Jackie Skelly gym should i join ?

bgovern

Wanting to loss some weight and get fit , jackie skelly gym is the closet to were i live, hearing horror stories so just wondered should I avoid and find somewhere else ?

EileenG

My two cents: No.

JS is a very expensive gym, and all the staff seem to be idiots. I was shown round by one girl who giggled as she told me "I have no idea what the leg press does" and no-one seemed to have heard of deadlifts. Besides, they had no free weights suitable for deadlifts.

I know women who got pregnant while members and were told they were not allowed to use the gym, but not offered any sort of refund or hold on membership for their pregnancy.

Having said that, if you know what you are doing, and are very determined, and JS is the only gym near you, then it's better than nothing.

bgovern

Cheers for that Eileen

ADO

hey bgovern

iv been using jackie skellys in rathfarnham for the past 3 or 4 months and i have to say i really like the gym. i mainly use it for the weights and there isnt a huge selection of weights (hell they dont even have an oly bar!) so u just gotta use ur imagination or come up wit some sort of way to do what u want.

as regards the staff go i find them all very nice, always get a smile and a hello or goodbye off them and have actually gotten a know a few of them a bit. the gym itself is quiet in the afternoon and thats just the way i like it....go in and get it done and get out asap.

i like you have heard MANY off putting stories but i havent had a bad thing to say about them............yet.

ADO

pinkypinky

I too have no complaints, but I know what I'm doing at this stage and I've always been careful to pay in cash and get receipts so they can't try any of their strong arm tactics (that's what the horror stories are normally about). They are about to re-brand as Energie next month so there may well be some re-opening offers for membership.

nordydan

bgovern wrote: »

Wanting to loss some weight and get fit , jackie skelly gym is the closet to were i live, hearing horror stories so just wondered should I avoid and find somewhere else ?

I joined the gym in ballsbridge a few years ago, without doubt the worst customer service of any gym in my life

lil_missy

The price that you pay in JS's is very high. I was looking to join them but other gyms out there are much cheaper and you get all you need in them. For the price that JS is charging, u'd think they'd be something special but their not. I'd look around more if I were you.

Triangla

I joined Rathfarnham when I lived in Terenure, they used to let kids (easily 12 yrs old, maybe younger) in the actual gym so bit of a disaster as they just mess around on the machines. Very frustrating as sometimes it causes cues. No sign of any staff of course.

Ballsbridge was fine, bit busy from 5 to 8 but that's every gym. They changed bike parking when I was there so that was a bit of a pain.

The one on Clarendon St is a hole and should be shut down. When I was living in town I used to go there first thing to swim. Pool was cold, filthy and there was always hassle with the chlorine level. I had to leave the pool a few times and complained at reception. They didn't have a clue and didn't give a sh&t.

When I moved from Dublin I cancelled my membership I handed the form into the Rathfarnham gym. Usual two months notice but on the third month it came out again, called complained, emailed and phoned to get refund. Happened again on fourth month. Cue another 5 months of chasing a refund. Complete joke and I will advise you to steer well clear.

Check out boards for threads on it, I have never dealt with such cowboys before or since.

nordydan

For the pure basics its tough to beat UCD gym, €180/year I pay as a non-student. Basic but does the job!

colman1212

ADO wrote: »

hey bgovern

iv been using jackie skellys in rathfarnham for the past 3 or 4 months and i have to say i really like the gym. i mainly use it for the weights and there isnt a huge selection of weights (hell they dont even have an oly bar!) so u just gotta use ur imagination or come up wit some sort of way to do what u want.

as regards the staff go i find them all very nice, always get a smile and a hello or goodbye off them and have actually gotten a know a few of them a bit. the gym itself is quiet in the afternoon and thats just the way i like it....go in and get it done and get out asap.

i like you have heard MANY off putting stories but i havent had a bad thing to say about them............yet.

ADO

My girlfriend was a member in that gym and I went along once to use it.
its probably the worst selection of weights I've seen in any gym.
And yet they were charging 70 euro a month.... Ridiculous. I don't think jackie skellys know what an Olympic bar is. I've been in two of their gyms and there was none in either.

