Jackie Skelley's

goldilocked

I joined last week, and agree with whats been said to date.

One thing that I've noticed is that in the 3 times I've been, I haven't seen a lifeguard on duty in the pool area. I was a member of westwood and have been in both Clontarf and Leopardstown and there was always life guards on duty. Anyone else notice this? Between no life guards and kids using the free weights, it looks like there's an accident waiting to happen.

Oh, another thing, has anyone got their photograph taken as part of their membership so they can match you when you "beep" in? I haven't yet, but then again, my card is still not on the system a week after joining.

Apart from these gripes I'm enjoying the gym so far, and all the machines / weights are top quality. Although I do think the spa facilities are a bit small for a gym that size.

G.

GAN

Oh my god...I cannot believe that about there being no lifeguards on duty in the pool. :eek: That is truly shocking. I think sending individual emails is a great idea, because for all we know Jackie Skellys head office may not be aware of what is going on down there

ChickenBalls

We where told that there wont be a lifeguard on duty period. The reason being the pool is only 4-5 foot deep and legally they dont have to as far as I'm aware of. It's the same with the other jackie skelly branches. There's a camera on the pool that reception can look at from time to time when ever there finished filing there nails!

Also regards the kids using the gym - my daughter who's ten has used the gym twice and it's only novelty as she'll get bored of it soon. In saying that the parents are actually responsible for kids using the gym and no responsibility is held by JS if anything happens.

goldilocked

I had a word with some bloke called Terry who works there today, and aparently there was some big staff meeting yesterday specfically to address the various issues, the problem with the kids in particular.

I was asking what the situation was with cancelling my membership if the problems weren't sorted. He said give it a week or two and see how it goes. Today a woman brought her little girl (around 5) into the steam room, and she was running around and opening the door and stuff, with her mam giving out to her repeatadly. Don't get me wrong...I like kids...but it kind of ruined the atmosphere!

annie5

Hi ,
What does anyone think of the new Jackie Skelly? I think its so soooooo manky, changing rooms freezing and pool so cold too.

Johnc72

Arrived down on Sunday morning and overheard one of the receptionists telling another that some kids have been letting their parents in through the emergency/fire exit, aas there's no alarm it was only discovered on Saturday.:eek:

Eoin

annie5 wrote:

Hi ,
What does anyone think of the new Jackie Skelly? I think its so soooooo manky, changing rooms freezing and pool so cold too.

merging with original thread

GAN

was on a day off so went down this afternoon, there were quite a few kids around but in fairness, they were all very well behaved. All went well until I asked one of the instructors for some advice on using the weights machines -- she was going on her break but asked another guy who said he'd be with me in five minutes. Twenty five minutes later I gave up and left; he was far too busy laughing and joking with a couple of teenage girls to drag himself away. I didn't bother complaining, will give them the benefit of the doubt this time, but it's not a great sign. I don't think customer service is high on their agenda -- anyone else got any similar experiences or have you got on better?

eleMental

thats funny - i saw the exact same thing on sunday afternoon!!

i dont understand why they cant start the Personal Trainer sessions now, my experience of the instructors is exactly the same. (With the exception of the guy who takes the spinning classes who was really good showing me round and seemed to take it all really seriously which was great).

They seem to spend most of their time leaning on the desk at the top of the stairs there, chatting to each other or in my experience making that "extra-special" effort with the 2 teenage girls on the exercise bikes beside me (even though it was clear they couldntve cared less how it worked and walked off 2 minutes after he left.) I also tried speaking to an instuctor upstairs about the problem of the kids and he pretty much shrugged, told me it wasnt his problem and to talk to the manager.

Its quite dissapointing given the fee I paid upfront that they cant deliver on the promises they made and that their "we're too busy" reason doesnt really stack up.

Have to just hope its all just part of the teething and itll get better as the weeks go by. :rolleyes:

dalila

Hi all! Long time reader - first post! I have been up to the gym now a few times since it opened and I was a bit suprised by all the kids being around. It does appear to be an accident waiting to happen as most of the kids I've seen using the machines seemed to be seeing how fast they could make it go! I saw a young girl on a treadmill who had it going too fast, she lost her footing and fell off! If that had been a younger child they could've seriously hurt themselves. Even if they do stick to the 10yrs and up rule they really should enforce supervision of them by parents, I've seen some parents up with children who were really well behaved! I only hope it wont take an accident to make them do it!

About the cold water in the pool...I don't know how accurate this is but I was told by another member I know that the water is cooler so the pool can be used as for lane training etc... but again I'm not sure!

Perty

I heard yesterday that a girl using the treadmills got off and didn't see the step beside them and now has to have surgery on her knee. I'm not surprised, I nearly did the same thing myself the first time I was there. The step is very dangerous and they only have a caution sign lying on the step.

I was up in the gym last night and I didn't see one kid. Hopefully they've listened to all the complaints.

