Spirit Treadmill and Fitness Warehouse, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada - treadmill repair

Complaints.com received the following consumer follow-up message on April 18, 2003:

From:

RE: Re: Complaint response

The machine was $1966.20 not 3000 as stated in the message below.

----- Original Message -----

From: Bruce Rempel

To: Email User

Cc: Email User

Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 12:02 AM

Subject: Re: Complaint response

Thanks for the update, I would dearly love to respond to that one on the web site too but will instead answer it as a reply to you both.

I would love to submit the litany of evidence to show Bryan Banard has not been at all truthful with his allegations of abuse on my part. He was never there but one time in which he called me a liar in front of several customers. We had not previously met, he took the store managers word over mine without asking for copies of letters etc I had sent or even asking any questions. I did not go into near the detail on the whole treadmill problem as I could have. The crowning touch on this treadmill ordeal was when the service manager decided to replace the 10 amp circuit breaker in my machine with a 15 amp circuit breaker to stop it from always tripping after about half of my 30 minute workout. (he maintained it was too small for the machine) The motor lasted about 20 days after that, and the electric motor repair company he told me to go to said the fix they did equated to replacing a fuse with a heavier one to stop it from burning out. All that does is ruin what the fuse was supposed to protect, in this case the motor was destroyed and the manager had the secretary or someone I had not talked to call and say he was unable to help any further with the machine. They answered no calls or fax after that.

To respond to the so called straw, there was a house plant knocked over near the treadmill by one of my daughters during moving to the city. I guess it was not totally cleaned up but I explained that to the service manager. Never was there a concern raised about condition or maintenance of the treadmill prior to that one instant or after it. The only service I was asked to do was use silicone lubricant on the deck and I did weekly. The motor and the internal areas were clean and regularly maintained in the manner the manager had advised and the machine still never worked more than a few months continuously the whole time I had it.

There were no components replaced at the store expense, I had the board, deck and control panel done on warranty well within the warranty period. The so called great deal he offered was give me 500 for a 3000 dollar machine on a trade. Why would I take another chance on them or that brand machine with the kind of service and warranty satisfaction I had been given. There was one service attempt they gave after warranty and they had me eat the cost of the motor check at a local electric repair depot. I had to remove the motor too as they did not want the machine in the building.

In closing, I wonder why they keep the business registered as a number rather than under the name on the store front. They refused the registered letter I sent to sort this mess out in court. If they are so sure they did all they could have then they should not have been afraid registered letters from me or court. I was going through major upheaval in my life do to my wife leaving or I would have taken time to have had the papers served on Bryan and proved my case in court.

I believe more consumers will take lumps rather than fight with business's like Fitness Warehouse as it takes a lot of energy and time to continually go after satisfactory resolution with a business that has no intention of making good on the warranty.

Bruce Rempel

Bernard does not tell you that I explained the called straw, It was a house plant that had been knocked over near the treadmill during a moving to the city. I had many troubles with it and lots of paper to verify that yet they avoided me. Never was there a concern raised about condition of treadmill prior to that one instant or after it. The motor and the internal areas were clean and regularly maintained in the manner the manager had advised.

There were no components replaced at his expense, I had the board, deck and control panel done on warranty well within the warranty period. The so called great deal he offered was give me 500 for a 3000 dollar machine on a trade. Why would I take another chance on them or that brand machine with the lack of service and warranty satisfaction I had been given. There was one service attempt they gave after warranty and they had me eat the cost of the motor check at a local electric repair depot.

I wonder why they keep the business registered as a number and why they refused the registered letter if they are so sure they did all they could above board the courts could have reviewed our case and made a ruling to support his or my allegations. If he was so ready to help they could have proved it with a paper trail of responses to my continued requests for help.

I believe more consumers will take lumps rather than fight with business's like Fitness Warehouse.

Bruce Rempel

Complaints.com received the following business reply on April 17, 2003:

From: Bryan & Gale Banerd [Email User]

RE: Complaint response

I would like to add this attached response to the following complaint site: http://www.complaints.com/december2002/complaintoftheday.december23.2.htm

As owner of Fitness Warehouse in Regina, I would like to submit some additional information that was not included in this complaint. Yes there were problems with this treadmill, and yes we attempted to fix this machine a number of times, replacing many components at our expense, long after the manufacturers warranty had expired.

Fitness Warehouse along with Spirit fitness worked together on a continual basis, attempting to repair the customer’s problems as they occurred over a number of years. One of the things we have to assume is that the customer provides the basic maintenance required such as deck lubrication, periodic cleaning, etc. On one occasion the treadmill was brought into our store covered with remnants of straw and other outdoor debris.

Lack of regular maintenance can accelerate motor and lower board problems over time. Aside from these issues, after many frustrating attempts we could not succeed at keeping this machine running in a manor satisfactory to the customer. In a final attempt to keep this customer happy we offered him a major discount on a new treadmill.

He declined and decided that someone else could satisfy his needs better than we could. Fitness Warehouse has been in business for the past 11 years. During that time we have assisted thousands of satisfied customers many who have referred new customers to our store. Our business is built on customer satisfaction, however on occasion we have to accept the fact that we cannot keep 100% of our customers happy 100% of the time. Bryan Banerd Pres. Fitness Warehouse Regina Sask.

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on December 22, 2002:

From: Bruce Rempel [Email User]

RE: Spirit Treadmill and Fitness Warehouse, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada - treadmill not repaired under warranty The manager and store owner tell you they will provide service and warranty on the products they sell. I wrote and phoned dozens of times with regard to problems I was having with the treadmill I bought from them. I hauled the thing in several times through out the warranty period only to wait months and get it back to find it still did not work.

The motor finally burned out and they refused to fix it during the warranty period. Now they have a competitor so they have doubled the warranty to match the new guy on the block. Bruce Rempel Email User