Eastmoreland Racquet Club
based on 17 reviews
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 653-0820
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Category: Sports & Recreation
Tags:
gyms, tennis, tennis portland, poor service, run down, yup, it's a dump, indoor tennis, outdoor tennis, clay courts, swimming, volleyball, portland, eastmoreland, poor, dumpy, cold, terrible, sucks
I am the owner of this business
Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Parking: Private Lot
Wheelchair Accessible: yes
17 reviews for Eastmoreland Racquet Club
As an ex-member, Christine I will start with you as a General Manager you are a total and complete failure and should be parking cars some where. In the real business world you would be saying would you like fries with that order. You and most of the people in that club know if daddy had not bought you a job you would still be unemployed. I could go on and on about you but moving right along. Upper management condones male employees to enter the women’s locker room. This actually did happen to me. Early one morning after my work out as I was showering for work. I complained loudly even wrote a letter to Mrs. Vessy. But do you think that the young man that entered the locker room was spoken to or reprimanded. No Alvena Peterson the operations manager was for leaving a note in his in box asking him please not to go in the ladies locker room. She was actually written up for this. Cause God forbid some one might see the note and it would cause him to be embarrassed. And I wasn't. Oh and not to mention there were three little girls there changing from their swim suits to street cloths. I can't speak about the men’s locker rm but the ladies stinks, has cracking peeling paint, and half of the time only one shower works, of which there is only two. The common area carpet, and tables are always dirty, the heat never works there, most of the work out equipment is old and outdated so it only works half of the time. The pool was painted not resurfaced, as they would like the members to think. And half of the time the wheelchair accessible parking place's a filled with employs and they charge as if they were a high classed club when they actually pay their members to stay there. If I had to rate this club on a scale of 1 to 10 the rating would be 0.
This club is one of the worst I have ever been to. The lighting on the courts is poor, the ceilings leak above the courts & there are always wet towels on the courts, the bathrooms stink, & the showers are slimey, There is water damage through out the building from the ceiling leaking. They charge towel fees for towles I wouldn't wipe my dog with.
I have been a member of this club for over 20 years & since Emmert bought the club the club has continued to go down hill.
The only resaon I stay a member of this club is because I can always get a court. The reason for that is membership is so low, you can always get a court.
If you two were honest I would leave you alone.
I'll start with you Derin. I think you forgot to check the "Hide my real name box". Either you have friends defending you in your name--not too mention your friend in life and, perhaps only coincidentally, criticism, Mark Desantis--or you ended up writing about yourself lauding your coaching ability in the third person. That's quite funny. Perhaps if so many of the kids in your program didn't get illegitimate free lessons at the expense of the tennis club then you could easily find a "worse tennis club anywhere in the world".
As for you Mark, your criticism is not only ignorant but presumptuous and late. I'll grant you that the club HAD been going downhill and membership was declining, but the rest of your rant is just un-informed and subjective piffle. Let's acknowledge, for the viewing public, that the club is one of the oldest in town. As a result, short of destroying it and starting over, maintenance and building technology is difficult to maintain and improve. The roof will be fixed soon and the new lighting will be further improved. The design is under way now. The entire interior, including the locker rooms, is about to be re-painted and the carpet's were cleaned very recently. Other clubs charge towel fees. There's always comparative advantages and disadvantages with clubs, as with most anything. Eastmoreland is centrally located, you can get time on the court without stressful and disappointing effort, and the courts are spacious. You won't run into the divider net that easily on a wide serve. Not too mention Eastmoreland is very affordable compared to other clubs enrollment fees. The owners and management are doing what they can and improvements are being made and will continue to be made, too bad you won't be around to enjoy them.
