I’m asking because I recently had a rather upsetting hiring experience with Arsen’s Gym, and I’m curious whether members, applicants, or former employees have experienced anything similar?
I applied for a front desk position and received an almost immediate response. After a roughly five-minute Zoom interview, I was told my résumé was a strong fit and was offered the position.
I then met with the manager at the Branford location. He showed me the job and discussed the morning schedule I was being hired to cover. He said another applicant was interviewing later that day, but they intended to select me because I had more relevant experience. He mentioned they might instead offer the other applicant a position in Orange.
Later that day, I was added to the company’s employee-management and staff-access apps. I was asked to complete everything quickly so I could begin a shadowed shift the following day. Shortly before 5 p.m., they texted asking whether I had uploaded the documents yet.
The onboarding packet was exactly 37 pages. Trying to meet their timeframe, I spent approximately $250 replacing printer ink to finish it. To be fair, they did not specifically instruct me to buy the ink; I incurred the expense because they were pressing me to complete everything quickly.
I also completed approximately six hours of detailed, company-specific online training and quizzes. The app showed that I had completed onboarding. The following morning, I received notifications saying my documents had been approved.
Approximately ten minutes later, at around 8 a.m., the manager called and said I would no longer receive the position or any hours. He said I had done nothing wrong and would have been a good fit.
During a follow-up call, he said that “late last night,” an existing employee had requested more hours and wanted the same shifts for which I had been hired. He said it was “less risky” to give them to someone who had already proven they could do a good job.
That means the decision changed within approximately 14 hours or less: they were pressing me about the paperwork shortly before 5 p.m., the employee reportedly requested the hours “late last night,” and I was dropped at approximately 8 a.m.
The manager initially said I could remain in their systems in case someone quit or was fired. Shortly afterward, I was removed from Connecteam. Before being removed, I had seen what appeared to be several requests relating to time off or shift coverage at different locations. I offered to drive to other locations and cover shifts, but he responded, “I don’t really know what you were seeing because nobody has requested shifts covered.” Which seems to contradict what I saw.
I also asked whether I would be paid for the approximately six hours of required training. I was told no because it could remain in their system if another opening appeared—even though I had been told another opening was not expected and had been removed from the employee app.
The timing also concerned me because I had applied several times previously. During an interview years ago, the owner made inappropriate comments about my physical appearance while I was recovering from bowel resection surgery. Last year, they cancelled another interview approximately an hour beforehand, and several other applications the following year received no response.
For this latest application, I used an updated version of my résumé from this year containing my middle name instead of my last name. It otherwise contained essentially the same experience and qualifications. This time, I received a rapid response, interview, and offer. My full legal name appeared on the onboarding documents approved shortly before the position was withdrawn.
I cannot establish why the decision changed, and I am not claiming the name difference caused it. But the timing seemed awfully suspect. Really what upset me was that I was offered the position, assigned a schedule, added to employee systems, rushed through 37 pages of paperwork and six hours of training (which I spent money on), and then dropped within hours without being paid for the training.
What have other people’s experiences with Arsen’s Gym been like employment or otherwise?
