Icon Fitness hit or miss

Icon Fitness is the parent company for Altra shoes, Golds Gym products, NordicTrack, ProForm, Lotus, and several other fitness brands.

I've mentioned a few time about the iFit program that I have been using with my Nordic Track Treadmill and bike. Although I think it is a cool option to have on my equipment, it has been a very frustrating process. I could write several posts on experiences but I will try to keep this to a minimum.


Let me explain.
My equipment has always had the iFit compatibility but I only just subscribed to the service last January (in 2017).

1. Not only do you have to subscribe to the service, you have to purchase a module (that is pretty much a cassette that you have to insert into your treadmill or bike (or tread climber or whatever equipment you have that is compatible). I paid last January for my module and subscription.  The subscription is only good for one year but the module could potential last the life of the equipment.


The first module that I was given would not work properly. They had to send me another one.

2. Anytime I would call customer service, I would be on hold for no less than 30 minutes. Sometimes I've been on hold for over an hour. THIS IS FRUSTRATING. Apparently they need more customer service agents.

3. In addition, very little instructions on how to use the program are posted online. I asked a customer service rep once if I could find instructions online somewhere and he said "There are none, I guess this is my job security..haha"!   This was even more frustrating because of how long I have to wait on the phone to get someone to help.



4. On January 1, 2018, I decided I wanted to start using the ifit module with my TM again (#NewYearsGoals).  It again was NOT working properly.  The customer service department is understandably not open on New Years, so I end up calling them later that week to ask for help again.

That Wednesday (after another long wait), I get a customer service rep on the phone. She tells me that my module must have gone bad and that I need to purchase another one. WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE... I have a subscription to this service for one year (until the end of January 2018), there is NO WAY I am spending that much money on another module if I didn't even get a full year out of the one I have now.  The Customer Service rep tells me that there is only a 90 day warranty on the module. WHAT??? But the subscription is for one year, why would the module only have a 90 day warranty on it? She informs me that most modules last ten years or more.

I call back a week later (and wait on hold for what feels like FOREVER) and this time I want to talk to a supervisor.  Of course the Customer service rep wants to know what I want so I tell her my story.  She comes back and informs me that I need to renew my subscription (I am so frustrated that I don't know that I want to renew, but I do kind of want to try the service again since I didn't feel like I got my monies worth out of it last year). So here's the deal, If I renew my subscription it is going to be "X" amount of dollars. However, if my module is not working than I can buy a new module (that comes with a free subscription for one year) and they will knock $115 off the price.

This almost doesn't even make sense.  I take the deal. So now I just saved $115 off the subscription price and I am getting both the subscription and a new module.  She said I would have the new module in 7 to 10 days.

5.  My  new module was suppose to be here in 7-10 days. After 2 weeks, no module, and I finally decided to look my order up online to track it. I see that it hasn't even been shipped yet. Not only has it not been shipped, but I was charge $5 for a " Delivery Upgrade".   Upgrade???  Why?  Turns out they were out of the modules at the current warehouse. Since I called, they decided to send me a module from a different warehouse. Why not just do that from the beginning?  I got my module a week later.

But, that's not the end of the story. Remember when I said Scott and I spent about 6 hours one weekend trying to set it up?  Yup, turns out that module was broken too.  I called customer service (stayed on hold for 34 minutes, which I know is now par for the course), and she pretty much told me that if the light on the module does not come on, than the module is no good.   She sent another one and in 7 days I had it.

I've only used this new module one time so far but so far it works!

So tell me, how would you handle this situation? Do you think you would continue to subscribe to this program? I am going to see how this year goes and then  decide if I am willing to pay again for a third year. -M

Thank you if you read to the end of this post. We are going to be changing up the Friday 5 soon so stay tuned!






36 comments:

  1. Wow, this makes me really glad that my treadmill can with the system built in so I dont have to deal with the module stuff! I felt like the customer service for NordicTrack was ok..Ive experienced worse. Our treadmill took longer than we would have liked to be delivered but nothing like what you experienced.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That module thing sounds like a pain. My NordicTrack has it built in, but honestly I let it lapse after the first year. I just didn't find it that useful. Hope you can get things all figured out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping that I enjoy the programs it has to offer. By the time I get to use them properly it will probably be summer..haha

      Delete
  3. wow. I'm am such a tech idiot, I'd be needing more help than the limited assistance they've given you. And, I'd probably assume it was ME messing things up (or simply not figuring things out correctly) and would have given up. I guess it things are working now, maybe you finally have a legit one?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually thought it WAS ME, but I tried everything I was suppose to do and it still didn't work. I needed customer service to confirm that it was broke.

