Thailand's chic
new fitness centers
under fire
for questionable business practices
By Jon Fernquest
I
walked into a fitness center on
Sukhumvit one day, wanting to know how much it would cost per month."You don't have a fixed price?," I asked.
Calculating the cost of a membership was complicated, they replied.
A consultation with an expert sales consultant was necessary.
The sales consultant started throwing out prices.
I kept saying "no" (in fact, wanted to run out to the exit).
The price kept falling.
How does a price drop from 10,000 bath to under 1,000 baht in 10 minutes?
Needless to say, prying myself loose from the high pressure sales tactics, I scurried to the exit.
Fitness centers like California Wow and True Fitness are generating large numbers of consumer complaints at Thailand's new Consumer Protection Board (CPB)
(Read article about Thailand's new consumer protection laws).
Here are the details:
Gym sector facing new regulations
8/02/2009The Consumer Protection Board (CPB) is pushing for the imposition of tighter controls on fitness centres following numerous complaints from people.
Chuensuk Methakullawat, of the CPB, said the number of unsatisfied customers was quite high judging from complaints filed with the board between 2005 and last year. They were mainly directed against nine fitness companies, including the three market leaders.
The CPB said 576 complaints were lodged against California Wow, 180 against True Fitness and 74 against Fitness First. Of these, 386 of the California Wow cases, 170 True Fitness cases and 67 of the Fitness First cases have already been settled.
chic - fashionable
and sophisticated
fitness, physical fitness - exercise: running, lifting weights, sit-ups, push-ups, aerobics, etc... (See Wikipedia)
fitness center, health club, gym - a place which has exercise equipment for exercise, also aerobics and other programmes (See Wikipedia)
California Wow - a leading fitness center company in Thailand (See website)
True Fitness - a leading fitness center company in Thailand (See website)
Fitness First - a leading fitness center company in Thailand (See website)
Consumer Protection Board (CPB) - the Thai government agency that protects the rights of consumers, now operating under improved rules created by the post-coup legislature (See website)
under fire - attacked
business practices, commercial practices - procedures and rules that a company and its employees use to do business
questionable business practices - business practices that do not seem right (unfair to customers)
fixed price - one price for all customers for the same product (not many prices for many complicated products)
a consultation - a meeting with an expert about a problem to get their advice
throwing out prices - suggesting or offering prices
prying myself loose - removing from a tight grip
high pressure sales tactics - when a sales person tries very hard to control you and force you to buy something
scurry - run like a rat
imposition of tighter controls - forcing an activity to be controlled and follow rules more
unsatisfied customers - customers who were not happy with what the service or product they received
fitness, physical fitness - exercise: running, lifting weights, sit-ups, push-ups, aerobics, etc... (See Wikipedia)
fitness center, health club, gym - a place which has exercise equipment for exercise, also aerobics and other programmes (See Wikipedia)
California Wow - a leading fitness center company in Thailand (See website)
True Fitness - a leading fitness center company in Thailand (See website)
Fitness First - a leading fitness center company in Thailand (See website)
Consumer Protection Board (CPB) - the Thai government agency that protects the rights of consumers, now operating under improved rules created by the post-coup legislature (See website)
under fire - attacked
business practices, commercial practices - procedures and rules that a company and its employees use to do business
questionable business practices - business practices that do not seem right (unfair to customers)
fixed price - one price for all customers for the same product (not many prices for many complicated products)
a consultation - a meeting with an expert about a problem to get their advice
throwing out prices - suggesting or offering prices
prying myself loose - removing from a tight grip
high pressure sales tactics - when a sales person tries very hard to control you and force you to buy something
scurry - run like a rat
imposition of tighter controls - forcing an activity to be controlled and follow rules more
unsatisfied customers - customers who were not happy with what the service or product they received
Tricky contracts, nearly impossible to understand
Complaints mostly centred on unfair service contracts, Ms Chuensuk said at a discussion on the issue organised by the Foundation for Consumers group yesterday.She said potential customers should read everything carefully before committing themselves to the contracts.
"Don't be lulled by the words of salespeople. We found that the advertisements tend to be overstated with prohibitive clauses hidden deep in the agreement, making cancelling or amending the contract impossible afterward," she added.
committing - making
a promise, making an agreement
lulled by Y - relax and forget to be careful
overstated - say or promise more than is true
prohibitive clauses hidden deep in the agreement -
amending the contract - changing the contract
lulled by Y - relax and forget to be careful
overstated - say or promise more than is true
prohibitive clauses hidden deep in the agreement -
amending the contract - changing the contract
Chairat Chumwong, of the CPB's dispute settlement panel, said fitness business cases were the hardest to negotiate and settle.
Even after a settlement, the most the customers could hope for was a partial refund of the fee they paid. In some cases, not even that was achievable.
Clients tend to overlook the small details of the contractual terms.
The contracts generally require customers to commit to a membership for an entire period of a specified time. In some cases, it can span several years.
Mr Chairat said such contracts border on infringement of the Unfair Agreement Act.
She said that the CPB was now working to classify the fitness enterprises as a controlled business, which would allow the authorities to examine their commercial practices and legal contracts with customers.
Chalermpong Klubdee, head of a legal team at the Foundation for Consumers, said the complaints should be taken to court to set a precedent.
Dr Somchai Leethong-in, of the Health Department, said the quality of service in the sectors needs to be standardised.
dispute settlement panel - a
group of people who help people settle a disagreement that they have
a partial refund - only get part of the money that you paid back (the sales person persuaded you to give them a lot of money up front, before you started to use the fitness center)
overlook - do not see or understand something important
contractual terms - the details in a contract that you agree to
commit to a membership for an entire period of a specified time
border on Y - is almost Y (almost meets the definition)
infringement - violate a rule or law
infringement of the Unfair Agreement Act - violate a law regarding unfair agreements (because the details of the contract are too difficult to understand)
classify the fitness enterprises as a controlled business - require that the government start inspecting fitness centers
authorities - the government or police
a partial refund - only get part of the money that you paid back (the sales person persuaded you to give them a lot of money up front, before you started to use the fitness center)
overlook - do not see or understand something important
contractual terms - the details in a contract that you agree to
commit to a membership for an entire period of a specified time
border on Y - is almost Y (almost meets the definition)
infringement - violate a rule or law
infringement of the Unfair Agreement Act - violate a law regarding unfair agreements (because the details of the contract are too difficult to understand)
classify the fitness enterprises as a controlled business - require that the government start inspecting fitness centers
authorities - the government or police
(Source: Bangkok Post, general news, 8/02/2009, Gym sector facing new regulations, link)
