Tabitha Viscontas

Review of Palo Alto Family YMCA

This is the sixth YMCA I've visited. It's my first...

This is the sixth YMCA I've visited. It's my first in th U.S., though. So maybe that's why it seems to suck so bad? Do U.S. YMCA's just suck?

Reception is staggeringly unhelpful. Going beyond basic incompetence and impotence, they seem to actually dislike helping patrons. They don't ask clarifying questions when presented with problems. They don't offer options or solutions.

Last time I visited there was a clear difference in policy between what they said and what I had been told in emails, and they did absolutely nothing to find out where the discrepancy had come from. They didn't even acknowledge the error or try to find a solution that approximated what I had been told to expect - just told me to do it their way or leave.

I wanna love this place so badly - the fitness staff seem friendly and competent, the equipment feels fine - but damn, I get such a bad taste in my mouth every time I visit. :(