BAC for Women

I have been a long time member of BAC and I don’t have many complaints. Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of theft for some reason, but gym itself is always clean, great locations and decent prices. My only wish is that classes were slightly more advanced– I was not a fan of yoga however I may be comparing certified yoga instructors to just gym instructors. Regardless I plan on remaining a member here and trying new classes in the future!

Poor, poor, poor.
Poor customer service.
Poorly trained trainers.
Poor conflict resolution.
Injured at the gym, several people notified. Was told could not end contract.
Thieves. Do not use them unless you like paying for poor quality service.

I started as a member on a $ 10 promotional deal in ⁵⁄₁₅ Immediately I was spit into the «sales turbine» with an associate. I was then told that my membership would go full price after one year and it was up to me to cancel before I was responsible for the new contract. The fee needs for be debited on a credit card or as an EFT in a checking or savings.
I left my prior gym where I was utilizing personal trainers that were more effective and were students going to college to be Occupational Therapists, physical Therapists and the like. I swore I was getting sick from the Aquatic Fitness Center in Tonawanda and needed a cleaner gym. People aren’t wiping down their equipment at BAC any more often than the latter. There are rags with a cleaning solution here, pick up the dirty or clean if you are lucky enough to get one, and spray the rag and wipe off. I have already been sick with a virus.
I was being called by the manager, Connie to tell me my card on file for debiting the payment was expired, while overseas on vacation. However, no one ever badgered me that my initial training package for $ 100 expired in one month and the kept my money. I have had 5 spinal surgeries so I need a trainer.
Training fees are outrageous here and I had to get a medical note because I was ill and purchased time in advance. Probably about $ 600 worth that expires in December from late October 2015.
Yes their are classes but when I have metal in my body, I need to be shown and spotted. You never get the full 30 minutes with the trainer. I cannot contact her directly and at one point put in a call to the trainer who called about 6 hours later and manager who never called. I had injured myself and I needed to tell them.
Now the prices are going up for training, so they let me buy in advance, big deal. $ 30 for a half hour is pricey and a member should be afforded better communication with trainer and management. If they could free themselves up from selling memberships long enough.
At my other gym I needed medical notes because they wanted to make sure I was fit enough to return after illness of injury. At BAC the contracts you sign have an applied exculpatory clause that you are fit enough and have consulted a physician.
At the BAC the most common complaint I heard was that they do not offer free classes on free weights and TRX. I know how to use TRX but cannot use at this gym without a trainer. My trainer does not use TRX so, I would have to buy classes with the instructor who does.
There is a 24 hour cancellation policy in anything that one spends s training fee on but ½ sessions are really 20 minutes.
There are other fitness places. Don’t use this one.
It’s the money pits. Also, I was able to select my trainer for my initial sessions when the perform «smoke and mirrors» my first session was going over paperwork. Yup!
Then they expired then I bought another package. You don’t get to choose a trainer. The trainer is provided for you and remember even though the are paid to sculpt you, you are not allowed to contact them directly. I was told it’s because of a new computer system. Okay I believe that sure I do…
I was offered free passes for friends but I wouldn’t have friends left if I gave them names and numbers
Most of the other BAC clubs closed because they weren’t making money. Obviously, they peddle very fast to turn profits here.
I feel like a gerbil on a wheel I’m still a member, I am under contract. I don’t like this gym or how they do business.
After writing this I was cancelled and kicked out. They still have my money and now I have to try to get it. No customer service here. I called the number Connie the manager told me to and it’s just voice mails. The card I charged everything on I cancelled. Now I’m out money and a gym membership.
Don’t pay in advance for anything here.
I’m sure I will lose my money somehow.
I would expect they contact me to satisfy me, the customer.
I have asked for a check reimbursement and they will not. So I have a message on everyone’s voice mail again. They have 3 of my credit cards and one is linked to my checking account for the monthly fee.
I’m still not being refunded what I spent and they will get 10 women in the club for the one they lost
Don’t pay for anything in advance at BACI too was told by Michele in the business office I would be issued refunds and would be called by the end of business on 10÷15÷15. I never got a call.
I can’t believe that they did this. Instead of working things out with someone who payed for personal training they toss me out on my ass. I was told by corporate it was because I got hurt.
HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA ANYONE STEP RIGHT UP

