LA Fitness Feces placed inside a shower soap dispenser, in my hand! Los Angeles California

On July 23, 2007, my mother and I applied for membership for the second time and paid 3 years in advance for membership to LA Fitness. Our total was $1,439.58 USD.

The first time we applied for membership, we figured the amount due was too much, so we decided to join Bally Total Fitness and then cancel our membership to LA Fitness. As soon as we tried to cancel our membership to LA Fitness (of course, by the second or third day of membership,) we were extremely persuaded to stay. We insisted of not staying, but the power of salesmens persuasion triumphed and we stayed at LA Fitness. Obviously, this was for commission purposes. This is when we paid for three years.

We have had both good experiences and bad experiences at this gymnasium. Since the beginning, we were not exactly thrilled with the gymnasium, for we noticed so many dirty appliances and disturbing images, eg, seeing a nude man by the pool, seeing a young man enter the womens locker room, and other non-sanitary occurrences we experienced.

So much for all the trouble we went through that the following had to happen to us. Now, what happened to me, Leslie Ornelas, has been the most disgusting experience I've ever had not just in the gymnasium, but perhaps in my entire life. On Friday, June 20th, 2008, my mother and I attended the gym and we hadnt been there for the last couple of months. We were looking forward to a good work out. We got there around 8 or 9 pm, and were all done at about 11 pm.

We entered the showers, because that is what we always do after sweating and swimming in a public pool. I chose the shower at the far corner because all others were dirty and that one along with the one adjacent to it looked at least better than the others. We just wanted to rinse, therefore we did not take shampoo or soap. I noticed that someone had forgotten their bath gel container in there but I decided not to use it. There is always soap in the dispensers anyway. I thought that I should use what I pay for and not something that does not belong to me.

So I turned the knob and reached for the soap dispenser. I pushed on the dispenser button and very little soap came out. I used that small amount of soap to wash my face. I noticed a distinct smell on it, but thought nothing of it at the moment. I pushed the big button again but hardly any soap came out. I figured it was easier to get the remaining liquid soap that was sitting at the very bottom by reaching in the dispenser. I reached in with my left hand and reached to the very bottom hoping to find some liquid soap. To my surprise, there was something other than soap in there. I felt a very chunky thick texture.

For a split second I thought it was the liquid soap that had somehow become thick. I reached out, saw my hand and was in disbelief. The substance was brownish, thick, and lumpy, and was smothered in my hand. I did not even begin to think what it was, and I called for my mother who was in the shower immediately next to me. She came and I asked her if what was in my hand was s**t. She confirmed and I immediately initiated in washing my hand. After all of it was visibly off, I took the bath gel container someone had left there to assure ourselves of what we saw, reached in the soap dispenser, and scooped out more of that substance. We saw it and our suspicion was certainly correct.

Somebody had taken (most probably human) feces and placed it inside the soap dispenser at a public gym. I was still in disbelief after washing my left hand numerous times. We got dressed and left the locker room. We were obviously going to complain and the first person I thought of was Gale, one of the managers. I requested we speak privately because she was with another fellow worker. I told her what had happened and she thought it was disgusting. She gave me her apologies.

Then another worker named Armando came to our conversation and he was informed on what had happened. He also thought it was disgusting. Almost immediately, Gale left us and went to the shower to clean it. Armando then gave me a huge amount of hand sanitizer and paper towels to clean my hand more thoroughly. When we were on our way out, Gale and another male worker followed me and stopped me. Gale informed me that she had seen the substance and it was indeed feces. They asked what they can do for us to compensate for what had happened to us, or me anyway.

They offered two months free of pay but I informed them that we had prepaid three years already. I told them, however, that we can use those for my brother. When I said this, Armando went ahead and offered ONE month free of pay for my brother. I wad stupefied at the time, and accepted. Armando said that he will hook us up with the free month for my brother. We agreed and left the gymnasium.

The following Saturday, June 21, 2008, we went to the gymnasium to get over everything; we simply wanted to cancel our membership and get the remaining money back. We spoke to the operations manager, Lea Roelle, and she told us to write a letter to them inform them of what had occurred and that I wanted to terminate the contract and get out money back. She would receive this letter by us first and then she would forward it to the corporate office.

The problem that I encounter now is that I am not fulfilled with the compensation that I am getting. I am simply getting the money back that I paid for in the first place. Obviously, If a person is not completely satisfied with a purchase or service paid for, we do have the right to get our money back. But I am not only unsatisfied, I am disgusted and terrified at the fact that there resided feces on my skin, on my hand that I use every hour of the day.

As people know me, I am what you call a germ-freak. I stay clean as much as possible and im obsessed with little things like brushing my teeth numerous times a day and washing my hands whenever I can. I even cut my nails short in fear that bacteria will reside there. Now, having feces in my hand really shocked and disgusted me. Even a week after this happened to me, I feel terrible disgusted and I try not to gag when I think of it.

Im a very hygienic person and what happened to me has no excuse. I do understand that there are risks in agreeing to have services in a public place and that it is by no means the fault of the staff, but I believe that they could have done more to compensate for what happened to me. The thought of having small particles of feces in my face makes me want to vomit. The feces was somewhat soft, so who knows how long it has been in the dispenser.

Feces contains various bacteria. Who knows if the person was sick? What kind of microscopic bacteria did it have and my hand have? How long has it been since the feces was placed there? How many women have showered in that specific shower and used that soap? How many women were not even aware of what was inside that dispenser? This is a shame and if this was to go public, there would be chaos and a lot of problems would arise with the gymnasium.

And first of all, why was the soap dispenser empty? Shouldnt it always be full and ready for the next person to shower? Staff failed not only to fill the empty dispenser (which in fact would have been the least of my worries,) but also failed to notice what was inside. If a staff member would have tried to refill it, maybe they would have noticed. Was the dispenser even disinfected, or simply rinsed?

We paid a large amount of money for this gymnasiums services and failing to not only keep their supplies in adequate shape, but also in a disgusting matter that I cant even begin to describe is truly appalling. I think my compensation (whether it be ONE month free of charge for my sibling or getting a refund for the remaining time) is belittled. What happened to me is not a small deal. We are dealing here with feces in the shower, where it is supposed to be a safe, clean place for us members to relax and get cleaned. I believe my compensation is unfair and would like to get more justice, and even make it public. I sure gym members would like knowing what is going on inside those showers.

Xplalax
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on LA Fitness Body of Change