Not happy, but they earned a 5 star
Boy, this is a tough review to write… while I am disappointed in my experience with Hydrow, I have no choice but to give them 5 stars for being a reputable, honest and customer service focused organization. I painstakingly researched rowing machines for months. I finally decided on Hydrow for a number of reasons. It looks super cool, is built like a tank, other reviews were very complementary and they offered a no-risk 30 day trial period. There was also financing options with no interest. What could go wrong? Well, after ordering my unit, having it delivered, assembling it and hauling it upstairs my frustrations began… It turns out that the unit literally has no functionality other than random rowing if you don’t buy their $44 a month subscription. When I say nothing, I mean like nothing… it will give you stats on your current row, but will not save them or accumulate your usage over time. The screen displays an annoying message that you need to activate the ridiculously expensive monthly membership to access ANY videos, save your workouts, etc. I was shocked… maybe I missed something on their webpage and ads, but this is not what I was expecting. I just spent $1,700+ on a machine with a beautiful touchscreen and couldn’t use 95%+ of the features without paying $528 a year in subscription fees. This is over $5k+ for 10 years. Damn, I could go to Planet Fitness for $120-$240 a year. Here’s where the good part of my review comes in… Hydrow completely and unconditionally honored their 30 day risk free trial. I called to express my displeasure with the draconian subscription fee. The woman I spoke with was very nice and offered me 1 month for free. Really? Sorry… not interested. I was then put into a return situation which went absolutely flawlessly. I did not have to disassemble the unit or save original packaging. A shipping company came a week later, picked it up with no hassle and my account was credited in full without much hoopdadoo. I have to admit, I was extremely impressed by the honesty, responsiveness and transaction pieces of my engagement with Hydrow. This is why they get a 5 star rating. If I could make some recommendations to gain more customers. Be upfront in your advertising and spell out completely what is included and not included in your purchase. Maybe I missed it, but the shock of your subscription price to use even what most would consider essential in a piece of equipment like this is unrealistic. Offer a light package subscription that offers all the basic functionality you get in a piece of workout equipment. I still think it should be included in the purchase, but it would at least entice people like myself to keep the equipment. Maybe a few videos as well… Inflation is a real thing right now… people are trying to figure out how to feed their families. I get every company loves re-occurring revenue streams and the SaaS market is very profitable, but there has to be a balance. In the end, if you are looking for a quality machine and willing to pay a monthly fee like this one you can’t go wrong. I am actually very sad I did not keep this machine as it truly is a work of art. It was high quality and looked like it would last for many years. Hydrow is an outstanding organization that stood to their word and for that fact alone I have much respect!