How can I bad mouth a company?

January 2, 2006 2:06 PM

Where are the best places to "bad mouth" a company?

I recently moved. My new home is 36 miles away from the gym, I signed up at, and 19 miles from their closest other location. My contract says I have to be 25 miles or more away from a comprable facility. My old gym had covered parking, a swimming pool, 2 racquetball courts, and was located in a nice office building.

The gym they say is closer to me is in a strip mall, has no swimming pool, 1 racquetball court, and no covered parking. So now we are quibbling back and forth regarding the definition of comprable.

I have filed complaints with the state Attorney General and the BBB today. But then I started thinking, where else could I create bad press about this company? I'd like to spread as much bad publicity about them as far across the Internet that I can.

Any suggestions?

posted by benjh to society & culture (14 answers total)

There's always RipOffReport.com.
posted by Gator at 2:24 PM on January 2, 2006

Any suggestions?

Don't bother? :-) Honestly, you probably won't get anything done with complaints on the internet. You *are* morely likely to end up with one of the following:

- Not just dumped as a customer (which is what I assume you are looking for) but BANNED FOR LIFE. As in, if you want to use that brand of gym again, forget about it.

- (unlikely, but it has been known to happen) Asking for libel charges. Even if you are 100% correct, do you want to spend forever talking to a judge about it?

You'll get a lot further with the BBB to start with. If their answer (which they will give, almost certainly) doesn't satisfy you, then just sue 'em, if you're serious about it.

Don't forget that it's likely the old facility has transferred your account to the new facility, along with the rest of the money. If you do choose to spread bad press, I'd limit it to the poor facility.
posted by shepd at 2:27 PM on January 2, 2006

Generally searching for the name of the company plus sucks as a URL works well to find other grumpy people who are dissatisfied with that company. If such a thing doesn't exist for the company you are mad at, you may want to try a very plain web page on a fairly busy site that is somewhat optimized to be found by people searching for "XYZ company sucks" I would like to show off my mad skills with an example: search Google for "greyhound sucks" See?

However, I'm probably not the only person here who is not quite sure what is wrong, and perhaps you could explain your problem more clearly to those of us who aren't familiar with gym contracts. Your gym is forcing you to go to the closer facility even though it doesn't have a pool and other amenities? Have you considered going the old "note from a doctor" route and saying you need the pool, not the closer facility?

In any case, best of luck, I've had lots of luck going the AG route, especially if I had a nice "how company XYZ could make things right with me" plan in advance.
posted by jessamyn at 2:41 PM on January 2, 2006

do you have any health issues? When I had a similar problem I found a clause in my contract that said if I had a doctor's note I could get out of the contract. I REALLY did (and still do) have a back problem. I got the doc to give me a letter and I was able to persue other places that that of than the sucky gym that was closer.
posted by nimsey lou at 2:59 PM on January 2, 2006

...searching for the name of the company plus sucks as a URL works well...
heh...the last company I worked for actually bought the "company name + sucks" domain, just to sit on it. I suspect it's becoming a common practice.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:35 PM on January 2, 2006

Gripe Log
HowTo Complain
aforementioned Rip Off Report (AKA Bad Business Bureau)
posted by oldmanyoung at 3:35 PM on January 2, 2006

What kind of requirements does your gym have for proving your current location? I had a three year contract with a major gym in SF that many people have reported cancellation problems with, and I was considering having some of my mail sent to a trusted friend who lived somewhere that met the requirements (50 miles away from the nearest gym*.) Fortunately, they didn't have one within 50 miles when I moved, but the process didn't seem too difficult to game. I think they were willing to accept any bill, not a utility or anything.

of course, it might be too late for you. You MAY feel better by venting on amazon or epinions or wherever else you can place a personal review.

* you're bullshit, Bally Fitness. You are bullshit.
posted by fishfucker at 3:40 PM on January 2, 2006

Not having covered parking or being in a pretty building don't really mean the gyms aren't comparable, though I'd say the swimming pool does. Is swimming a big part of what you did at the original location? How long is left on your membership, it may not be worth the fight. Can you sell what's left of your membership? You are the one who moved, so this might just be an associated cost of moving.
posted by JamesMessick at 4:04 PM on January 2, 2006

If you can't sell, as James suggests (that'd be my first option), have you complained to the higher-ups in corporate? A well-crafted letter with specifics, emphasizing the features that aren't comparable — sent to the company CEO or responsible veep by name — just might get you your refund.
posted by rob511 at 6:50 PM on January 2, 2006

I guess I need more clarification - are you attempting to get out of your contract entirely? If so, the lack of covered parking doesn't enter into the equation - the lack of swimming pool is your best (and probably your only - the closer one may only have one racquetball court, but it's got one...) bet as to it being not a "comparable" facility to your old gym.

Prepare for a long fight that'll ultimately get you more or less nowhere, if this is with one of the big chain gyms; if it's a more local chain, you may have better luck.
posted by pdb at 6:53 PM on January 2, 2006

Make up a small billboard and sit out in front of the facility. It's perfectly legal in most areas. (I've seen it done myself. The end results were favorable.)

Otherwise, you can just register a domain, as others have mentioned. I wouldn't worry too much about the libel/slander issue, as you're merely relaying the story of an experience that you've had, and you're not trying to profit with the domain.

Writing LOTS of letters to everyone up the chain might help as well. The company oughta decide what's more costly - letting you out of a contract, or facing bad press.

Does your local TV news station have a department that would be interested in doing a story? Most of our local stations have some sort of "consumer action" reporter. Might be worth a shot.
posted by drstein at 8:23 PM on January 2, 2006

Wouldn't it work to write up a fake lease for a place that is over 25 miles away? Or ask a friend to let you put one of their utility bills in your name for a month?
posted by hokie409 at 8:34 PM on January 2, 2006

I assume you're talking about Bally's? They are implacable. best bet is to try to buy yourself out of the contract.
posted by miss tea at 5:21 AM on January 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

It's not Bally's, but it is a big name gym with a name beginning with a G and ending with an apostrophe S.

I've met their criteria for moving away from their facility, so I don't really see a need to chalk it up as moving expenses.
posted by benjh at 5:42 AM on January 3, 2006