My post was in response to what was said about me.I had a few members ask me to do so and i did.Im not sure where you come up with the free lessons bit?How bout this:dont hide your name if you are going to make outlandish statements without any validation.Yes i was trying to be funny in my little rant.I hope that you(our hidden little source)enjoyed it
Derin M. Hibbs
I will admit I was the first person to leave a comment on this web site. I was the one who signed it disappointed. The comment by Blank B must be Christine Vessey herself, because in the entire time I worked there never once did a member of the club say anything good about the club. I dealt with nothing but complaints on a daily basis, due to the fact that the owners of the club do not put any money into the club. Christine can't ever come out & say anything all by herself she has to hide behind her daddy or her manager, as you can see she did not sign the comment at the top of the page, only signing the owner of the club. The truth is she does not own the club her daddy does. She is the general manager who never comes into the club or at least she never did when I worked there. Most of the members only knew her by name. She likes to work from the comfort of her home giving orders over the phone, while the rest of us dealt with the member complaints such as the bathrooms stink, the carpets are gross both in the bathrooms & in the lobby, the lights are constantly going out on the courts & they will not change the bulbs until 9 bulbs or more are out, the ceiling leaks on most of the courts, the courts are dirty, the fans above the corts do not work (except for the one on court 6) & thats just the inside of the club. The members asked for camares in the parking lots because thier cars are constantly being broken into. So Mark Desantis is correct on all he had to say, & I know there are so many more people that say the same things. I used to take care of Derins lesson payments & not one child was taught for free. If they didn't pay on the day of the lesson they paid by the end of the month when we billed them. Derin was the best coach ERC had to offer & there is not another like him. I wonder if Amy has ever taught a child well enough to make State Champs like Derin did. From what I understand the membership is still low, & the club is losing money. The truth about the management team is that they are fired every few years. Mark Desantis is riight about that. They are also very much under paid. Once Scott Vessey actually said to me that they paid thier managers the big bucks to deal with the members complaints. Did all of you know that the only difference between big bucks & little bucks is $1.25. As Operations Manager I never made more than $10.00 per hour.
Blank B said the pool was resurfaced (the pool was painted), the lighting has been fixed from what I understand it is very poor lighting & the members are unhappy because it's so dark in there.
The truth about this club is that the owner of the club will never put much money into it. It will be nickled & dimed to death. Every year they make minor improvements while the members suffer with membership hikes & new fees. If they don't raise the regular dues they raise the summer dues, or they start charging fees for something they have been giving out for free for years such as the coffee, or the towels.
I'm sure that Christine will come back at this comment with me being a disgruntled ex employee, & I may be but everything I said here today is the truth.
Just go take a tour of the club & smell the bathrooms! Then go to Mountain Park it's a better club!
This place has really gone downhill. The roof leaks, the bathroom stinks, and membership is on the decline. The ownership has no pride in ERC anymore and it used to be a premier club in Portland. They nickel and dime any small cosmetic improvements they make and are so cheap now they took away the free coffee. Dues were raised last year and part of the reasoning was because of towels and what do they do recently? They start charging a $1 towel fee. I'm not sure why the members put up with the poor ownership of this place and lack of pride. The upstairs is wasted space and would be a great spot for a large fitness room. Instead there is just a small room downstairs for weights and the machines upstairs above the lobby are outdated. Court 1 was made into a basketball court a few years back and members were outraged. They also still left the scoreboard for basketball up, talk about apathy.
cmon....Who wrote this?The current management staff?You would be hard pressed to find a worse tennis club anywhere in the world.Its nice to say something positive about Amy but maybe leave your opinion about Derin out.Derins tennis program paid the bills at this warehouse.More than half of those kids that came to this dump were non members and when there are 30 of them sometimes you need to yell to be heard.Plus most of them were taller than Derin so he had to distinguish himself in some form.
The wonderful members at this smelly,rundown eyesore of a building deserve better.Find a tennis club anywhere in the country more poorly run than this palce and free tennis lessons to all that can travel south 11 hrs.
ERC lost the best pro in Portland when Derin Hibbs left. The new lights are not an improvement, the roof still leaks, and yes the bathrooms still stink. The management team changes yearly as they are usually fired when it comes time for their annual review and possible raise. This used to be a premier club in Portland, but now membership is very low. The only reason the members that are still there stay is because court time is easy to get and because of friendships amongst members. Personally, I left the club for Cascade Athletic Club because it has more facilities: basketball courts, big fitness room, indoor pool, outdoor pool, waterpark, racketball courts, etc and it's $15 less a month. Eastmoreland no longer has free coffee, charges a $1 towel fee, and basically nickel and dimes any small cosmetic improvements to the club they make (tax write-offs). The owner has no pride in the club. It's very, very sad.