Fuinseog

colman1212 wrote: »

My girlfriend was a member in that gym and I went along once to use it.
its probably the worst selection of weights I've seen in any gym.
And yet they were charging 70 euro a month.... Ridiculous. I don't think jackie skellys know what an Olympic bar is. I've been in two of their gyms and there was none in either.

they do not advertise their prices and force you to sit through their 20 mins sales pitch. their pushiness is like the mormons. thez have started harrassing people in shopping centres these days. once you join its hard to leave (you have to give three months notice)

Tonto86

I was a member for a year. The staff were nice, but clueless.

There is no free weight benches, only smith locking ones. I think this is for insurance reasons. (less chance of you hurting yourself)

The swimming pool is only 4 foot deep, again for insurance reasons (if you downed in 4 feet of water, lack of swimming ability is the least of your worries)

They rose my membership fee twice without telling me. I joined at €55 a month, by the time I finished it was up to €64.


They kept taking the membership fee out of my account twice instead of once a month. Each time I'd have to spent weeks chasing them for it.

After my twelve month contract I decided I wasn't going to renew. I was told there was a "3 month leaving period". Basically I'd have to pay another 3 months membership.

In the end I told them what various things they could shove into various places.

The Davestator

Jackie Skelly Fitness only exist in name only at the moment as they have been bought out by Energie fitness.

A complete re-branding will be taking place in September as far as I know and I know some of the older clubs are getting new equipment etc.

I'd hang on OP until you see the relaunch date and have a look then.

adam111111

The Davestator wrote: »

Jackie Skelly Fitness only exist in name only at the moment as they have been bought out by Energie fitness.

A complete re-branding will be taking place in September as far as I know and I know some of the older clubs are getting new equipment etc.

I'd hang on OP until you see the relaunch date and have a look then.

hi there , i will b grateful if you let us know when the re-brandin will happen , and if you see that they brought new machines , such as decent cross trainers .
thanx a lot

The Davestator

adam111111 wrote: »

hi there , i will b grateful if you let us know when the re-brandin will happen , and if you see that they brought new machines , such as decent cross trainers .
thanx a lot

I dont work there so I dont know the dates. They are getting new precor equipment in the 4 oldest clubs to start with. (town, ashbourne, swords and parkwest)

Give any of the clubs a call and they'll know whats happening more than me!

Burkatron

They've started repainting & fixing up the Johnstown (Navan) gym the last couple of days so I'm guessing the'yll be ready to go by October. Ballsbridge started 3+ weeks ago...They're all getting new equipment including a full range of free weights & squat racks (I'll believe it when I see it)!

pinkypinky

All staff say first week of October in Swords.

GymJim

Just don't do it. You'll be signing yourself up to a contract that's harder to escape than a bad marriage...absolutely dire customer services (so bad I was accused of lying about previously ringing to cancel my membership).

In relation to the gyms themselves, they're mostly fine but nothing special to justify being so expensive. Also staff aren't too knowledgeable...an example being the girl who didn't know the difference between the steam room and sauna.

collymcd

My girlfriend once worked there for a short period as a part-time receptionist. She can't do enough to explain how badly the place is run; a lot of the problems stemming from David Brent style management.

People would often ring to cancel their membership and/or state that they had been overcharged, or in some cases, charged after they had cancelled already. When she tried putting them through to the sales department/management they would pretend to be 'out of the office' or 'in a meeting.' If you had a problem in the gym it seemed it was impossible to speak to anyone with authority.

The Davestator

GymJim wrote: »

Just don't do it. You'll be signing yourself up to a contract that's harder to escape than a bad marriage...absolutely dire customer services (so bad I was accused of lying about previously ringing to cancel my membership).

In relation to the gyms themselves, they're mostly fine but nothing special to justify being so expensive. Also staff aren't too knowledgeable...an example being the girl who didn't know the difference between the steam room and sauna.

If you actually read the thread, you'd know that its under new management etc and it will cease to be jackie skellys soon and become energie fitness (a UK company)

So the advice for the op was to wait and see what changes are being made etc.

