If you've got a personal trainer certification or degree in that field and need to build some experience, this is a good place to get started because they typically don't require any previous experience for a personal trainer.
However, what you have to do for the pay you receive is pretty dismal.
Per corporate policy on the training program:
-Classes are to be 30 minutes each and start every half hour - in other words: no break between classes to clean up, set up for the next class, take a restroom break, answer clients' questions, greet new clients, etc. There is no support for trainers either in terms of class enrollment. Members can sign up for a class just one minute before it begins as long as there is space available and a member can cancel their enrollment 1 minute before class starts - plus there's no penalty for a no-show. There is no app for the trainer or anyway to check on enrollment except on a computer at the front desk. This means that at the conclusion of each class (with no time between), the trainer has to sprint to the front desk to check on current enrollment and find the members enrolled then sprint back to where you're holding class so you can start on time. If you're missing someone you have to start class without them or start class a couple minutes late if you want to wait for them to show up.
-The "Design Your Own Program" class is 1 hour and allows up to 4 (that's not a typo: FOUR) people to be enrolled to create a customized workout plan for a
Your will work for a franchsie and not a corporate gym, most likely...BEWARE
The franchise that owned the group of gyms in San Diego was more focused on sales than providing adequate training and resources for its gyms. Poor staff development and leadership were a constant problem from the day I was hired. Yes, I was promoted very quickly within the company but that reflected my abilities as much as it was a necessity. Managers and lower level staff don't stay for very long once the truth behind the work conditions are exposed. Consistency and long term vision are preached but not practiced. Gyms are capped at 15 staff members total and 10 during this pandemic period. Yet cleanliness standards are preached that can't realistically be met when the staff also has to give tours, answer phone calls, detail locker rooms, maintain gym policies, sign up, cancel, and freeze memberships, sale tanning products, sale Planet Fitness merchandise, AND repair gym equipment. All managers are essentially given tasks that make them independent small business owners. (Manage Inventory, Payroll Management, Develop Training Plans, Boost Sales, Create Promotions, Handle Online and Telephone Customer Service Complaints, Maintain Balance Sheets, Maintain Facility Equipment, Manage Repairs, Scheduling, and Provide Emergency First Aid) General Managers often have to provide solutions to low supplies, due to inventory ordering restrictions, out of their own pocket and do not get reimbursed. Facilities in my area are often refurbished buildings (Big Lots, Targets, old gyms, etc.
ProsAccess to the gym and community involvement.
ConsUnrealistic expectations of staff with little to resources, training, or development to meet said expectations.
Fun place to work for, but not the best to grow in
I started Planet Fitness back in 2018, and I automatically loved working with the staff, and being able to work out for free. The staff was usually very friendly, however customers can be very nasty, very entitled which could make or break your day, but then there's other regulars who would go out of their way to brighten yours. It really depends on how you present yourself at the desk. Getting promoted was never easy. You're told constantly you're going to grow, and it can feel like decades of expecting them to live up to that promise. I loved my manager, who was a male, however, he unintentionally would favorite the other men in our staff when promising me I would get promoted, while telling them the exact same thing. He tried to make everyone happy, but overall, I had to wait for three of his male staff who were hired after me, that I personally trained, to get the opportunity before I stood my ground. Once you're promoted to Team Lead; you're not an associate, and you're not a manager. You're simply a stick in the mud anyone could care less about your authority. Once I hit Assistant Manager, I was relocated to a different gym, and the staff was much more protocol, very strict and to the book thanks to the female manager there. She was known to be very strict, very critical, and critique your every failure which she definitely did to me the first few months. I learned to communicate better with her as an assistant, but overall, the gym itself is very stressful. You deal wi
ProsPositive Enviroment, Great Staff
ConsBenefits, Time Management, Growth, Opportunity
This is a review of 2 different positions at three locations in New Jersey. There are multiple franchisees, so I can only speak for the owner i worked for.
Trainer review:
Cons:
•30 hour work week, will not budge on more hours or more pay.
•Pay is $12.25/hr with a Degree & experience or without.
•No flexibility on class schedules.
•No bathroom breaks.
•No flexibility on Trainer work schedule.
•No commission.
•30 minute lunch.
•No room for growth as trainer-(“Head Trainer promotion” LOL)
•This experience at other gyms doesn’t count because “It’s planet fitness” stigma.
•They will not let you bring in outside equipment, like foam rollers, thick mats or even yoga straps.
