Woman Claims Employee Fat-Shamed Her When She Tried To Cancel Gym Membership
Committing to a gym membership can be a pricey investment in yourself. Going to the gym is a struggle because you don't see immediate progress. Not to mention the time commitment - balancing family life, social life, work life, and a gym life can be a burden!
So sometimes, it makes more sense to cancel your membership - as this one gym member did, but hopefully, you're not insulted like she was when she canceled her membership.
We All Know The Struggle of Weight Gain
Most people know the struggle; they wake up one morning, and their favorite clothes aren’t fitting the way they used to.
They look at the scale, and they’ve gained a few pounds!
But How Can We Lose It Quickly?
So, what's the next step? Buying new clothes is an expensive hassle, and everyone cringes when they hear "diet."
And there are so many applications out there that say they can help train the body and mind, but they only help yo-yo dieting, which is worse.
Gyms Are Everywhere!
Well, good thing there are gyms everywhere!
Hey, it was only a little bit of weight, so working out should get a person back to a fit and healthy lifestyle in no time!
A Gym Membership Is A Step In The Right Direction!
First step: sign up for the gym membership, and at first, everything’s going well!
Working out consistently and making goals is key - but there is one thing that might happen. The weight still hasn’t gone away!
Over Time, We Stop Going
Feeling discouraged, a person starts heading to the gym less and less.
A few months go by, and they realize that they’ve been busy and haven't gone to the gym in a while, but they're still paying for a gym membership!
Time To Cancel The Membership!
Second step: head over to the gym to cancel the membership; they try their best to persuade the person to keep the membership, but after some time, it's finally canceled.
It was as easy as ripping off a band-aid.
Lexie Rowe Couldn't Cancel Her Membership!
And canceling a gym membership should be easy for everyone!
But for Lexie Rowe, canceling her gym membership at Anytime Fitness was not so easy; in fact, an employee insulted her!
She Stopped Going To The Gym...
In a Tik Tok video, Lexie tells a story from a few years ago.
Lexie had a gym membership at Anytime Fitness but never went. Instead, she was using day passes to the YMCA to work out with her friends.
She Wanted To Cancel Her Membership
So she went to her Anytime Fitness to cancel her membership!
However, the employee at the front desk told Lexie, “No! I’m not going to do that for you until you have three sessions with a trainer.”
But The Employee Said No...
Confused, Lexie said, “Excuse me?”
And the employee continued, “I would really like to see you try first… I’m not going to cancel your membership until you finish these sessions first… they’ll be free; you just need to try first.”
... And Insulted Lexie!
In her Tik Tok video, Lexi asks, “Is that legal? Is that in their policy? Can they ask me to do that?”
And so, Lexie believed that she was a victim of fat-shaming because other people she knew didn’t have this problem!
Lexie's Tik Tok Video
This first Tik Tok video went viral and had over 600,000 views, but the story does not stop there!
Of course, many people were on her side, saying things like, “The way I would have made a SCENE. That’s unacceptable.”
A Supportive Community!
Others also agreed and supported her, saying, “yeah, pretty sure they can’t do that.”
And saying, “Absolutely not!! I’d call up there and ask to speak with a manager and explain all this… smh mind blown. I wouldn’t have known what to say either…ughh.”
Lexie's Follow Up Video
In a follow-up video, Lexie continues her story,
saying the employee made her feel so bad and guilty about canceling that she went in for one of the free sessions!
The Worst Free Session
But it was not a good session - Lexie ended up on the bathroom floor throwing up.
Her trainer had been pushing her past her limits, and typically, she said, she can keep up with training.
Her Trainer May Have Overstepped
To Lexie, it felt like this trainer was trying to push her harder than normal to prove that she couldn’t do it.
And while she was puking in the women’s washroom, he walked in and knocked on the stall, wondering if she would be done soon.
And Lexie Regretted All Of It
Lexie told him that she was done and couldn’t work out anymore. And afterward, Lexie was finally able to cancel her membership!
Lexie regretted going in for the training session but felt pressured by the employee because she made Lexie feel bad!
Another Attempt to Cancel Her Membership
Then, in a later video, Lexie recounts a story in another attempt to cancel her membership.
Lexie returned to the gym and talked to the same employee about another member.
She Felt Uncomfortable
On multiple occasions, this male gym member had made Lexie feel uncomfortable! But the employee wouldn’t do anything about his membership.
So to Lexie, this told her the gym would rather her stay and feel uncomfortable instead of letting her cancel her membership.
People Flooded Anytime Fitness' Tik Tok In Support of Lexie!
Luckily for Lexie, many people supported her and rushed to her side!
People began flooding Anytime Fitness’ Tik Tok videos with comments, calling out the gym for fat-shaming their members!
Anytime Fitness' Apology
And eventually, Anytime Fitness did respond to Lexie’s story!
Anytime Fitness’ Tik Tok page commented on Lexie’s original video, explaining that three sessions are for returning members, not for people trying to cancel their membership. And of course, Anytime Fitness also apologized to Lexie for everything that she endured.
Lexie Just Wanted To Share A Story!
Lexie accepted the apology and said,
“I never came on here for compensation or to get anyone fired. I was simply on here to share what happened to me because I thought that it was messed up.”
