Male gym employee walked into female changing rooms while I was naked

[ShakinScarecrow]

I've recently joined a private family owned gym & spa.
It closes at 8pm on Sunday. The female changing rooms are open plan with 3 showers and no cubicles.

This evening I went swimming and left the pool at 7.45pm when asked to by a female employee. I then had come out of the shower and was naked at 8.01pm when a male employee walked into the female changing rooms.

There was a female employee cleaning, and another gym user who was dressed and just leaving the changing room and as she left he told her off for being late and said he would cancel her membership. It was at this point he walked right into the changing room, saw me naked and walked out. He did not knock, or announce he was coming in, or check if anyone was in there. He did not apologise not did the female employee.

Another female employee then came in, so there were 2 of them in there.
A minute or so later he came back in and I said "please don't come in I'm naked". He then stood by the door, where he couldn't see me, and told me off (I can't remember exactly what he said) asked how long I was going to be and said he would cancel my membership then left.
I said to the female employees this was unacceptable and should I complain to the owner. I asked if my membership would be cancelled as it was 8.03pm at that point. They said that they would let the owner know and someone shouted at this employee in the male changing rooms recently so he was in a 'bad mood', also that I shouldn't worry and he wouldn't cancel my membership as he just said that because of his bad mood.

I quickly dressed and left by 8:05. The 3 female employees were still cleaning various areas of the building. I don't know if any other gym users were there. As i left he was at the front desk scrolling on his phone, he did not acknowledge me.
I sat in my car and cried.

I know they do close at 8pm and he came in at 8.01, so it was after closing time. However, the staff were not waiting to leave and were still cleaning. He could have asked a female colleague to speak to me.

I've come home now and have a range of emotions- anger, humiliation, indignation. I'm absolutely going to complain to the owner. I don't feel comfortable going there again while he's there.
What should I do?

You do not walk in to changing rooms of the opposite sex with out giving prior warning.

Even if you have been told that the changing room is empty?

He may well have been told that the other customer who left was the last one and so then reasonably believed the changing room was empty.

If his intention was to see op naked then he timed it to absolute perfection didn't he? 1 minute earlier and she was in the shower, 2 minutes later she was dressed and leaving. How did he time it absolutely bang on?

She'd been out of the pool for more than 15 minutes when he came in. Surely the majority of people would have been dressed by then?

It's good that so many here are completely OK with men walking in unannounced to female changing rooms, given that so many gyms have already said people can use whichever changing room they feel most comfortable in. (Eg Virgin Active)

It's good that so many here are completely OK with men walking in unannounced to female changing rooms, given that so many gyms have already said people can use whichever changing room they feel most comfortable in.
Not the point.
I believe in separate changing spaces and during opening hours he should have knocked first and called if in doubt, or got a female worker to go in depending on gym policy.

I just happen to think that any member of staff should be able to go into any changing room after closing time without seeing a any naked person who has decided to have a leisurely shower.

The expecting staff to work for free argument is a red herring and people are missing the point.
You do not walk in to changing rooms of the opposite sex with out giving prior warning
Not missing the point at all. If somewhere is closed then any member of staff should be able to go anywhere because the place is closed and nobody should be there. Whilst sometimes you might reasonably see someone dashing out putting their shoes on just after closing time, nobody should be butt naked after closing time because the place is closed.

LolaSmiles at 8.01 that guy should have shouted if any one was in

No one should have to forfeit their right to protect their naked body because they are one minute past closing.

Female staff can come in any time during open hours they don’t need to shout or knock, people don’t need to be aware of female staff coming in. Doubt it would be heard over the hair driers anyway.

Male staff don’t get to shout and come in during open hours.

Everyone’s out at closing.

That’s what my old gym did no shouting through doors necessary.

Also LolaSmiles what do you expect ? Masses of people running to the exit at 7:57? These are paying customers. There is always going to be a few stragglers. It’s just life some people don’t rush about - some people do.

You don’t punish people because your going to be one minute late leaving.

I hope that the waiting staff and everyone else gets paid overtime when this happens, otherwise yes, he should be turning them away

Well my husband certainly doesn’t, and not being front of house it’s not in his gift to turn people away. They can’t really afford to lose custom in a competitive market even where the customers are CF I guess. Maybe in an area that’s not as busy or as saturated with eating places as here it might be easier.

@CareofPunts nice to see that you've selected that post of mine to quote and attempt to paint the picture that I didn't also say (in other posts admittedly) that the guy was very much in the wrong for how he dealt with the situation.
I don't particularly care what you tell your husband, I'm sure he has more experience in dealing with his specific work situations than you do so probably doesn't need your advice.

All these posters who think this woman deserved to be humiliated this way. Awful. Sixty seconds late...

*Where I work now if you are 5 minutes late they dock 15 mins pay. However, when you are late leaving, as we always are, we don't get paid overtime or even TOIL.