Blank B I disagree with you whoever you are. This club is one of the most run down clubs in Portland. Derin taught my children & was wonderful with them. Not all teachers reach all children. If Amy is good with your kids maybe she just was able to connect better with them. Derin was great with my kids. So was Lisa. They both are two very caring people that are good at what they do. The new management team is very cold & unfreindly. The old mangement team went out of thier way to help you. I considered them friends as well as front desk people. This includes Jeanna Nicotera, Darryl Kealy, Annebelle Pettit, & Alvena Peterson. The front desk people that have come & gone in the last 4 years are too numerous to mention.
Eastmoreland Racquet Club has made many improvements in the last year. For one thing, the club has invested in improving the lights, roof and court fans. I have been there many years and have the light fixtures do not leak when it rains! They resurfaced the pool and outside courts last year. Another improvement is they changed out the management team. They are very friendly and helpful. Also, my child has learned more from the current tennis pro, Amy Juppenlatz, in the first two weeks he attended her clinics than in the year he was taught by Derrin Hibbs. Not only would Derrin just walk around the kids and not actually teach them, but he was mean and would yell at them! Amy is very hands on and is great with the kids. ERC is wonderful!
Eastmoreland Racquet Club used to be the premier club of it's day. Unfortunately it has been let go. The owners do not take care of it. The ceiling leaks on the tennis courts so there are constantly wet towels on the courts. The members are wonderful but completely neglected by the the management. Money is the only thing on the owners mind. They do not care about the members. They raise dues every year & if they don't raise the dues they try to stick it to you in other ways such as towel fees etc. As for the fitness side of the club it's almost non-existent. The workout equipment is old & has many problems. The workout area is on the landing above the lobby, so when someone is up there working out the whole ceiling is shaking & many have been afraid that it will come down. The building is riddled with water damage. When it rains I have seen water come down through the light fixtures. Often there is a nasty sewer smell That makes me sick to my stomach. For years there was a huge whole in the outside wall that an owl lived in. The just fixed that last year. You have to be very careful about your car. They have break ins constantly. The owners refuse to do anything about it. We asked for a camera & they told us that if we brought membership up by 50% they would put in cameras basicly telling us that if we would sell the club for them then they would put in the cameras. I don't know how you could sell a club that is the third world of Tennis Clubs!
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defamationdebunker
LMAO, the sentiments are shared! Pause on the presumptuous posturing already, this is not Christine nor do I speak for her. In fact, I have plenty of criticism for her myself! The difference is that I balance it with a reasonable, honest approach. And also, lmao, I'm curious how your doing anything but asking, "Would you like fries with that?", with such writing ineptitude. Sorry to deprive you of pointless satisfaction Derin but if I said who I was it wouldn't mean a thing to any one here because none of you know who I am. I'm quite sure of that. Besides, knowing who I am has no bearing on the reasonableness or truth of these conversations, does it? Just for the record, I've been at Eastmoreland when you've been coaching and I've played at almost every tennis club in this city. Thus, I have perspective. Lmao, no one with more than a 9th grade education could take your argument seriously with your hyperbolic terms and useless generalizations. You people are so dishonest. Hey 'veteran', ever played at Sunset Athletic Club? The overall brightness there is no better. Actually I think it's a bit worse! But it's modern and swanky if that's what you want. When was the last time you saw the ceiling leak? Did you miss the lift they've had there for the last few months fixing them, or at least trying? They've worked on roof repairs in the last two months at least twice that I know of. They came back because they weren't all fixed. Someone try and tell me the management, simply, doesn't care! And Alvena, I'm sure many of us would like to join Mountain Park, but there's a waiting list to do so. But there's a brand new private club in the works for Lake Oswego so their membership will probably loosen up a bit. You and Mark have it almost entirely wrong and backwards. I've seen Christine and Scott in there several times in the last few months, not that I care to see them. But, their, and management's pride, if anything is stronger than ever in the club as evidenced by the new lights, and continuous work on them, roof leak fixes, new paint, nets fixed, hardwood floor removed at end of court 5, etc. You make a horribly unconvincing case. It's just more subjective, irrational, and generalized piffle. Go do something your better at.
