Snap Fitness

Buyer beware
The concept of Snap Fitness is pure awesomeness. You go into a place that is never crowded, free of gym rats, cardio bunnies, and creepy dudes leering at you while you work out. And you can do this at any time of the day or night. What’s not to love?
The issue isn’t with the concept, it’s with the execution. Dave Hillen, the owner of this location (and another one in Tigard) is a weird dude at best and a terrible businessman at worst. When I found the location I had to text a random number on a sign and wait for him to come meet me (which he blew me off after waiting for 20 minutes). I then rescheduled and sat down to go over the contract terms. I listened to him overshare about his late wife, his new wife, his life in the mortgage industry and other various pieces of personal information that had nothing to do with my membership. After about 45 minutes of listening to his life story and filling out paperwork, I had a membership. I was pretty thrilled that I was going to be set up with a free fitness consultation to get me set up and working towards my fitness goals, but sadly that didn’t happen. We set up a date to meet the following week and when I called to confirm, he texted me cancelling 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet telling me he had the flu. Everyone gets sick, I get it. But when he cancelled again he told me that he had to meet with someone else that he cancelled on before me, I was understandably upset. Frustrated, I told him not to worry about it and he responded with a half-​hearted apology and a winky-​face emoticon. Seriously, how is that appropriate or professional? Dave never attempted to schedule with me again.
I kept the membership for a couple months and quickly grew tired of the limited equipment and services (and I discovered a gym that charges 100 bucks A YEAR down the road). When I called the gym number to cancel my membership shockingly no one returned my calls. I have left three unanswered voicemails over a three week period at the west union location. I called the corporate headquarters and they cannot intercede because this location is considered a franchise. Apparently the business model for Snap Fitness is to trap their customers into paying the membership indefinitely. Next step: cancel the credit card.
EDIT: Finally got a response from Dave after prompting from the corporate office. Once you give your notice of cancellation it is considered a 30 day notice and you will be billed the following month even after your key card is turned in. Make sure to document when you «give your notice» since there is no formal process for cancellation.

A great value for convenient workouts!
Not only is all the equipment well maintained, the exercise room, flexibility equipment, and bathrooms are spotless. Best of all, the previous franchisee and the current franchisee have been wonderful to deal with. No nonsense, no hidden fees.
The large glass windows give you something to look at besides a TV if you’re trying to gut out a boring workout on the glider when it’s raining out.
If I’ve ever had a bad workout out here, it’s because it’s small enough that just one other person in the gym can make your workout miserable. It only takes one bonehead who likes cranking The 700 Club and Fox News to 90 dB while you’re trying to finish off an upper body superset to make you wish you’d brought some noise cancellation equipment to shut out the cacophony. Yeah, that person is real, as is the person who likes to leash her aggressive pit bull to the door while she works out. It’s not really the franchisee’s fault, but it is reflective of the gym’s clientele, location, and layout.
Even with that nit, if you just want to get in, do a workout, and get out, this is the best place on the West Side to make it happen.
P. S. The gym is actually open to customers 24 hours a day. The business hours in the Unilocal description refer to the times when someone is there for membership services.

I really like this location. It is literally a two minute walk from home. The owner is ALWAYS pleasant and nice each time we run into him. I have a membership here for the entire family. It does not have that ‘beef head’ gym feel where you feel intimidated by others working our around you. He even checks on you to ensure that you are ok and know how to use each of the Machines. I purchased a deal thru Sharing Spree that gave me two months at an extremely discounted price. And I decided to continue my membership turning it into a family membership. I really feel comfortable coming here and there is a lot of equipment to workout on!

Snap is clean, friendly, never crowded. They have great machines and awesome trainers. The prices are reasonable. No contract fees and the owners are Soooo nice!!! What’s not to love!

I’ve been with this gym for a week and I’ve been going nearly every single day. I have no excuse not to, as I live across the street, but I typically would find every excuse not to go. Here’s why none of my excuses work:
1– It’s too crowded! (It’s not. Snap Fitness always has room and isn’t crazy busy like those other, bigger, 24 hour gyms)
2– The people are jerks! (Not true. The patrons at this Snap Fitness are pretty nice and down to earth. They mostly keep to themselves, but are friendly when you speak to them)
3– I don’t want to be pressured! (You won’t be. Melea is the manager and she’s very, very friendly and not «sales-​y» at all. She is also a personal trainer for the gym and she works closely with you to determine what’s best for you)
4– It’s too far away! (Maybe for you, but I can’t use this excuse)
5– It’s boring! (There are TVs above the treadmills that you can watch. Nobody cares if you change the channel or turn up the volume, or you can bring in a device that has a radio tuner to listen to it over the FM radio. I bring in my iPhone with hulu plus, however.)
So, no excuses. This gym is great. It’s small. It’s the perfect fit, though, for someone like me.

This gym is always clean and you never have to wait to use a machine. Melea is very helpful and worked with me to create a workout that works for me.

I used to work out at this gym because it was open 24 hours and close to home. Dan the owner is easy to work with and I never felt pressured to buy personal training sessions like at the big box gyms. The gym was always a comfortable place to workout because its clean and well maintained. Unfortunately I’m not at home as much anymore and I workout with my tennis group in town. I caved in a bought a membership to a big box. I don’t like the big box gyms I workout now, but I have a group I workout with now that’s close to work.

Clean quiet and it was nice to look out big glass windows while working out next time will bring my ipod!