I just recently joined BAC the past month and I must say I couldn’t be happier. I love the fact that this is a women’s only gym and there are so many classes to choose from.
My experience with joining this gym was very easy and pressure free. I had a free month pass that ended up being a $ 10/​month deal for the next year which is on par with World Gym which I was with previously. I didn’t feel like I was pressured into the year but it just made financial sense in the scope of things as I was anticipating spending $ 29-​$ 35 per month anyways if I stayed. The fitness instructors were welcoming and the front desk personnel (s) are always very warm and have a smile on their face.
I usually get to the gym when it opens at 5:00 AM for my morning workout and it is pretty dead and quiet, which isn’t a surprise. I have all the machines to myself most of the time. I love that the machine and weight sections are not crowded and on top of each other, there’s plenty of room to roam. The facility is always clean with fresh towels available throughout the day. I love that there is a Sauna to relax in and showers to utilized so I can get ready there and go to work without having to go back home. The locker rooms could use an upgrade but there is never an issue with space. The cycling classes are what actually had me join the BAC to begin with and I couldn’t be happier. The instructors are very good at motivating the class and I always feel like I have WORKED hard when I leave. There are many classes to choose from throughout the day and afterwards during the normal after work time-​frames as well. I have not regretted choosing the BAC as I’m able to do my morning workout and after work, workout without any issues with scheduling and or personnel or crowds.

It’s been over a year since I left the BAC for Women. When LA Fitness bought out the contracts for the Co-​Ed gyms, I decided to jump ship and latch onto this fancy chain gym (blagh). I was upset with my initial decision because as you can see from my previous review, I liked this gym a lot. I started working out regularly after joining this gym back in 2011 and never looked back.
First of all, the teachers that teach the classes are so good. I remember my first spinning class, I took the class with the most challenging instructor (Ellen) and I thought I was going to puke after I got off my bike. She knocked me to the ground and I loved it. Ellen and Amanda (Pilates) were my regular instructors and I have them to thank for pushing me for years.
But I could not part with Larry, instructor at the co-​ed gym for spinning and with his departure to LA Fitness, I found myself departing as well.
That’s the good.
So the things that are absolutely awful about this gym:
1) At eighteen, I was manipulated into joining this gym. I had no freaking idea what I was doing. This was my first gym and all I knew from it was that my other friend loved it. So the day I ended up here, I took a tour of the gym and sat down with the girl that was explaining the process. I had my doubts and wanted to take the information that was given to me at the time and mentally process the financial commitment I was about to make. However, the girl called her manager into the room, spoke with me in a less-​than-​friendly tone to try and make the sale. I had a choice, yes, but when two people are pressuring you to try and commit to something you’re not sure about, you find yourself sinking into the pressure anyway. At the time, I was reserved and not very confident so a little pressure knocked me over the edge and I ended up signing my name on the contract.
2) When you sign the contract, you are locked into the contract. There is no backing out… there is no walking away. You walk away, you still have to pay for the remainder of your contract. Here’s a tip for the BAC: don’t force people to keeping their contract. If people want to back out, they should be free to walk out the door. Do as LA Fitness does and have people pay their first and last months and leave it at that. It makes people feel like they have control.
3) When you take a leave of absence from your contract (I was out of the country for a couple of months), your account there is frozen but you are STILL paying on your credit card. I’m not using the gym, so why are you charging me? These policies don’t make sense to me. But since you are tied up in the aforementioned contract, so is your credit card, apparently.
4) I am STILL getting spammed by this business to rejoin, after a year and a half. So you keep my name and phone number in a file somewhere and when you feel like it, you send me annoying messages and make countless phone calls? I’m with Carmen on this one: if I left, leave me alone.
5) Oh and no, I don’t have anyone I would want to try out the gym. My earbuds are in; I came to workout, not talk.
6) Employees are hit and miss. I’ve had rude ones, I’ve had nice ones. The trainers are particularly good.
7) My last text message asking me to join again (blah blah blah) was from a man named Rob. You’re a women’s club. Why aren’t women doing the promotional work? I don’t mean to be all *feminist* here… but you started it.
Oh by the way, thanks Rob for being the inspiration to write this review :)
Man, I really did use to love this place. If I rated a building based on their excellent classes, this would for sure be a five. But as I try to come to terms with finding a gym I like and my past, I reflect back on the member experiences I had and they weren’t always good.
Sometimes when you’re experiencing the gym, you’re excited to be there because it’s a good facility (with a nice locker room, I might add) with decent machines (albeit, a weak weight-​lifting section which is my forte.) But what goes in to creating happy members is so much more than the gym itself. Take note.