•Management fails to train front desk associates; clients get angry at Trainer when not scheduled for class and it’s full.
•Upper management doesn’t listen to customer or trainer recommendations.
•Most classes are 30 minutes = poor results and under delivered expectations.
Pros:
•if No one shows up to class you still get paid for it, Standing around doing nothing unless they make you clean Depending which Gym you’re at.
•THAT’S IT.
Final note: If you’re a halfass Trainer, that wants to stand around to get paid and do nothing while not wanting to grow and help your clientele progress...
This job is for you!
Management review:
Cons:
•Pays $14.50 Salary w/$800 bonus monthly ($18.75 salary) BASED ON customer happiness, gym cleanliness, and protocols followed. (HIGH TURNOVER = GY
3.0
Customer Service Representative | Lagrange, NY | Mar 3, 2015
Lots to be done
My typical day will start with me coming in and making copies of all the paper work and getting it ready for the day. I enter members into the computer as they come in and wait for my co workers to arrive. Once they do we switch off leaving the desk to clean the areas of the club that we are responsible for. Most days I will do 3 or 4 tours for prospective members where I show them the facility and possibly sing them up for a membership. I will also answer the phones whenever someone calls and wants information about the club or their account. When a member accumulate a balance on their account I handle their payments and get their account up to date. I have learned so much from my time at Planet Fitness and have grown as a professional. I have learned what it takes to keep members happy and coming back satisfied. I have also learned a lot about managerial duties from my manager teaching me how to do everything that the club needed to be done including running reports and scanning documents. The management themselves are very knowledgeable on everything that is needed for the day to day operations for the club. I enjoy my co workers very much, they are all very nice and fun people and I get along with all of them. However sometimes they can become a little distracted in socializing and slack a bit on the cleaning. My manager would often look to me to get the team focused and on point to get everything finished. The job can get stressful at times. we have been understaffed for
Pros45 min lunch break, fun staff
ConsSeverely underpaid
1.0
Customer Service Representative | Vincennes, IN | Sep 5, 2021
Terrible Company
I worked for a Planet Fitness franchise for just over 7 months, and unfortunately do not have much good to say. I worked exclusively in a rural franchise with 13 employees, max. Upper management was "not allowed" to hire more than that number of employees.
From the beginning, I was never fully trained. I was left alone for the first time on a shift within a month of being hired, before I was even finished being trained. Over time, I fortunately was able to pick up a lot of knowledge on the job, but my formal training was never completed.
In order to work here, they wanted me available all the time. I was hired on for weekends only with the opportunity to move up with more hours, which turned out to be a complete lie. I made it known that I would love to work more consistent shifts, go full time, or pursue the trainer position, but was overlooked for all opportunities that came available while I worked there. There were many opportunities for this request to be met because turnover is high. Like...really high. When I left the franchise I worked for, almost all of the staff was new from when I was onboarded.
After being overlooked for all advancement opportunities, I ended up maintaining up to two more jobs at one time in order to pay the bills, and even then, I would receive texts and calls from my GM while I was unavailable to ask me to come in outside of my availability.
The work/life balance was trash. When I had to take emergency time off, or requested a vacation or day of
I am going to be as unbiased as possible.
First, you have to realize that Planet Fitness is a franchise. This comes to play a lot when you work there. Which I will further explain later. The pay is minimum wage with no commission.
My experience at planet fitness was a very negative one. My managers ran the place like kids. If you messed something up while you’re working, or you say something you didn’t like, they would cut your hours, no questions asked. Again not saying all planet fitness franchises have bad leaders, but mine did. They always made me feel unwanted and that they did not value me as an employee.
I never met the actual owner of the franchise. Apparently he was too big to even see how his employees are doing or how the place is even being run. He had a maintenance guy do all his work for him, and even the maintenance guy treated normal employees like dirt. Always made you seem like you weren’t educated because of basic questions you ask.
There is a lot of things you have to do when working here. First things you do are the “planet fitness university” courses, which are long and boring. Each course varies from 3 minutes to an hour. Plus, they also come with quizes. Second thing being to memorize almost 3 pages of pure information of the facility. Purpose being to give tours of the gym.
