickly, and headed off to run and lift without being gawked at. Adrenaline high achieved!

Nice place excellent equipment however dont be a jerk like me and turn your back for one second. I did and some @@@hole STOLE MY MINI IPAD right off the treadmill i was using. I friggin hate people. This @@@hole is going to cost me more han the price of the Ipad.

For a franchise gym it’s perfect. Lot’s of room no matter how many people, no Juiced-​up meatheads clomping around in a show of male dominance, nor the vacuous trophies who shower them with affection. It’s a place to get back into shape at your own pace. Downsides, No free weight lifting, nor heavy lifting options. Upsides, lots of room to get your swoll on within reason. I dig it.