Serious Accident from a Defective Treadmill

treadmill-accidentWith my interest towards fitness equipment, I constantly browse sports shops in the malls when I get the chance. Invariably it seems, it's the motorized treadmills and exercise machines that take space inside these shops because they're so big. Usually though, I just go past them without much notice.

A couple of weeks ago, while browsing for some quick release barbell collars, I overheard a bit of argument between a lady with her husband and the store manager. The lady was probably in her 50's and her husband was a Caucasian, and I'm assuming an American, at about the same age.

The store manager was a young lady in her 30's, I think. Apparently, the couple was there to complain about, supposedly, a defective treadmill that the lady purchased from the store.


Story of the Treadmill Accident

It seems the treadmill had a defective monitor and somehow, because of an improper or defective setting, went into high speed and threw her flying backwards.

The lady customer asked the store to fix the treadmill and she was given the number of the contractor who will fix the treadmill. The contractor was charging her Php 600 to pull out the defective exercise unit from her home.




The lady argued that she didn't want to pay for this treadmill pull-out charge. She paid Php 114,000 for the treadmill and expected good (and free) after-sales service. Either the contractor pulls the defective treadmill out to fix it at no charge or they do the fixing right in her home.

After the initial exchange, the store manager just listened instead because the lady has become furious. The lady even lowered her blouse to show the bruises on her chest and shoulders that she alleged resulted from the defective treadmill accident.

They looked bad and I suppose she's lucky her face didn't have any. She mentioned a wall clock she hang on to to minimize the impact of her being thrown away by the treadmill. (That part, I couldn't imagine.)

Not satisfied with the store manager's offer to help or lack of it, the husband who's been observing all this time, threatened with his "we'll sue you" statement.

I was actually expecting him to unleash that "bombshell" the second the lady started complaining. I suppose the store manager eventually agreed to waive the pull-out charge, and after a couple of minutes, the couple left.


Consumer Protection from Defective Merchandise

This incident reminds me so much of this YouTube video on defective exercise equipment like the treadmill.

It's an advertisement supposedly be a card company to protect consumers in purchasing defective merchandise. Presumably, the merchandise could be contested and card payments suspended.





Now I don't know how it the lady customer purchased the defective treadmill. Whether it's a charged purchase, only the sales staff and the customer knew.

So buying high-priced fitness equipment like this treadmill by credit and in installments is probably the better idea. That'll hopefully give you the leverage to get the satisfactory after-sales service.

The above video is actually funny, though staged for that commercial. It isn't as funny as this hilarious treadmill accident though. Seriously though, you can still do stationary running without a treadmill which is among the all-time best I've seen.

Anyway, unless I exercise in gym treadmills where you can get supervision, monitoring and help on the gym exercise equipment, I'm not expecting to use a treadmill soon. I'll stick to no-frills cardio exercise equipment like a balance stepper anytime.

Motorized fitness equipment for working out at home just scares me.



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