Alvena M
Whoever you are, you have to be either owners or management otherwise you wouldn't know anything about the inner workings of the club.If your not Christine then you must be Stephanie otherwise what makes you think that Derin taught lessons to childeren for free! The only person who said things like that was Christine and she wouldn't say it to anyone that was not in management. Unless she put ideas into your head because the only people that knew anything about the bookkeeping with Derins lessons, was the bookkeeper, Derin, Lisa & I. The person that left the message about the guy that walked into the womens locker room quit because of the incident. She was correct I was written up for asking him not to enter the ladies room. Christine & Scott loved me until I refused to be pushed around by them, when I refused to take a pool class to take care of the pool during the summer (because they refused to give me another $1. per hour), the relationship went down hill fast. One of the last straws came when Scott wanted me to fire Sam for his disabilties, with Scott saying "He can't speak well enough to sell the club" Mabey I was not the best Operations Manager of that club, I'm sure I was not as good as Stephanie (who I'm sure has tripled membership by now) but I worked damned hard for that club. running around during the day, for pool testing, back & forth between the clubs for tennis balls, shopping at costco & anywhere esle to save a dime, working 7 days a week & at times 15 hours a day. I also collected over $15,000. in accounts that were in arrears (which I was promisd a % of that I never saw). I sat at that front desk freezing in the winter, & roasting in the summer. No one loved that club or the members of that club like I did. I did all that not because I thought I was a great Tennis club Manager, or that I had a wonderful career at ERC, but because I loved the members of the club, & I loved being at the club. I cried more for the members when I was fired than I did because we couldn't make our rent or buy food to go on the table.
The only person that is being dishonest here is you. They fix the nets every year, they try to fix the ceilings every year, the fans haven't worked in over ten years (& if they finally did fix them Yea) They finally moved the wooden court wow that only took three years. Go do something I'm better at, I did the best I could with little or no money. I asked many times for the wooden court to be moved, the ceilings to be fixed, & many other reapirs to be done. The truth is, is that nothing will be done unless Terry Emmert feels it's necessary, & both clubs are very low on his priority list. Every year they do minor repairs & expect the members to jump for joy. Where are the cameras for the parking lots that the members asked for 4 years ago? The members just want to feel safe with thier cars or walking into a dark club at night. They let the club go & they will never be able to fix it the way it should be fixed. I noticed you didn't say anything about the bathrooms, they must still smell like sewage. Before you attack members or ex employees over this club mabey you should try to understand why they are upset with the owners & management of this club.
I could rant on forever about the Vesseys or the club but I'm sure you will not understand how hurt I was by them until it's you that is on the chopping block
defamationdebunker
Dear narrow minded Alvena,
Is it not possible to know these few things about the club by just being a frequent guest who talks with employees and other members and who play's at the club frequently? If you don't think so, then you are rather naive. This is mostly easily observed information. Were not talking about "inner workings" of the club. It is an empirical fact that the club has been painted, the roof has been mostly fixed, etc. I have been there, seen it, and experienced it, have you? And your telling me I'm dishonest about those things? You don't need to go on ad naseum about your subjective experiences with Christine and Scott nor do you need to defend yourself and your supposed achievements there, no one is questioning them. All my claims are objectively verifiable. Go check it out yourself. My "go to something your better at" was of course referencing your ability to put together a sensible and plausible point. Like I said, which apparently didn't register with you, I have plenty of my own criticisms for the club and it's management and ownership but it's balanced with a fair and honest perspective. You should learn how to do that.
Alvena
All I have to say to you is, you are the minority! There are less people that like that club & the management , than hate it. One other thing I didn't say you being dishonest over the "fixing up of the club", I'm narrow minded & can't make a point, here's a point for you. If your not the owner or mangement that means you are just a member, so talking to you is useless. Have Good day.
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