One of those people who never write reviews because im fairly flexible and forgiving in most areas. But if my review helps someone not get scammed out of a few hundred bucks here goes.
Be careful signing your contract. Read every single line word for word. I usually do- have signed many contracts and am an overall competent adult. Unfortunately, just about everything I was told in person was inaccurate about my terms and cancellation policy. I even asked the ladies for specifics because I would NOT have signed had i been aware that it was a 6 month contract, due to some potential upcoming military training. They gave me the terms of membership and cancellation verbally and it sounded reasonable. I cancel one month, and am responsible for two additional months payments essentially. I asked, "so if I cancel on x, y is drafted from my account and then I am responsible for z." I was told yes, that's absolutely correct. I asked a different person later on after signing up when I knew I would need to cancel, to still verify, and was told the exact same thing. Fast forward to two months of this continuing to come out of my account, I call and speak to another lady, who tells me YES, THAT IS CORRECT, you are owed two months of a refund and I will be sure to have our manager reach out. I actually have a TEXT MESSAGE from the staff, with this information.
So I finally get in touch with the assistant manager who tells me, actually our policy changed DEC OF 2024 and since you signed up in Jan, you are on a SIX MONTH CONTRACT. I told her exactly what i was told, that i gave examples of dates to be sure, and she basically said i dont care, this is your agreement you signed. She then tells me she has a LIST of people she was given to call to inform them of their contract terms. Seriously?
After arguing, and seeing that there was no way she was going to refund based off what I was saying, I said ok, well if that's what I signed legally im bound to it. But I would think as a local business you would honor what your customers are told due to improper staff training. At which point she gets angry at me saying her staff are improperly trained. Im sorry, I dont know how else you can look at that when you have staff repeating this information to customers SIX MONTHS after a policy change- one that impacts people financially!! And says dont worry I'll cancel your contract after one more payment like your contract says. LOL, thanks, I got that when you continued to try to "prove" yourself by repeating "that's what you signed."
I actually didnt mind the studio and would have considered going as finances allow in the future. I had also brought in friends for a trial class and told some people about it. Im not one to try to bring bad energy to someone else's business but this is TERRIBLE dishonesty and AWFUL customer service. I should have done my research because apparently that list is long and this is a reoccurring problem. The almost funny part is that she wasnt even willing to just admit her staff was improperly trained-even though literally a day ago i was told incorrect information, once again.
An apology and some compromise go a long way to keeping a potential future customer, but I promise I will NEVER recommend hotworks to anyone until it is run by someone with integrity. I hope the extra $200 was worth it all.
Read the contract, dont listen to the (otherwise super sweet and kind) staff, and dont be surprised when you want to cancel one day and they continue to charge your card anyway. read more