I honestly liked going to this gym when I was a member. It was close to my house, it was clean, and other members meticulously wiped their machines down after using them. I even got a good deal on my monthly dues. I ended up transferring over to LA last year because there were two locations close to my house and the closest BAC became a 15 – 20 minute drive.
But their sales tactics are beyond the realm of annoying. Maybe they have outrageous goals to meet, I don’t know, but I can’t believe I’m dealing with these people now almost a year after I quit. Three years ago I attempted to quit via e-​mail and phone, leaving messages that no one responded to so they could suck me of another month’s worth of dues. When I joined again a year later, they made me write down a list of friends and their contact information. I almost lost friendships because I sold these poor people out to harassing calls. Every time I came in «know anyone who’d like to join?» No, please let me work out in peace.
When I transferred to LA, I was so shocked to finally end up in a gym where the employees didn’t annoy me. Truthfully, I wouldn’t even write this review if I hadn’t JUST GOTTEN AN E-​MAIL from an employee the other day. «We are contacting past members to let them know they have unused credit on their past membership…» What? «Unused credit»? Shouldn’t you give me my money back then? WHY ARE YOU EVEN CONTACTING ME?! Lose my information, vampire!
Even funnier, I remember being in the hospital room with my best friend who had just given birth when an employee called asking her why she hadn’t been to the gym in a while. These people have no chill.

This gym is big and relatively nice inside, but don’t expect to be treated like a «member.» To me, I felt more like money and a sales person.
First, if you go there for a «free pass» you’re actually given a tour by one of the managers, who seem to actually just be sales people. Once the tour is done (I was pretty impressed with the gym after the tour — big classrooms, lots of treadmills and a large weight area), they take you to their office and talk to you about joining. I politely told the lady I wanted to check out a couple other places before committing but she nosed her way into which gyms I was looking at and offered negatives of every one. «Oh World Gym actually charges around $ 20 a month if you include card fees» — not true. And this gym ended up being $ 20 a month even with the $ 10 a month deal for the first 6 months due to the $ 60 sign up fee.
But anyway, she talked me into joining. Then they ask for a list of any people who I think might be interested. No emails or anything, just the names. So I listed a couple near by friends that might be interested but probably wouldn’t be.
Oh and I didn’t actually get to try out the gym that day. But later that night I got a text (when did I give permission for them to text me?) asking if I asked any of my friends if they wanted to join. I never responded. The next day, another one. The first time I came in, they asked me again. I had a couple calls and even more texts from them asking if any of my friends wanted to join.
That alone was enough to make me want to leave. After a couple experiences with broken treadmills and getting sick of the drive (it’s on a very busy intersection), I decided to try out a different gym. I had the same experience as Christie C. did with the cancellation and the whole 30 day cancellation policy. So now I’m paying till the end of March for a gym I don’t go to.
I now go to World Gym where it’s bigger, cheaper, cleaner, in a better location, AND they don’t bug me every other day.

BEWARE! Their «Cancel Anytime» membership is a joke. I called in Jan to cancel my membership and I was unable to because it was the weekend (they don’t take calls on weekends, that’s NOT «anytime»). When I finally got a hold of someone on a weekday it was now Feb and was told since there is a 30 day cancellation policy (which again, is NOT anytime!!) I am now being billed through March! Michelle, a manager from membership services was of no help at all and was not acting in a way that was sympathetic or understanding towards my situation. What was the point of even being transferred to a manager? So I tried to cancel in Jan but am getting billed through march on a «cancel anytime» policy. I am not an easily angered person but this is bullshit beyond me!

I entered to win a «free» membership when I was at an event only because I felt bad that the girl at the table was alone and no one else attending the event came to her table (it was an SPCA-​related event, not surprising that no one came to a bare tent with a few pieces of paper on a table!). A couple weeks later I got a call saying I had won the «free» membership and to come in to talk about the details and look at the gym. The only reason I went was because it was supposed to be FREE. I’m a graduate student and have practically no extra income and hardly any extra time, but I figured if it’s free — why not? Well I got there and turns out it WAS NOT FREE. They *literally* cornered me and practically forced me to sign a 2-​year contract that turned out to be TWENTY DOLLARS PER MONTH. $ 20 per month?! Last time I checked, that is not FREE. And guess what, I’ve not stepped foot in that gym ever since even though they are still getting my $ 20 per month. I have no time, and even if I did, I am so disgusted with their behavior that I wouldn’t go. They took advantage of me and they should be absolutely ASHAMED of themselves.

I love this gym. I’m just so sad that I had to not sign up again because of not being able to pay the extra money for it at the time. Unfortunatly I will not be signing up for it again now that I’m in a situation where I can afford it. For one reason and one reason alone…
No pool.
Before the buy out of the co-​ed locations by LA Fitness I spent all of my cardio, weight and class time at this location, and aside from feeling old in the Zumba class I loved everything it (especailly the lack of guys around.) I would just drive down to the Downtown location and use the pool 2 – 3 times a week.
Now that the location with a pool is owned by LA Fitness I would be out of luck. I was so hoping that this expansion being built would include a pool, but it was not to be. Very disappointing as I like the feel of the gym and the fact that it is all ladies.
The staff was always so welcoming, smiling. Clean facility, equipment in good working order. I liked that while there were multiple locations in Buffalo and Rochester it didn’t feel like a chain. Classes were enjoyable the times I did take them. I used a trainner briefly, and while i didn’t feel like I got a lot out of it, both of the ones I spent time with where very nice.
I will not be joining LA as it lacks the persoanl feel I got at BAC, so instead I will be going with the Tonawanda Aquatic center since my main want is a pool. Even though I’m not going back to this gym, I do highly recommned it.

