Urban Active

Dear Urban Active,

I’d like to be as clear as possible with my objective in writing this email.  My desired outcome is two fold:

1. An apology
2. Your company honoring a Gift Certificate given to me by a friend that states “This Certificate entitles 6 months free membership for a friend”

I am a triathlete and lead a triathlon group of 9 other ladies.  I have my own gym where I train with the Ohio State University Triathlon club.  My gym is more modern and has a larger facility than any of your Columbus Ohio Urban Active branches.  However, my gym is very exclusive and the 9 ladies I am training do not have access to it.

I was looking for a gym that had a pool, was fair in price, and was woman friendly.  I had heard that Urban Active was all of those things and even had a space for women only.  I was also hoping to perhaps find a place where I could take Group Fitness classes (something not offered by my gym).

This evening I went to Urban Active in Columbus, Ohio at Graceland, I presented a gift certificate my friend had given me almost a year ago.  I was told by a man identifying himself as Jeff Fisher the manager, that my gift certificate was “bogus” “not legitimate” “a fake” and “a scam”.
He was rude, insulting and tried to humiliate me.  Then Gina, the woman, who had shown me around the gym told me that if I had any problems I could go on Thursday or Friday to meet with Richard Smith the General Manager at the Hilliard location from where the gift certificate had been acquired.

Instead of driving 30 minutes out of my way, I decided to call, Richard Smith.  I called him and he told me that my gift certificate was to only be used by the person who had obtained it because he had obtained through a work related function (via 2checkout.com).   However the certificate clearly states that it is to be “for a friend”.   Plus the person that had gotten me the certificate already had a contract membership with Urban Active.  Mr. Smith also told me that the certificate was not valid without an expiration date (that field had been left blank).

At no time did anyone offer me a day pass, so that I could enter with a friend who was waiting.  In Mr.Smith’s defense he did agree to give me a day pass after I asked for one but at the point of the conversation my friend had already acquired one for me.
No one apologized for this situation, and only Gina, handled herself in a professional way, while Mr. Fisher was outright rude, and Mr.Smith spoke to me as if I were just a silly little woman.

In the same strip mall that Urban Active is located, there is smaller, but less expensive and more friendly women’s only gym.  Why should I enroll myself and at least nine other ladies at a place that gave me such a bad first impression?

Thank you,
Elena Mary