Topnotch, London Bridge

51-55 St. Thomas Street
London
SE1 3QX

Tel: 020 7403 4914

Date of visit: April 2011

I had call Topnotch, which is located in some arches at the back of London Bridge Station, months ago to enquire about trying their gym. On one occasion I was told that I’d be allowed to have a free trial and then on a separate occasions I was told that they didn’t do free trials. Finally, this morning a lady called Indie agreed to let me have a free trial pass.

When I got to the gym I was told to wait for a lady called Sugani, who arrived shortly after and gave me some paperwork to fill in. Sugani didn’t stop smiling throughout our interaction. However, she didn’t really understand about the industry and hadn’t even used most of the things that she was trying to sell me – she was basically clueless! When I told her that I was there for a free trial, she told me that I’d have to pay £10 (even my PhD in maths couldn’t help me out there). Anyway, after some insisting she agreed to let me try it for free. After she showed me the gym and gave me my guest pass, I asked her for a padlock for the locker and a towel. She said that she could only sell me a padlock (other gyms always lend you one on trial visits). Both Sugani and the man on the desk were really unhappy about giving me a towel. They made me feel like I was imposing! Hey, is that anyway to treat a royal guest? Sorry, but for me all customers should be thought of as royalty!

The club itself is large enough and contains both free weights and machines (most machines are the old style LifeFitness), two power plates (although they are a different brand), a cardio room with about 40 pieces of equipment in all, at least one studio for classes, a spinning room, a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, a sauna in the male changing rooms, and an on site physiotherapist.

Good Points: This club has many facilities, including a pool and Jacuzzi. The location is also very good. The place is set in arches and could be really something special (see what Soho Gyms have done under some railway arches in Waterloo). At least on Friday lunch time, when I was at the gym, it wasn't packed.

Bad Points: Sorry to say it, but there was no vibe in this place! The equipment is so old. The running machine that I used seemed to be on it’s last legs and wasn’t stable. This gym has no natural light and I just didn’t think that the lighting that had been installed was effective. There were only four mirrors in the main part of the gym. They have an old carpet on the floor and in general the décor and equipment are similar to the sort of thing that you’d find in your local council run sports centre.

The Staff: Come on people! More training! More focus! The staff didn’t know what they were doing. They looked hungry to sell/close, but didn’t understand the product. Sugani was telling me things like their cinema style cardio room is unique – she only needs to go over the bridge to check out Bannatyne’s on Old Broad Street and she’ll know he has exactly the same thing (with quality just as poor!). It also appears that she’d never taken any classes or tried the equipment (whoops).

Changing Rooms: They were ok. There was a cleaner in there when I took a shower – but he was just hosing the place down. Some of the showers smelt bad (yes, I know there are members that can’t be bothered to use the urinals). They need to use more bleach! The Sauna was really hot (which is good in my books), but also really small (max 5 people inside – and that’s not without some form of physical contact!), which is strange when you consider the size of the gym.

The Close: After my workout, sauna and then Jacuzzi, I met Sugani to see how she would try to close me. She offered me a £50 joining fee with about £63 per month for 6 months. There was also an option to pay £299.50 up front with no joining fee for six months. This gym would not be for me, it has a good range of facilities, but is under par on most of them.

Final note: The management really needs to think about how they can upgrade their facility (see Making Money in the Fitness Business, Thomas Plummer). They also need to think how they can make their staff happier – this is key to having happy customers.