Expecting staff to work for free, especially in NMW jobs, is how employers keep their costs down and get away with employing less staff. Where I now work employs 400 odd staff. If we all work just 15 mins per shift for free that's a lot of extra man hours we are saving them*

In a NMW job that’s unlawful. Having said that there was a thread on here a few weeks ago where an OP’s son was in that position and the predominant View, not mine, was that he should suck it up and it was nothing. However, it’s a red herring as we don’t know this man’s pay arrangements.

Also LolaSmiles what do you expect ?
Masses of people running to the exit at 7:57? These are paying customers. There is always going to be a few stragglers. It’s just life some people don’t rush about - some people do
I expect grown adults to understand that if somewhere closes at a time that's the time the shop/cafe/gym closes and to be out by closing time.
People can choose not to rush all they like, but then they should leave time accordingly.

A bit of a straggle would be putting your jumper/coat/shoes on just after closing time, not being butt naked having just got out the shower. The latter takes the piss.

I don't buy the idea the world should just accept people's selfishness on timekeeping (that's why friends of mine get mouthfuls from parents who miss nursery pickup time regularly because it's just a few minutes, or colleagues in primary get arsey complaints because the child has been put into wraparound provision after the parent hasn't turned up to pick up on time again etc).

Sixty seconds late would be out the door in that minute wouldn’t it.

Not deserved it but it’s making me grateful for a nice gym with better procedures and no shouting through doors from staff.

Yep re nursery and school finishing times people don’t care hence the fee. Those people might have

Their own childcare to relieve

It's an overall attitude Marsha, and given the OP admits they have left gyms late repeatedly it's an attitude they clearly have where everyone should wait around them.

The man shouldn't have been rude, but presenting someone walking into a changing room in a closed gym and then returning to call to hurry someone up from outside the door as some sort of perv is unreasonable.

It's why I'm taking the whole shouted at/humiliated etc with some reservation because in my experience people who tend to ignore closing times/pick ups / generally think they're the exception can be quite dramatic when challenged

I think the op has had a really hard time on here, unfairly.

She has said last admission to the pool or spa is 7.30. No way they can intend for people to enter the pool at 7.30 and be out in the street for 8. It's far more likely that they have to leave the pool for 8.

She also said that the member of staff (as told by another staff member) was in a bad mood due to an earlier incident with a customer - if he takes his moods out on the customers, then the gym owner may find themselves without any customers.

The employee is in the wrong here. He entered the changing room twice knowing there was a female getting changed. And was rude. Even if they did expect people to be out of the building by 8, they don't get to be rude and shout about cancelling memberships etc. He was totally out of line and I personally would be complaining and very likely looking for a new gym.

Tigger correct me if I'm wrong but didn't OP say she was asked to leave the actual pool at 7:45? So they gave her 15 minutes to get herself sorted and leave. So even if they do admit people into the pool at 7:30, they're only getting a 15 min swim.
Personally I would have rinsed in the shower and showered properly at home because I know I wouldn't have enough time for a proper shower and hair wash etc in 15 mins.

Tigger
She was asked to leave the pool at 7:45.
That gave 15 mins to get washed and changed.
If adults wish to use the pool for 15 mins that's their decision.

He also didn't enter twice.
He went in once without knocking (hindsight he should have called in case there were people in after the gym closed)
Then he went back and called through from outside the door to hurry the OP up.
He didn't go in twice.

LolaSmiles
Completely agree with your posts.

Op would only be 1 minute late leaving if she walked out of the gym at 8.01. As she was still stark naked at 8.01, having had a leisurely 15 minute shower, I wonder exactly how late she would have been leaving if left to her own devices?

Probably half an hour or so which, according to a lot of people on this thread, the employees should just "suck it up" and accept that they will be late home and possibly have to work for free to cover.

Work to free to cover and in some cases a double whammy pay their own childcare to cover.

I didn’t “paint a picture” of anything @Biancadelrioisback. I did what every other poster does and quote the part I thought was relevant

All these posters who think this woman deserved to be humiliated this way. Awful. Sixty seconds late...
She wasnt 60 seconds late, she still had to get dressed

Sorry but it's not like you were 15 mins over leaving time. You were 1 minute over! 1?!
Unless she was going to walk out of the changing room naked she still had to get dressed and do hair etc and could have been there 15 minutes later if she hadnt been skivvied out

All these posters who think this woman deserved to be humiliated this way. Awful. Sixty seconds late...

Even if she was 30 minutes late there is no way that a man should enter a changing room with a woman potentially naked and vulnerable in it without giving proper warning and especially when there are women staff around. This is just another version of 'she asked for it', whether that was rape because she wore frilly knickers or a punch in the face because dinner was late. Some women on this thread utterly disgust me.

Well obviously no one is going to say people are up for it in frilly knickers so no it’s not another version of that to the people posting differently to you.