      Delete
  4. I'd send them a copy of this post. What a shame that they have such a poorly functioning product.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, man! That is SO frustrating! I might try to find the company owner's address and send a letter.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It sounds like it is more trouble than it's worth really! I find running on the TM a chore to begin with so I would be out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like running on the treadmill when I have this program. It's just so frustrating when it doesn't work.

      Delete
  7. What does the module track? Sounds like it's not worth the trouble to me. I still keep an excel sheet of my miles (and sometimes use Strava) so maybe I'm not the right person to ask!? Have a good weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The module doesn't really track anything. It is just a library (of sorts) of workouts that I can download to my treadmill or my bike. They are virtual map so you can see on a screen where you are running and it changes your elevation when need be. It's pretty cool when it works.

      Delete
  8. OH wow, that definitely sounds like a very frustrating experience. That's a shame because it seems like it would be a cool piece of technology if everything worked properly.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are more patient than me! I definitely would have quit on #4. I think a 90-day warranty for anything tech is ridiculous. Smartphones have at least a year usually, and they're basically intended to go obsolete within a few years...

    ReplyDelete
  10. That sounds incredibly frustrating !! It sounds cool but I don't know if I would put up with all of that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Holy crap, what a mess!!! I don't know if I would put up with all that nonsense but I lack patience. I would have probably flipped my lid, especially after being on hold for that long. That is just bad business practice, if you ask me. I agree with Wendy - you should send them a copy of this post or at least tag them on Twitter or something like that. They need to know. And, you never know, you might find out you're not the only one (maybe that's why you got such a good deal on the most recent one?).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I already had tweeted them about how long I always stay on hold. No kidding, one time I was on hold so long that I was able to shower, get out and dress, and dry my hair (when I had long hair), and I was STILL on hold!

      Delete
  12. I hate electronics sometimes. So frustrating. When things work, nothing better - when they dont? I want to punch myself in the face. Hopefully you're going good now & there wont be any more issues.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I almost got a Nordic track because I wanted to check out the iFit and the courses, but none of my research showed I'd have to pay for a one-year subscription. They didn't have that anywhere on their website until I was reviewing the cart. No thanks! I don't want to simulate a run in France that badly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nordic track in general is a pretty good brand. You can get the iFit program for several other treadmills too. I love the simulated runs! That is the best part of the ifit (when it works).

      Delete
  14. Wow, I would not be happy AT ALL with this product; I think you deserve a full refund for how crappy it has worked along with having to deal with their poor customer service! Not a stellar review - I hope they see this as major improvements sound like they're in order!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I paid for an entire year and I sure do hope the product works for all 12 months!

      Delete
  15. How frustrating! It sounds like it's more hassle than it's worth.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well, you just wrote a really good ad for NOT using their service. My ancient mill actually came with ifit -- keep in mind, it's like 16 years old. Way back then I think you were supposed to be able to plug it into your router, but I never tried it.

    I'm lucky to have a treadmill at home and a decent sized flat screen tv opposite it. Otherwise I think I'd have a lot more issues using a treadmill.

    Horrible customer service, so now I know never to get it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea, It's a shame that the customer service is not the best and they make you wait on hold so long. TV makes all the difference in my treadmill runs too. I am suppose to be able to hook the ifit to the big screen tv too but after all these I'm not even going to attempt to do that!

      Delete
  17. Unless you absolutely love the service you get (when you get it!) and it becomes more reliable, I would forget it. Aren't there apps that would do the same thing? This sounds like an utter disaster. I bet it will be a thing of the past, sooner than later. Thanks for the link up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would love to find an app that does this! I bet it would be a lot cheaper too.

      Delete
  18. I've never used this at all, so I don't know its benefits. But I would not reward the poor service by giving them more money. And I'd use social media to make my point. Like this post for one thing. Make sure it gets shared a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is really CRAPPY customer service! Sorry you had to go through this. Unless I really love what what this module does, then I would keep it. If not, then goodbye.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is crazy! I don't know if I had the patience you've had.

    ReplyDelete

Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.