Would this changing room scenario bother you?

They need to set the times and have them posted on the wall so that you can schedule around it, to avoid being in the change rooms during cleaning

Ultimately, it’s the old project management triangle. Cost; timing; service. Pick two. If customers want a low-cost gym that is open early morning until late evening, the gym will be cutting costs by having their floor staff of whatever sex do the general cleaning and maintenance. If customers want an early morning to late evening gym which specifically employs female cleaners for the female changing rooms and male cleaners for the male changing rooms, then customers will have to pay for that service in their membership fee.

I used to be a PureGym member and know many branches which have received complaints about male cleaning and after-hours staff simply deal with the inability to get female staff by closing the women’s changing rooms and women-only training areas entirely between certain hours.

I wouldn't be comfortable with it at all. I think little children of the opposite sex should be the only ones ever in a change/restroom when other users are in it.

I get you are uncomfortable but not sure what they can do more if the available cleaner’s are male.

I have the same at my gym (PureGym)and my workplace toilets. There is a sign saying it maybe serviced by male cleaners and they always yell to ensure it’s empty before entering.

I would prefer a female cleaner which they seem to try to have more of. Or I see more of. But I prefer clean toilets / changing rooms above all and it seems most patrons do as negative reviews seem more about dirty spaces than opposite sex cleaners.

At work though during the day I ONLY see female cleaners. After hours is when I have seen a male cleaner.

I think if there are going to be male cleaners in an open female change area it needs to be scheduled. Even if it’s when it’s open I.e changing rooms closed 1-1.30 for cleaning.

im quite blaise about male toilet attendants etc but i agree in a shower you may not here a shout,one cleaner may not shout, I’d not be comfy with a random man potentially walking in a communal change area.

if they want to continue that they need cubicles - many more

If any male enters a single sex space for any reason whatsoever, it is no longer single sex. The only exception to this is male children under the age of eight. We really all have to be very firm about this now and complain vociferously whenever it happens. Make a big fuss about it OP and suggest that fellow female gym goers complain too. This just isn't on.

YANBU. Glad you’re complaining. Vote with your feet.

yanbu, the male manager at my gym inspects the changing rooms (always seems to be at peak times! ) he always knocks on the door and asks if it’s ok to come in/ is everyone dressed first. I always tell him to go away regardless. Doesn’t matter if I’m dressed, it’s a female changing room.

Because there's very few jobs that you are legacy allowed to specify are for a certain gender. They'd be breaking the law to hire a female cleaner just because they're female.

What OP describes sounds very similar to the set up at the PureGym I go to. There the regular gym staff (trainers who run the classes etc) clean the changing rooms during their shifts. So it’s not a case of not having female cleaners as such, it’s a case of there not always being a female staff member working. I think they also have external cleaners who come in, but the gym staff do some quick cleans - the changing rooms are always spotless.

It doesn’t bother me personally, but can see why it would bother people and I think the staff member was rudely dismissive to OP.

They shouldn’t just have male cleaners going in and out all day long. If they’re going in they need to put a sign outside, and shout/listen to check nobody’s in there before they enter. Anyway, surely there are female cleaners available. Why have a male cleaner in the first place 🙄

I’m quite relaxes and wouldn’t like this at all.

What about the cleaner?
I can only imagine what a harrowing cleaning job it must be for him.
Club together and ask management to institute a set number of strictly 15 min cleaning slots and have a say in when they are.
I'm pretty sure the male cleaner will thank you for it!

I wouldn't be comfortable but not sure how they avoid it?

They could do more though - shout in before entering? Putting a sign on both entrance/exit doors asking customers to wait 5 mins.

It's not always possible to have both male/female staff on at all times but they need to respect customer privacy.

No way?! I’m a member of a village gym and if men have to come in for any reason (to fix something) staff come through and make absolutely sure everyone knows about it, then they stand with the man until he’s finished, make sure they let women know who are coming in etc

I wouldn’t be comfortable with that at all. Agreed.

🤢 I'm glad my gym is very near to home 🤣

Well I did mean seperately but be honest, people do

My gym and pool has mixed changing rooms with just curtains rather than doors for the cubicles. I couldn't give a stuff to be honest. Doesn't bother me at all.

Surely if the cleaners are prepared to come back at another time (if they knock on the door first), then if they enter whilst you’re there they can also come back at another time.

So if you get out of the shower (presumably in a towel) and there’s a cleaner there, you should feel free to say “can you come back later as I’m changing now” and if they say anything other than yes, you can say that you told them not to come in when they knocked, but they may not have heard as you were in the shower.

Obviously if they didn’t knock then they’re not following policy, so they shouldn’t argue with you on that point.

You can be smiley about it, but also firm and just demand that they leave as you asked them not to enter when they knocked.

In short, I would be asking them to leave unless there was a free cubicle for me to change in and have no guilt about it whatsoever. I’m paying for a service (to use the gym and changing room) not providing a peep show.

Voyeurs charter, absolutely do not want men around while I'm trying to dry off after using the shower.

Thanks for that, I for one didn't know that.

At my gym there’s a constant sign next to the entrance of the changing rooms which says a male cleaning attendant is on duty. They are very good at knocking on the main door and shouting out to ask if it’s okay for them to come in when they need to clean.

I recognise that it’s not an ideal situation but also readily acknowledge that they can’t just only have staff in to clean when the gym is closed to customers, because gyms are in use all day and showers and changing rooms get dirty, and if that was allowed to build up throughout an entire day, customers would complain about that. In many gyms (particularly budget ones), staff are expected to be persons-of-all-trades: the floor staff are also expected to be reception staff and cleaning staff, there are no singular designated roles.