GymJim

The Davestator wrote: »

If you actually read the thread, you'd know that its under new management etc and it will cease to be jackie skellys soon and become energie fitness (a UK company)

So the advice for the op was to wait and see what changes are being made etc.

Sounds like you work there. So you're saying I'm not allowed to give any advice based on my experience as you've already given your 2 cents worth?!

I know perfectly well it's under new management as I'm still a member of the place. The examples I've mentioned are those specific to the last month there which is why I brought them up...and has shown me that there has been no real change at all as the staff have remained.

I've spent since the end of August trying to cancel my membership yet I'm still going to be charged until the end of October (and it was an extension to a previous membership so I am obliged to give 30 days notice before cancelling before any issue is taken with that).

And the sauna/steam room example was from when I was in the gym last Wednesday...think that's recent enough somehow.

So maybe you should read the posts a little more carefully yourself there mate.

The Davestator

GymJim wrote: »

Sounds like you work there. So you're saying I'm not allowed to give any advice based on my experience as you've already given your 2 cents worth?!

I know perfectly well it's under new management as I'm still a member of the place. The examples I've mentioned are those specific to the last month there which is why I brought them up...and has shown me that there has been no real change at all as the staff have remained.

I've spent since the end of August trying to cancel my membership yet I'm still going to be charged until the end of October (and it was an extension to a previous membership so I am obliged to give 30 days notice before cancelling before any issue is taken with that).

And the sauna/steam room example was from when I was in the gym last Wednesday...think that's recent enough somehow.

So maybe you should read the posts a little more carefully yourself there mate.

No, I dont work there.

And less of the mate please and thanks.

Orando Broom

Been a member of JS for 3 years now. A few minor blips (cold pool in town a couple of times) here and there but for the most part fine. I mainly use the JS in Rathfarnham. Not a massive range of free weights but if you are starting out it will be fine.

My advice to you is to keep a record and actual physical copy of your contract, any receipts you may ahave etc and you'll have no hassle leaving. read the small print.

I was a memeber of UCD gym for a few years, very reasonable priced, some of the equipment was a bit shonky and the weight room was tight enough. It was a grand gym though.

As far as I can see none of the chain gyms in Dublin are up to much.

mcdoogle

Folks, is there a way to leave the contract early? Have moved away from the Jackie Skelly gym I joined and it's not worth commuting to (none near by either). Cant find a copy of the original contract. What would happen if I just canceled the direct debit?

Bottle_of_Smoke

mcdoogle wrote: »

Folks, is there a way to leave the contract early? Have moved away from the Jackie Skelly gym I joined and it's not worth commuting to (none near by either). Cant find a copy of the original contract. What would happen if I just canceled the direct debit?

They'd send you the bill and threaten legal action. I doubt they'd let you out of it, and to be fair you did sign the contract and I can see why gyms have annual policies

What I cannot believe is you have to give three months notice even after the initial contract has ended. What couold the possible justification be for that?

Unnecessary hassle like that and inefficiency with refunds over errors really puts me off a company. No need for that kind of nonsense.

Seem like the stereotype of a Celtic-tiger type bussiness that did well from people putting up with bull**** and having 70quid to spare each month.

tomdublin

There is no problem just cancelling the direct debit.. initiating legal action (as opposed to merely threatening it) costs a gym much more than they could possibly hope to recover.

In JS case the problem was their business model which was fundamentally flawed. It was based on high pressure selling, high client turnover rates, and then a final fleecing of clients before they finally left. The problem was that word spreads quickly, and in the end their brand had become so toxic that the end was inevitable. Mix of greed and stupidity I guess.

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

They'd send you the bill and threaten legal action. I doubt they'd let you out of it, and to be fair you did sign the contract and I can see why gyms have annual policies

What I cannot believe is you have to give three months notice even after the initial contract has ended. What couold the possible justification be for that?

Unnecessary hassle like that and inefficiency with refunds over errors really puts me off a company. No need for that kind of nonsense.

Seem like the stereotype of a Celtic-tiger type bussiness that did well from people putting up with bull**** and having 70quid to spare each month.