Fitness Center Closes Suddenly
Posted: April 29, 2011 at 5:44 a.m.
The sudden closing of an area fitness center has some of its customers angry. Equipment was moved out of Fuse Family Fitness at 1400 S.E. Walton Blvd. on Wednesday. The moving continued Thursday.
At A Glance
The Email
This email was sent to many Fuse members Wednesday night.
“Dear Member,
Unfortunately the landlord would not continue our previous lease rate; as a result we could not come to terms on a new lease. Therefore Fuse Family Fitness has been forced to find another location. Taking care of our members is our top priority!! As such, we have coordinated for all of our members to have access to Fitness Zone at 100 N. Dixieland Rd, Rogers as of Thursday April 28th. All current memberships will be honored at that location. In addition, monthly membership fees will be reduced to $25 per month and the facility offers 24 hour access 7 days per week. Classes and childcare will resume on Monday at their normal times. We are currently in negotiations for another lease space that we believe will better serve our members. We anticipate a new location will be operating in the very near future. We truly apologize for any inconvenience. We are very excited about our new location and we look forward to improving your Fuse Family Fitness. Thank you for your understanding.”
Source: Staff Report
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Comments
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I heard they were moving to Bogota , Columbia...
Posted by: BillNoir
April 29, 2011 at 9:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
If I had a membership at this club, I'd worry... Mork was involved with a gym in Madison that did the same thing a couple of years ago: http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/5.... And the other owner, Chuck Morgan was pardoned for cocaine distribution by then governor Clinton after his stepdad donated $42K to Clinton's campaign fund http://www.nationalreview.com/article... . If possible, I'd get my money back and run the other way.
Posted by: Dexter
April 29, 2011 at 9:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
I'm a member of this gym, and just contacted Harley Mork to cancel my membership, effective immediately. How much do you want to bet I'll still have my account debited for May's dues?
Posted by: RogersMom
April 29, 2011 at 11:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
I would call my bank and BLOCK any attempt to collect money from my account
Posted by: proud
April 29, 2011 at 12:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
I hope they handle it more professional than Pulse Fitness did when they closed in Fayetteville, but it doesn't look promising.
I've always belonged to a gym because fitness is important to me, but man, why is the business side of it so consumer-unfriendly and sometimes even sleazy?
Posted by: JayTee
April 29, 2011 at 1:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Here's the newest email that just went out to members- I'm not impressed. Sounds like a lot of rear-covering to me.
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:08:42 -0400
To:
From: R-1-1578648-42816048-2-1-US2-73BE212B...
Subject: Fuse Update
Dear Members, First and foremost, I want to thank all the members that have been so very gracious and supportive during this transition. I completely empathize with how frustrating this transition may be for all of you. I truly, truly am thankful that such a large majority of the membership has been so understanding. I just wanted to send this email to let you know that I am answering everyone's emails as quickly as possible. I will be calling each of you throughout the next few days to respond and answer any additional questions that you may have. I absolutely assure you that the requirement to move was as much a shock to me as it was to you. I truly thought that the property owner would have worked with me as a new owner. I also assure you that in the 15 years of consulting and operating health clubs and fitness programs; the members have ALWAYS been NUMBER 1!!! We are doing everything in our power to get a new club up as quickly as possible. In the interim Fitness Zone has agreed to allow us to use their facility. I am very grateful to Andy (the owner of Fitness Zone) and his members for helping us out with this transition. I am happy to say that our entire staff will be fully employed during this transition. Thus we will be having chidcare; all of our classes; our cleaning team; our personal trainers, and our customer service staff. My intent is to attempt to make this transition as painless as possible. I will email all members weekly to inform you of our progress towards moving into the new location. Please ensure that any friends that are members that have not received an email from me, come into Fitness Zone to give us your email. Taking care of our members is the highest priority for me. Thank you again for your patience. Sincerely, Harley Mork
Posted by: RogersMom
April 29, 2011 at 4:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
: ( Working at a bank and learning about this missfortune from outraged citizens yesterday bummed me out. I sort of feel like a rape victim only worse because i had to pay the rapist for the miss-treatment. I'm not one for pointing fingers. I mean I'm only HUMAN, so i can't judge my own kind regardless of their IQ level. I'm only 22 (of course i have bigger things to worry about) and my contract doesn't expire until the summer of 2012; however it's sad that this happened here in Arkansas i hope that who ever it is that is has or will be benefiting from this type of scheme will be brought to shame or justice . Preferably Justice first then shame then a little bit of more justice More shame and then Justice again............ but like a said I'M ONLY HUMAN. I HOPE ALL OF YOU CURRENT MEMEBERS WILL TAKE THIS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN THE HAPPENINGS OF LIFE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS TO KEEP WORKING OUT! DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR HEALTH BECAUSE OF THIS CHILDISH ACT. TAKE THAT ANGER AND USE IT TO PUNCH A BAG RUN THAT EXTRA MILE SWEAT OFF YOUR OUTRAGE. after all being healthy, living longer is what you initially signed up for. 8-) For all the Legal people involved god-speed more power to ya! Keep on Keeping ON!
Posted by: MeridianMale
April 30, 2011 at 4:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Surprise, surprise- my bank account had the full amount for May dues drafted out today for my Fuse membership. Harley Mork had promised that we could cancel our memberships with no penalty, or continue our memberships at a rate of $25/month. I can't get anyone to contact me to cancel my membership, and the amount that was drafted out of my bank account is significantly more than $25. I know I'm not the only person getting shafted by this Mork character- I'm just not sure what my next steps need to be.
Posted by: RogersMom
May 3, 2011 at 10:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RogersMom--
You could call the local Better Business Bureau office and the state Attorney General's office. They can tell you if there is a file on the business, and either start one or add your information to an existing one.
Posted by: AlphaCat
May 3, 2011 at 12:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Please Fuse Members, we as employees are working as fast and hard as we can to resolve any out standing matters. Im not a owner or manger im hourly employee. We will have new gym location within the next 7 days. Peoples past and previous mistakes, should not enter into this matter. We all have been young and made mistakes in the past. So please give us the chance.
Posted by: Help123
May 6, 2011 at 4:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Anyone familiar with the owners know they've had MANY chances! And btw, the facebook page mentioned in the article has been shut down. A new one has been started that may be useful to those trying to get their money back. Just search for "Ex-Fuze Fitness Members".
Posted by: Dexter
May 7, 2011 at 7:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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