Equinox reviews

3.3

53% would recommend to a friend

(3,562 total reviews)
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Harvey Spevak

50% approve of CEO

40% positive business outlook

Equinox has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 3,562 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Equinox employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Personal Consumer Services industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews
1.0
Jun 12, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free gym membership and a laid back atmosphere may lull you asleep. The atmosphere is very laid back - HR would have a heart attack if they knew the language and lack of professionalism that actually goes on in this place - this may be a "Pro" to some people if you like that kind of laid back atmosphere....if you prefer a more professional work environment this is not the place for you. There are a lot of "stud" and stereotypical "jock" type personalities in upper management and amongst trainers.

Cons

If you are older than 21 and you have bills this is not the place for you. If you are a certified personal trainer through ACE, NASM or any reputable certification it is your best bet to work independently as a personal trainer. A lot of people give you the advice "Hey it's best to start in a big box gym!"...Here's why it's not. - This is a sales job. You are responsible for building your client base of training clients. If you are going to spend the time and energy to network and build a client base...why not just build your own client base independently and charge your own rates? - Some say the pros of working big box are the benefits...at Equinox YOU DO NOT RECEIVE ANY BENEFITS UNTIL YOU REACH 42 PAID TRAINING SESSIONS IN A 2 WEEK PAY PERIOD...so you better not get sick, get hurt, get a toothache or anything. That may not seem like an aggressive number of paid sessions but it is when there are almost 50 trainers and the gym is not highly populated. -$12 an hour floor shifts. You are supposed to use this time to build your client base and get "known" around the gym....if you are a self starter and a certified trainer THE WORLD is your floor shift. You can meet people anywhere and there is a higher chance of you finding clients this way than in the small pretentious bubble which is Equinox. - You are dealing with snobbish professionals and literally trust fund babies who are paying $200 a month for membership. There is a certain air or disrespect and almost peasant like appeal of the personal trainer at Equinox. You received a very minute fraction of what is actually being charged for trainer and you are expected to go through Equinox's education to raise up the different tiers of trainers to one day hopefully receive about 40% of what the client is actually paying. - Some may see it as a "Pro" that equinox pays you to get an education. NO. They pay you $12 an hour to take "EFTI" course (EFTI courses only exist in the Equinox world. You can not take them with you. So unless you plan on living and dying at Equinox this is pointless.) The courses are for you to move up the tiers at Equinox and one day make a decent living. I suggest furthering your own education through college, reading books, or actually certification courses. - There is no work/life balance. Equinox's motto is "It's not Fitness. It's Life." and they mean that. There is a trainers lounge which has roaches and is cramped with the belongings of almost 50 trainers. People literally sleep there. You may have a session at 5AM and not have another one until 12PM so they literally sleep there. Working independently you can just leave...and train clients when you have them. It's a matter of preference. If you think that being an adult and living that way is cool I understand. Just not for me. - Turnover rate is CRAZY. I saw 4 people get fired in a 3 week span for training clients independently but EVERY one there is sneaking and training clients independently so that they can EAT and SURVIVE. So, rather than drinking the kool-aid of Equinox...why not just take the jump and start your own small business as a trainer? - There are people who have been at this gym for 10+ years. Do you think you will get leads before them? Do you think there is no favoritism when it comes to passing decent leads? Do you think this doesn't promote a weird far too comfortable environment that is very far from professional? Yes. It does just that. - You have to do these $12 an hour floor shifts until you have enough clients to "get off the floor". There are people who are with the company for over a year and are still on the floor. Being "on the floor" (meaning having to work these floor shifts) is not a reflection of you being a good or bad employee. It is a reflection of a company intentionally placing you in a position to lose because there are way too many trainers at the gym for everyone to be successful. There's too many trainers and not enough clients and management knows this but they still hire more people....they hire people and have them leave their good jobs and careers to come to Equinox and make $12 an hour. I was hired with 5 other people....4 of them left within a month because they were misinformed and drawn in by lies from management.

1.0
Sep 6, 2019

Smoke and Mirrors

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Iconic brand which has established itself as a global leader. Everyone wants to be Equinox

Cons

Equinox is a massively political enviornment that lacks leadership with vision. 1. The corporate offices are terrible. Very dark with no windows, cramped spaces, rather sterile. No recycling. No snacks (they put out a bowl of apples once a week and people fight over them as if they were starving animals). The company is moving to Hudson Yards but your space there is limited to a locker. You are to have no personal items on your workspace. The execs literally sit above you and look down on you, which means any birthday celebrations, or noise, or fun that existed under the radar is now over. 2. Employee culture is awful. People can be mean and catty. Everyone is always on edge. There's a huge emphasis on your appearance. There's a dress code that enforces gender stereotypes, as it was clearly made by an old white man. The dress code is strict and employees comment when you're not complying (not just your manager. your peers will call you out). There are no frequent. employee events (you'd assume team workouts would be a thing). 3. You can't use the gym whenever you want. There are blackout hours in the evenings and weekends. It says in the handbook that you can go workout during the day, but your team will look down on you. Even if you manage to sneak down during the day, you feel like yo'ure being watched because the gym is staffed by coworkers. It's very uncomfortable. 4. Your vacation time is limited to 10 days and that doesn't grow with tenure. 10 days is barely enough time to visit your family let alone travel internationally. There are no flexible work hours. This company LOVES butts in seats, so say goodbye to any dreams of being able to work from home if your plumber is coming to fix a leak. 5. This company has no follow through. Once a product is launched, it's forgotten. Oh, and that launch was rushed so only the minimum viable product was launched. The company doesn't staff enough resources to maintain the million things it's doing or puts out. This goes for all physical products and services. Digital products are even worse. UX design is almost non existent. So many things are broken. For example, try booking a spa appointment for a particular service without any preference in location or technician. The results 9 times out of 10 come back as unavailable. Then internally it will be communicated that all spa bookings happen over the phone so why invest in the digital product. Well, maybe if you invested at all into making something better...... 6. Executive leadership either has no vision or has a complete inability to communicate that vision. 7. Executive leadership seems to be really uneducated in any contemporary business practices in a digital world. They talk out of both sides of their mouths, and even worse - they're out of touch with their employees. 8. The company is run on fear. The president of the company has literally said that the job is life or death. Sales goals are put first above all else. Member experience, retention, long term success.... all doesn't matter because a sales goal needs to be hit RIGHT NOW. Every day at the company feels like crippling anxiety due to sales numbers. The gross irony is that this company is extraordinarily profitable, but operates as if the lights are going to be shut off. 9. This is a HIGHLY political organization. There are often standstills between leadership because of personal feelings. On top of things being political, your opinion is only valued if you're tenured. The people who have been at the company for 10-15 years are given the most power, regardless of their level of intelligence or competence. 10. Salary isn't competitive and the company only promotes or gives rates on an annual schedule. Annual are less than 3%. When you get promoted, you can expect a $5k difference. So kiss your dreams goodbye. The concept of market rate is lost on these folks because the belief is that the perk is working for the brand, which is an abusive mentality. It means that immense pressure is put on everyone to recognize "how lucky they are" to be employed by Equinox.

1.0
May 5, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get full access to most of the clubs and a decent discount on all of the overpriced services.

Cons

Poor upper management leadership. Very little upward movement and even worse compensation when you get there. Your training will be well below subpar and they are quick to get rid of people who A) Don't drink the cool-aid or B) Do not acclimate quickly enough to the position. Turn'em and burn 'em type mentality. If thats what you are into.

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