Via iStockphoto / @twisted_teeaa TikTok
A gym without air conditioning is uncomfortable to imagine at just about any time of year.
However, one man who claims to work for Planet Fitness describes the A/C breaking as just one of many issues he faces, adding that management routinely makes life harder for employees at a Houston location.
In his video, which is on its way to going viral with over 2,239 views, TikToker Magnus (@twisted_teeaa) lays out why he says he doesn’t like Planet Fitness “as a company,” pulling from both his own experience and what he says he’s heard from others.
‘Planet Fitness Sucks,’ Worker Says
“They will have the highest and most extreme expectations of you while giving you the least amount of attention or consideration,” he claims.
He points to one of the biggest examples he says he dealt with while working at a Houston club.
According to Magnus, the A/C at the Cypress location broke during the summer. He says staff reported it because the gym was getting too hot, but nothing happened at first.
“It was really hot. We needed that A/C ASAP,” he says.
Magnus adds that the unit had already been struggling for years before it finally gave out for good. “It had actually previously been broken for three years,” he says. “It was just kind of on its last leg.”
He says the only reason anyone higher up responded was because someone from corporate happened to come by and felt the heat for themselves.
“They’re like, ‘Wow, it’s really hot in here,’” he recalls. “And we’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ve been telling you our A/C’s out.’”
But according to him, the solution the company provided wasn’t a proper repair.
“A couple weeks later they wheel in a couple of portable A/C units and a fan,” he says.
He says the actual A/C system was never fixed. About six months later, he says, that location shut down.
The A/C Wasn’t The Only Thing That Went Unfixed, According To The Worker
Magnus says the same pattern repeated itself with smaller problems, too.
At the time he recorded the video, he claims one treadmill at his gym had already been down for around two weeks. Other machines, he adds, were also reported as broken and left sitting that way for long stretches.
“It takes weeks, sometimes months, for that to actually ever get fixed,” he says.
And when someone finally does come out, he claims the repair often doesn’t last.
“It’s not a permanent fix,” he says. “It’s they kick it to turn it back on, and they’re like, ‘All good,’ and then they leave, and then it breaks again immediately the next day.”
Additionally, Magnus says Planet Fitness tends to favor outside hires over people who already know the job, even when existing employees have stayed through difficult conditions and want to move up.
“You would think that a company would prioritize inside hires when it comes to promotions,” he says.
Instead, he says he has witnessed outside managers come in without knowing how the gym works, only to quit or get fired later. Meanwhile, he says, longtime workers get passed over.
Magnus says he experienced that himself when he thought he was being lined up for an assistant manager role. He says the company skipped him multiple times and ultimately ended his “bench candidacy” altogether.
“So basically don’t be looking for any type of promotion or future with the company,” he says.
He Says HR Protects The Company, Not Workers
Magnus also warns workers not to expect much help from HR.
“Their job is not to help you,” he says. “Their job is to make sure that the company cannot get in trouble.”
If an employee comes to HR with a complaint about management or anything else that could make the company look bad, Magnus claims the result is usually the same.
“They will either blow you off or twist it to make you look bad instead,” he says.
He argues that, if the company has to choose between firing a manager and firing an employee, it is more likely to let the employee go because that reflects less badly on the business.
He then turns to hours and benefits, saying Planet Fitness does “everything in its power” to avoid giving most workers full-time status.
According to Magnus, management, assistant managers, and trainers get full-time roles, while everyone else is mostly left to “fend for [themselves].”
He says he was originally hired as a full-time employee, but that changed quickly.
“Within I think two months of me being there they dropped my hours immediately,” he says, adding that he believes his pay was reduced at one point, too.
He Says Workers Are Pressured To Hit Metrics Without Incentive
Magnus says another issue is how much employees are expected to do without extra pay.
He says workers are pushed to hit membership goals, training signups, and upgrades but don’t get commission or rewards for bringing those in.
“There is no commission or any type of reward for this,” he says.
Instead, he says, the expectation is simply to produce results or face consequences.
He also issues a complaint about how the company tracks performance: the NPS score, or customer survey system.
Magnus says anything below what he remembers as an eight counts against the club, which means even a middling score can hurt. He says those ratings can affect bonuses for managers and assistant managers, even when complaints are outside their control.
“It makes no sense because nobody else thinks this,” he says of isolated complaints. “But because that one person says something, it affects somebody’s pay.”
He says the broken A/C dragged those scores down, too, with members leaving bad reviews because the gym was too hot.
“I almost had a heat stroke. 0 out of 10,” he says, quoting the kind of complaint they would see.
Magnus concludes by saying it all adds up to a company culture that makes jobs harder.
“They will never do anything to help you out,” he says. “They will do everything to make your job harder.”
He Says The Video Got Him Fired
In a follow-up video, Magnus says he was fired after sharing the video and that the outcome didn’t come as a surprise.
He claims corporate made the decision because of the video itself but adds that he believes it wasn’t the only factor.
According to him, a manager had been targeting him and “looking for reasons to fire” him for some time.
Other Planet Fitness Workers And Members Share Their Experiences
In the comments, others who said they’ve worked at or visited Planet Fitness shared similar frustrations.
“My first job, and I absolutely hate it. So far I’ve had barely any ACTUAL training, and I don’t really like the HM. I got cursed out for trying to help multiple times. I am REALLY trying right now, but I have no idea how much longer I can do it. (I’ve only been here a month.),” one person wrote.
“I did a survey and rated it a 4 and immediately got an email from manager. pf is not an 8 gym. Filthy dirty. Hot. Broken down equipment. If you want high ratings do something about. I’ve been to many PF and none are an 8,” another said.
Others said the video affected how they view the company as a whole.
“I thought about joining but what’s stopping me is how hard it is for everyone to cancel their memberships,” a third wrote.
What Do Other Workers Say Online?
Reviews of Planet Fitness as a workplace are mixed.
The company has a 3.3 out of 5 rating on sites like Indeed and Glassdoor. We can see the same divide on Reddit communities.
Some describe the job as relatively easy. “Easiest job ever I sit down like 50% of the time or workout,” one user wrote.
Others say the social side is a plus, but the downsides outweigh it. “The social aspect is great, you meet a ton of people. The pay isn’t worth the cleaning and bullcrap from certain customers,” another wrote, adding that management didn’t seem to care much about staff.
Another user shared similar concerns, calling it “an easy job but not something I see myself in long-term,” citing low pay, limited growth, and lack of benefits.
BroBible has reached out to Planet Fitness via email and Magnus via TikTok messages for comment.