At my gym they had the front desk employees do all the work in the gym. So that means signing people up for memberships, giving them tours, cleaning equipment,
I’m new here. I’ve come from working in kitchens during the day for most of my career to being a overnight custodian. To be honest I lied about my location so there’s no chance of my general manager figuring out it’s me. I’ve received praise from my GM for being good at my job but that may be due to the fact there is a high turnover rate for my position and those who decide to stay end up being fired. Too many of my colleagues have warned me I could be fired over very small infractions such as answering the phone and not following the script verbatim even if the call was still successful or using a single headphone while cleaning in the lockerooms at night. Another issue I’ve noticed is I was hired without any real training which I’m not sure is usual but it was what happened to me and am learning the job slowly instead of all at once like others so I am constantly afraid of losing my job for not doing something properly but I have no idea what’s okay and what’s not okay. The owners and management LOVE to test people at random and if you fail their random tests you’re instantly fired. There’s absolutely no warning, no reprimand, no second chances; you just instantly lose your job over a small offense. As the custodian I was under the impression my job was to maintain the cleanliness and sanitation of the gym during my shift however I was warned by a colleague that I could be tested on my abilities to run the front desk (although I have yet to be trained on that and that is NO
ProsFree gym memevership, easy if you get the right position and shift
ConsBad pay, strict management, lack of job security
Big fan of the co-workers, management, most customers, not a fan of company.
There are a lot of great things at Planet Fitness depending what franchise and management you have. This is my third time being hired so they do rehire which is good news for ex employees missing Planet Fitness. My manager is really great and my co-workers. I have made a lot of friends at Planet Fitness with customers or co workers. One of my biggest criticism of Planet Fitness is the pay and benefits also including policies. Corporate/franchisee makes me feel like us employees aren't valued and taken advantage of. I was sick and had to get tested for Covid 19 and was out two weeks it really was damaging to my life. It put me in more medical debt (right as I write this 50% of Americans are afraid of medical bankruptcy.) and I wasn't paid and I am already living pay check to pay check due to low pay and "benefits". You would think during a global pandemic they would help their employees put more food on the table. I don't feel like I can get tested because it puts me in a financial crisis so I can imagine a lot of workers like me feel the same way so they come into work sick. I feel like Planet Fitness needs to invest in their employees to improve their business and let the real workers have a say in their policies through voting or different means possibly. I don't think its a good idea to critique their policies while employee so I will censor myself on that. Also the advertising they do makes it tough on us employees because it misleads customers on certain things like thei
ProsFree 30 minute lunch in the break room, great customers, great management, great co workers.
ConsHorrendous benefits/pay, policies.
Questions And Answers about Planet Fitness
What is the best part of working at Planet Fitness?
Asked Nov 24, 2019
My coworkers & some of the members.
Answered Jul 3, 2022
The Front Desk Position and learning how to do membership sales
Answered Jul 2, 2022
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Planet Fitness a better place to work?
Asked May 3, 2018
Get rid of info calls and mystery shoppers. There’s no point to it besides stressing your underpaid employees. Raise wages, hire cleaners & have managers who can actually do a schedule properly.
Answered Jun 30, 2022
Increase the budget per club to minimize staff shortages and better communication between Managers and Staff. Also, don't focus on silly metrics.
Answered May 29, 2022
What are the shifts? 6AM - ? OR 9am- ? ect?
Asked Dec 22, 2016
9am to 2pm
Answered Aug 5, 2020
They try to work with your schedule. At my location shifts are all over the place depending on your availability, experience and responsibilities. Weekends are 6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10pm. Overnights are always 10pm to 6am.
Answered Apr 11, 2020
Weekly or bi weekly pay?
Asked Sep 9, 2016
No weeekly but here's the thing I never got paid
Answered Dec 6, 2020
Paid on the 15th and last day of month. It's really confusing. When I started, it took me over a month to get a full 10 days of work paycheck because of how they do it. Its different than your typical bi weekly job even so make sure you have the general manager at your location explain it to you for that month and when your time will go in. Good thing is that after that, you can use computer at login entrance to check your hours. Since no one is gonna break the bank with their earned wages at PF, they could easily do weekly or bi weekly with every other Friday as payday. It would be so much easier!
Answered Jul 15, 2020
Do they hire employees with piercings and tattoos?
Asked Oct 3, 2016
Lots of my coworkers had tattoos and a few had gauges.
Answered Nov 14, 2020
Franchise I worked in made you remove facial piercings or cover them with skin tone bandages. I have tattoos on my arms and they made me wear sleeves which made a lot of members mad considering it was supposed to be a "judgment free zone".