The BAC for Women at the Colvin location has been a terrific addition to my schedule now that the fall is here.
I am so glad the many options of the classes/​times for everything in a group.
(there are private too but I have been using the group)
I find both the spinning, cardio, pilates/​yoga instructors well trained in both the class they are teaching and the «BAC Practice» of welcoming, inquiring, assisting each member as they embark on their class.
I find the gym and locker room clean and appreciate that in the beginning or ending of a spin class the instructor asks to ‘report” a bike that may not be in perfect order.
The fitness equipment too is put together and easy to access.
Nice way to engage in a fitness routine when you are greeted upon arrival and wished a good day when leaving.
Thank you BAC Colvin.
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Drama club… I waited a week to write this review. But I’m still astonished that it happened, so might as well spread the word. I got out of work early & celebrated by going to an afternoon spin class at this location. Got to the spin room early to set up & scored a bike that didn’t have a male seat (yes, this is a women’s club, but most of the seats on the bikes are guy-​style). Excellent! So I wiped it down & proceeded to adjust it. But the handlebar screw was jammed & wouldn’t turn. The instructor came in about that time, so I asked her if there was a fixit log, so I could write down the problem. She looked a little irritated at my question and came over & attempted to unscrew the handlebar herself. She couldn’t get it either, so she looked to figure out what bike it was & went to (write it down?) set up her own bike. No big deal — I moved to the next bike. Same problem! Clearly the maintenance staff had tightened these suckers with a wrench. Ok, now I was on the hunt for a bike with the handlebars at the height I wanted, so they wouldn’t need adjusting. Found one! This one had a male seat on it, so I pulled the seat (with post) off the bike & went over to the original one so I could trade them out. This is a very common thing to do; people are always wanting some seat that’s not on the bike they’re using, so they just trade them out, no big deal. The instructor started yelling as I took off the post/​saddle. «You can’t do that!» So I look at her, sort of confused — I’ve never been to a club where that’s not allowed. I started to say «but this seat makes my legs go numb…» Didn’t quite get that all out when she started YELLING. «YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!» I think she said some other stuff, too, but by that time, I was pretty pissed off & more than a little embarrassed. So I put the seat post back on the original bike, threw my towel in the basket & walked out. I’m never going back to that gym!
Reading the other reviews, it sure sounds like this was an anomaly. Maybe the instructor just didn’t like my face or something. But geez, even if I was doing something not-​allowed, her response was WAY over the top. So beware, sometimes this club is more of a drama club than a gym!

This gym definitely has it all. Wow. I am a member of THREE gyms in Miami and coming to Buffalo for the Holiday’s, decided to get a one week membership at the BAC. Let me say that the BAC dominates the Buffalo area in terms of gyms. They have many locations and great options for all different types of members.
The machines are ridiculous (in a good way) as I honestly do not believe that I have been to a gym with more machines than the BAC. Memberships are also affordable as a one week membership was $ 25. This includes all classes etc. I would have gotten a free pass however, I was previously a member (years ago).
They have many personal trainers and always have specials going. They are also loyal to their members as each year that you are a member, I believe the fees go down in price. I know a member who pays $ 30/​month (wowzers).
The facility is really clean and the members seem to do an excellent job of cleaning their machines after use. They will give you a free lock/​key if you forget as well. The only complaints that I have are that there is 1) no steam room and 2) no towels to take a shower (only small hand towel size). So you must bring your own! Anyways, I really enjoyed working out at this gym!

This is the first gym I ever joined. After moving to Buffalo for college I began to gain the freshman/​sophomore/​junior 15 (too much beer and chicken wings, perhaps?). I hated the gym at my college and eventually realized I should just get a membership somewhere else.
One of my girlfriends went here and loved it so I tagged along with her. We made the near fatal error of going to a spinning class (I’d never been). I almost perished and then realized how terribly out of shape I was! I knew I’d have to start at a gym somewhere.
The gym is really clean and everyone is friendly. There’s a lot of classes (yoga, pilates, cardio kickboxing, zumba and spinning) as well as some weight equipment and a lot of cardio machines. The trainers all seem very nice and they also offer personal training here.
The only things I don’t love about the BAC is that they can be pretty pushy with memberships and finding new members so they definitely try to sell you hard on the gym. I was able to get a student rate which was awesome, it isn’t the cheapest gym in the area. I haven’t been to the other locations either, so I can’t comment on them.