Johnc72

I was up last night as well and didnt see one of them. Really beginning to enjoy the place now

Sparks115

Was up there last night too and it was great...apart from some gob****es messing in the pool and the Sauna in ladies broken have no complaints. Staff were extremely helpful to me as I wanted to change from an upfront payment to a Direct debit and the girl that looked after us couldnt have been nicer. So maybe things are starting to look up!

Clowney

Hi All,
Don't know what your experiences have been over the past week but I think they're finally getting their act together. Was in the club 3 times last week and noticed a huge improvement in the kids usage. All kids were confined to the top of the gym. One of the instructors informed me that it was a new policy introduced which has been working well. I also notcied a lifeguard on duty. They have definatly taking are comments on board and put them to good use. I took part in an induction and I found the instructor to be very professional and helpful. So ill be sure to book my personal training program with him. All in all the last week has been really enjoyable.

Clowney

Hi All,
Don't know what your experiences have been over the past week but I think they're finally getting their act together. Was in the club 3 times last week and noticed a huge improvement in the kids usage. All kids were confined to the top of the gym. One of the instructors informed me that it was a new policy introduced which has been working well. I also notcied a lifeguard on duty. They have definatly taking are comments on board and put them to good use. I took part in an induction and I found the instructor to be very professional and helpful. So ill be sure to book my personal training program with him. All in all the last week has been really enjoyable.

OFB

I joined back in Jan and was told that there would be plenty of free weights & Olympic bar etc. The absence of this piece of equipment has a big impact on my work out. I have been told several different reasons as to why it is not there, “Jackie Skelley’s never had an Olympic bar” the latest one is “We might get it in”. I have tried to speak to the manager to get a final decision but he has been ill and unavailable. If I leave now I have been asked to pay 2 months membership as this part of the contract and is being done as a gesture of good will because the contract says that you can not terminate it for the first year. This is because I am using a DD to pay the fees. I don’t want to leave but without the Olympic bar, the Gym has little to offer above my previous Gym.

Does anyone else use the Olympic bar?
Has anyone successfully terminated there membership contract?

GAN

Would you consider writing a letter to Jackie Skelly herself outlining your situation? In all fairness, I don't think they could reasonably refuse you to cancel your membership if something that you were specifically told would be availalbe isn't go to. I would send her a letter then follow up with a phone call, there's no harm in trying.

Other than that, I'd agree with the previous comments about the situation improving in the gym. The instructors are much more conscious about monitoring the kids. However it would be great if the mothers would obey the signs and not take their kids into the adults only changing area -- this seems to be happening a lot and I'm not particularly comfortable changing under the curious gaze of a gaggle of five year olds!!

Calhoun

My experience so far with the gym has been good and bad.

Kids everywhere to start with kinda made the first 2 weeks crap. Even though they have got their act together it was a little to late TBH. I wonder how many threatened to cancel their membership.

Even with the kids sorted you still get a few lads acting the muppet. I was going into the sauna the other night and spotted 2 kids trying to see how hot they could make it. So i made my way to the jacuzzi to chill they followed us in after a few minutes and were jumping in of course nothing was said. I would also agree with the last poster nothing worse than some dad bringing his 5-6 year old daughter into the mens changing room.

Personally i have been waiting on the personal trainers since the gym started. I think you are only going through the motions if you arent measuring it. I personally dont know how to use alot of the equipment properly and i really wanna meet up with a trainer but off course there is a 3 week waiting period.

After being told that we would have to wait a month for the personal trainers they finally get them but they dont hire enough people pretty bad for a company in the service industry. This alone wouldnt be so bad but you cant actually sign up for it because the forms always seem to be elsewhere and for busy trainers its kinda annoying to see them sit on their arse for 2 hours doing nothing while your in the gym.

Anyone else annoyed as i am with how the gym is being run ?? Im considering trying to cancel my membership or threaten to anyway

King_Carlos

OFB wrote:

I joined back in Jan and was told that there would be plenty of free weights & Olympic bar etc. The absence of this piece of equipment has a big impact on my work out. I have been told several different reasons as to why it is not there, “Jackie Skelley’s never had an Olympic bar” the latest one is “We might get it in”. I have tried to speak to the manager to get a final decision but he has been ill and unavailable. If I leave now I have been asked to pay 2 months membership as this part of the contract and is being done as a gesture of good will because the contract says that you can not terminate it for the first year. This is because I am using a DD to pay the fees. I don’t want to leave but without the Olympic bar, the Gym has little to offer above my previous Gym.

Does anyone else use the Olympic bar?
Has anyone successfully terminated there membership contract?

.I have the same problem myself. They have managed to put useless machines that take up far too much room, i.e. that stupid seated Fly machine, yet wont install a simple squat rack and some Olympic bars. Not that I am Arnold or anything of the like, just my workout is sports specific (rugby) and cleans and snatches (easy there folks) are very important to my training.

Squatting on the Smith machine is great for form and technique put for exercising your stabilizing muscles is useless

wingding

I went down to the gym in the Glenview to have a look around with my mum.She's thinking of joining and didn't want to join anywhere too trendy. It's really nice. It was a Saturday and it was nice and quiet. The staff were really nice and friendly and it wasn't too expensive either.

mikedragon32

I heard last week that Glenview may be up for sale. If this is the case, it's unlikely that the site will remain as a Hotel, therefore the gym will disappear too.

