Poor communication affecting members
I have been a Planet Fitness member for close to ten years. In the past, when there were operational issues such as water outages, power interruptions or shower maintenance, these were communicated timeously. Members were informed in advance or as soon as issues occurred, and were given the option to train at nearby clubs. This allowed us to make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary inconvenience.
Over the past year, this standard has deteriorated significantly.
Operational issues are now often not communicated at all. Members only discover problems on arrival, whether it is no water, showers under maintenance or steam rooms not working. This has become a recurring pattern rather than an occasional lapse.
This past Sunday was a clear example. I arrived at The Buzz only to discover the showers were unavailable due to maintenance, with no prior notification. It was water the previous week and steam rooms almost a month before; the issues keep adding up.
Based on previous practice, I went to the Planet Fitness at Fourways Mall, only to be told that they had not been authorised to allow members from The Buzz to train there. I ended up travelling between gyms unnecessarily, wasting time because of a lack of communication and internal coordination.
There are also ongoing equipment issues that have not been addressed. The spinning bikes, for example, have been poorly maintained for almost two years. Despite classes being scheduled for around 30 bikes, only about 10 are functional. This has been the situation for months, driving people to stop going to spinning.
What's even more frustrating is the contrast in communication priorities. Members regularly receive messages about promotions and referral incentives, yet there is silence when core facilities are unavailable. Timely communication about water, showers and basic access matters far more to members than marketing messages.
The relationship increasingly feels transactional. I have little doubt that missed payments would trigger immediate communication, yet when members’ time and routines are disrupted, there is no equivalent urgency. A friendly greeting at reception does not compensate for systemic communication failures.
These issues are significant enough to make one seriously consider changing gym brands. This is not due to isolated incidents but due to a consistent decline in communication and member experience.
1 February 2026
Unprompted review