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Spectrum Clubs- Run do not Walk Away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Brentwood Associates is the current owner of Spectrum Club and they certainly take the concept of “Creative Destruction” & self interest/greed to a new level. Upon receiving ownership of the health club, they retained CEO’s/Presidents whose achievements were not of creating solid market foundations, but whose business plans were to serve the executives & investors. Their short term, their plans did create profits but each left their previous “Big Box Store” companies in a “cloud”….in regards to target, during their regime, their business plan literally drove Target stores market share down substantially, while the other, Best Buy came near bankruptcy…..
The first priority of these president’s (the current was VP and promoted upon the other’s departure) was to terminate every senior member of the management team- many of which had been with Spectrum from its inception- founded by the owners of Sports Club LA…those making the most, were targeted to leave and most all were not replaced bringing customer service, contract performance requirements eventually to its knees. The current & past president in regards to facility advice, relies on a good out-of-state friend who is supposedly an “expert” in building construction & code compliance…..but what we have seen is nothing but violation of codes and health & safety violations….and materials by anyone’s standards, would be, “you’ve got to be kidding me”! If you look closely at the facilities it is considered “almost normal” for walls to be dirty, marked, scuffed, partially blocked emergency exits, water leaks (both clean & waste water), HVAC systems that have not been cleaned for several years to the point that the dust has formed a mud like substance in the air intake vents and equipment (audio/visual and exercise) that has little to no maintenance….they just wait until it is ready to or completely broken and then they just buy new. In absolute violation of OSHA, the company has been without a qualified industrial safety officer since it’s purchase….there is no OSHA safety compliance program including a contagious disease control program and as such, mold, mildew is again the norm in the areas of sanitation, showers & dressing areas of which more than once, enforcement action by government agencies/staff has been taken. In one case, at the Howard Hughes “Flagship” facility, egress for ADA compliance was eventually obtained by a member of the Los Angeles City Board member (who was also a club member) place management on notice- either fix the main entrance doors or face a formal complaint with the city attorney’s office! As with any membership, it is a contract of which there are laws, rules & regs that are either implied, or stipulated that each will abide by….if you think information protected under the federal (or state) privacy act is secured- think again….every tom, dick & harry working at the front desk knows your birthday! Supervisory/management training….each new hire/promoted person to a supervisory or management role is required under California State Law specifically Health & Safety Code 19995.4 requires a minimum of 80 hours training (40 hours formal, 40 hours under immediate supervision)…..this is simply ignored, because it “costs money” and staff is disposable. There are clearly additional contract breaches as well, such as trainer’s invoking rules for themselves/clients that are strictly prohibited. Use of cell phones (including suspected recording) in dressing areas….even though it is posted…oh well, good luck finding any staff that will address any contract or criminal type violation because…..the trainers are directed not-to-engage and supervisory/management personnel are at the locations less than 50% of all operating hours.
It is just a matter of time before Brentwood Associates either sells the places off or closes the door & walks away with all the money.
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