Shame because it was good, I believe. The irish Rugby squad used to go there in the days when they used Greystones as their training ground.

I really like the gym in Loughlinstown. You can pay as you go if you like and there isn't a feeling that everyone is there to pose/be seen, unlike some gyms I've been a member of.

eleMental

Grrrr - now I'm getting flowery. Have been a member since it opened end of March (though I paid in full the first day of registration). Waited WEEKS for the fitness assessments to get sorted as they were "too busy with the induction tours" initialls *hmmmmm*

Then 2 and a half weeks ago I finally got one booked for this morning. Unfortunately having flown in late from the UK last night, I slept in and missed it. Rang them as soon as I got into work to apologise, only to be told that they "dont know when they can re-schedule me". I asked how many people are doing the assessments but surprisingly the girl had no idea and hazarded a guess at "I'd say afew..."

So now I'm back on the "waiting list" again with no hope in sight for a new date (I was offered midday in 2 weeks time, seems they dont realise that alot of people work during the day).

I've been a member of 2 other gyms where in both cases an assessment was done within a week of joining. I know JS's is brand new etc but the length of time it seems to be taking them to get ANYTHING sorted is starting to get a little bit unreasonable (I think). Anyone else had the same problem?

FVC

i eventually had my fitness assesment last weekend so if possible try to request Stuart as he appears to know his stuff. He mentioned that the Saturday morning assessments quite frequently do a 'no show' so it might be worth going up there and waiting around. there are approx 7 instructors. You can see their names on the desk at the top to the floor. The fitness assesments are pretty much booked up until June

Johnc72

I have to say the administration aspect is deplorable. The staff don't seem to have had any training, and there doesnt even seem to be a manager in charge of the place. A few arses need to be kicked up there:mad:

JKB

Agree on that one.

Did anyone else put their name down for yoga ? I stuck it down and nothing was mentioned about paying for the sessions... got a call during the week asking for my payment to secure my place, €99 for 10 weeks, you would get a cheaper evening class for that. I told the girl that I thought it would have been covered by my membership fees and that I thought it was a bit pricey... no reaction !!

Also, I asked about that membership upgrade, where you get a free towel each visit, like I don't have any of my own and a friend gets a months membership etc etc, turns out you have to pay the extra €9 each month for the year ! Waste of money.... might ask if the €9 upgrade would entitle you to as many yoga classes in the year that you want

Phew, gald I got all that off my chest!

foxy06

Very annoyed with Jackie Skellys. Couldnt get an appointment for an
assesment at all when I first joined. They didnt seem to want to give me a time that would suit me ie not when I was not at work. The girls on the front desk are always very rude and anytime I asked an instructor for some help I was brought to a machine told to use it for 15 minutes and then they would try me with something else. After the 15 minutes the instructor couldnt be found! This happened to me twice. The ladies changing room (which is normally ok I must admit) was absolutely disgusting and when I complained I was told there was no one to clean it that day even though three of them were sitting there having a chat. I have cancelled my dd mainly because of the rudeness of the staff All the rest I could have put up with. Walking to the beach every night instead. God I love a good ould moan.

Little Bobby

Thanks for the insight Foxy. I'm moving up from Dublin in the next few months and was very keen to join this gym...until I read this thread!

Don't like the sound of it now...anyone know any good/local gyms?

foxy06

have heard good stories about both the Marriot and the Glenview. Not as big as Jackie Skellys but apparently have a more personal touch, more time for their clients. Shame bout Jackie Skellys because the amenities are good and its just a walk away, If only they could rub up on their customer service skills. Welcome to Greystones by the way!!

Little Bobby

Thanks alot, I'll check both gyms out...there's always Crunch (Dun Laoghaire) and Total Fitness (Sandyford)...they are pretty good - but its a long ole trek from greystones :rolleyes:

Maybe if enough people got onto the the management in Jackie Skellys they would change their ways...althought that's probably been suggested and tried a dozen times already!

eleMental

Haha - I'm the same. Have been asking for 3 months now as to why they only have 11 out of 12 working TV's, all on Irish channels, 9 of which show kids programmes in the morning and 2 of which arent even set up properly for widescreen (and never have been). Every time I asked what the story was I got a different response - someone from Sky is coming this week, we're waiting for a Sky card, we're in negotiations over the cost with Sky etc etc. Am getting tired of only having Bananaman as Gaelige and The Fimbles to watch in the morning but have given up asking.

Also was fairly miffed by the fact that gym users personal medical forms that you fill in on your assessment have been sitting in a pile in full view ontop of the filing cabinet for the last 3 days - surely thats a breach of customer confidentiality etc? (Not that I'd care if someone read mine, but your medical history is something quite private surely?)

In general I think management just dont seem to really care about customer feedback, once the money keeps rolling in......(wish theyd use some if to fix the broken tellies!!)

Have to say I did find the girls on reception were always very helpful though any time I spoke to them.