You dirty gym rat!
The company that cleans Crunch gyms’ dirty towels was so desperate to hold on to its business that it bypassed the gym’s corporate execs and duped front-desk clerks into signing Crunch to a burdensome new contract, a lawsuit alleges.
Unhappy with the service, Crunch was debating whether to renew its 2009 deal with Philadelphia-based facilities-management Aramark to provide Crunch with clean towels when it was allegedly put through the wringer.
Sensing it was about to lose the gym, Aramark “bypassed legitimate channels of negotiation” in November 2010 and tricked desk jockeys at four Manhattan Crunch outlets, including one on Christopher Street, into signing boilerplate contracts with substantial penalties, according to Manhattan Supreme Court papers filed last week by the gym.
Crunch’s unwitting, entry-level employees thought they were just signing off on the daily towel delivery, according to court papers.
Crunch let the original deal expire in 2011, but continued working with Aramark without a new contract until it was slammed with mysterious overcharges, the gym claims in court papers.
That’s when Aramark allegedly whipped out the secret contract and tried to enforce it, Crunch claims.
Growing suspicious, Crunch said it uncovered routine overcharges and improper billing from Aramark going back for years.
Crunch has endured “an onslaught of deceptive and harmful business practices by Aramark,” according to court papers.
Crunch is seeking unspecified damages.
Aramark, which also provides uniforms and handles food service, declined to comment on the litigation.
