Gunter de Boer (Google User)
5 months ago
After being a member for several years and having the same problems go unaddressed by management for as many years, I figured it was about time to write a review. Note that this review only covers the equipment and areas I use. While there may be problems in other areas as well, I don’t utilize those areas so will not comment on them.
Let’s start with the cardio equipment. Most of it does work, although there are several machines, particularly in the second row, that do not, which causes a lot of bouncing from one machine to the next to find one that works.
What doesn’t work are a large number of TVs. It is not unusual for almost 40% of them to be non-operational, and the ones that do work are either on home shopping channels or The View. Hey, about a nice mix of CNN, Headline News, Fox News and ESPN? Even worse, 20% of the TVs were on a slideshow of local advertisements. So not only do you pay money to join Crunch, now you are forced to watch commercials when working out. Bush league move.
Several of the circuit machines are usually down at the same time. For example, the leg extension machine just doesn’t seem to be ever fixed correctly, the grip on the bicep machine is defective, defective pin on the back extension, etc. There is also a fair amount of ripped or cracked vinyl surfaces which still need to be repaired.
Speaking of repairs, many of the lockers in the locker room are broken, and have been for years, especially the ones at eye level as soon as you walk into the room. As for cleaning, I am not sure what the protocol is but in over three years I have only seen staff wipe down the equipment one time. Maybe they do it more often, I have just never witnessed it. Regardless, in this age of covid, this should be a priority.
The interior of the gym is generally neat, but certainly not overly clean. It really could use some deep cleaning and attention to detail, especially under the machines, in corners and the bathroom, which has seen better days.
The gym touts its new HIIT Zone but I’m not sure what the fuss is about, as now there is very little space to so any kind of individual floor workouts without being in the way of somebody else. And they moved the personal training desk to the middle of the stretch area, instead of at the front desk where it should be.
While this isn’t the gym’s fault, you will wait on the circuit machines, primarily because of people staring at their phones which is something tolerated by the staff.
What is the gym’s fault is the music blaring over the speakers. It is downright awful. Now, I realize musical taste is subjective, but it should at least be varied. When I go to the gym, almost half the people are older, yet I’ve only heard ‘classic rock’ played one time.
Now, I’m sure the management will read this review and reply back with same lame, boilerplate response about emailing management. Just know that all of these concerns have been previously brought to management’s attention, so they are either indifferent to their customers’ concerns or incompetent in resolving them.
So does Crunch make working out fun? Maybe, just not at the Paramus location.
Update: Despite the canned reply from management, the equipment is still broken or torn, many of the TVs are still not working, the equipment still doesn't seem to be cleaned or sanitized very often and the music is still terrible.