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?

Lolasmiles

He had no need to open the door the second time - there was a female member of staff present so since he knew there was a lady in the changing room he should have got the female to go in ( or open the door....)

He went in to shout at her and threaten to cancel her membership (and he had also done the same to another member) that's just totally out of order.

It seems likely to me given that last admissions is 7.30 that the pool shuts at 8,and the employee was in a bad mood so got everyone to leave early.

Irrespective of that, he was out of order not the op. Maybe there is a reason why she takes longer to dress than others seem to think acceptable? And whilst I don't really subscribe to the customer is always right, she is the customer and should not have been treated this way.

I would vote with my feet and go somewhere where the staff don't take their bad mood out on the customers

He called through from the door. It's fine. I'd be irritated if I was still waiting to go home

And if she has a reason why it takes her longer to get dressed, then surely any sensible adult knows it takes longer and would adjust accordingly?

I had terrible pain in pregnancy and would go swimming to help the pain. I got out the pool at the appropriate time to give me time to get showered and changed at snail pace. I didn't get out with 15 mins to go and then expect the staff to wait around for me.

I won't excuse him being rude because that's not on, but it totally reasonable for people to be told to hurry up when the gym is closed. Equally it's reasonable for membership to be up for question if they aren't our by a closing time. My gym had a list of things that can cause you to lose membership or have temporary suspension of membership. I'll be honest, most of them seem common sense but they must have needed it because some people clearly can't fathom how to behave with courtesy and follow the gym rules.

Surely if the pool staff chuck people out at 7.45pm then they reasonably can’t expect people to be showered and dressed by 8pm?

15 minutes is not reasonable. It’s more likely that 8pm is the time that everyone needs to be out of the swimming pool and gym and spa. Abd this man was a pervy Percy peeping Tom.

If people are too slow to get out in 15 minutes then get out of the pool earlier.

If people are too slow to get out in 15 minutes then get out of the pool earlier

Or just dont take the money at 7.30 and make them pay the same amount to swim as some one who arrives at 6.00. You cant have it both ways. You cant admit people last minute then expect them to be out in time

You know you don’t have to get in the pool at 7.30 if 15 minutes isn’t enough. Bizarre reasoning

Come earlier, come another day not hard

The point is they let them. So I think it's far more likely that the pool closes at 8. Than they have to be out the building by that time.

So what. Someone might want that and it’s an option. Still can close at 8

Or just dont take the money at 7.30 and make them pay the same amount to swim as some one who arrives at 6.00. You cant have it both ways. You cant admit people last minute then expect them to be out in time
Or you say "here's the opening hours of our facilities" and then adults can make their own decision and pay accordingly.

When I had a sports injury part of my recovery was swimming but for weeks I did 15-20 mind walking in the water with some exercises. I paid for the swimming session because as am adult that's my choice to use the pool for that amount of time. Someone who uses the pool for 30mins before it closes is equally capable of deciding what to do.

It's all very infantalising to say "but what if the adult dithering had a reason to take longer than 15mins... So staff should accept them being late out... But the pool shouldn't let people in during opening hours because it's too much expect adults to make a sensible choice on their swim"

If they really wanted the building to be empty at 8 they would chuck people out at 7.30.

What are they doing to do, stand over OP at 8pm? Throw her out physically? Their timings are all wrong.

Can’t people be responsible for their own timings. See it closes at 8 work backwards

If they really wanted the building to be empty at 8 they would chuck people out at 7.30.
Why? If a facility closes at 8pm then people are (well should be) able to apply common sense and leave by 8.
I'd be pissed off being told to leave early when it takes me less than 10mins to shower and change after the gym. Telling most sensible people to leave half an hour early to account for cheeky fuckers and ditherers is yet another step towards babying adults who seem to find it impossible to stick to simple closing/ending times.

But pools often have different opening times to say the gym.

So pool closes at 8 ut the gym is open til ten.

Most people are sheep. Look at the number of stragglers past closing time in stores.

You need to be firm with them to get them to leave. But the time to do this is when they’re in the pool, not when they’re naked in the changing room and certainly not by the opposite sex.

The gym open later is not the case here

Havaina
I can't stand store stragglers either. It's a form of very selfish attitude that seems to smack of "my time is more important than yours".

To be fair, they did do a call at quarter to 8 from the pool.

On the times when I've lost track of time at the gym, I've either thrown my clothes on and gone home to shower, or do a quick rinse and no hair etc. Most people who work out have had that "oh shit" moment, but the correct response is to hurry your arse up and not decide to do your own thing at your own pace.

Even leaving aside the nakedness/lateness issues, this guy was being rude to customers & threatening to cancel their memberships.

If I was the owner I'd get rid of him, because he's going to cost me customers & revenue.

Yes stragglers are annoying however most of us eoyod lose our jobs if we spend to customers like that.

And most of us realise that engaging in arguments delays them leaving even more.

The sensible thing would have been to send in the female staff members to clean up around the op. They could have gently reminded her of closing hours and cleaned up around her so they were still out on time.

The male staff member caused most the delay himself.

Unless ive missed it, has anyone said that what he did was right? Most of us are saying he was a knob. Some of us are also saying that OP was also unreasonable for making no effort to adhere to the pools rules. The two don't cancel each other out, OP wasn't asking for it, nor is she reasonable for her actions

@LolaSmiles

Completely agree with your posts. OP sounds selfishly entitled and unaware. That’s doesn’t make the behaviour of the staff right but if the OP has a history and habit of being late, holding up closing then I think it’s fair that her membership is cancelled. 3 strikes policy would be fair.

Or just dont take the money at 7.30 and make them pay the same amount to swim as some one who arrives at 6.00. You cant have it both ways. You cant admit people last minute then expect them to be out in time

I don't pay as you go at my gym. You can't, it's membership only. So I could swim 10 minutes before it closes and I wouldn't have to pay anything.

The only thing he did wrong in my book was walking in on the op. But if he thought the gym was empty then it's an honest mistake. Obviously if his intention was to perv then he's clearly in the wrong but I don't know how anyone can say this is the case.

If it's in the T's and C's that being late leads to cancellation of membership why was he wrong to say it?

The male staff member caused most the delay himself

How on Earth do you fathom that ? OP was still naked at 8.01 - so she was already late. Without the employee chivvying her along, how much longer would she have taken ?

She had just taken a 15-minute shower. With no pressure whatsoever, I'm pretty sure she would have taken a damn sight longer than the 4 minutes it took her once he had walked in on her (presumably accidentally) the first time.

The fact is, OP caused all of the delay by not being showered and out of the door before 7:59:59.

AlorMy
Absolutely.
He shouldn't have been rude and hindsight is a wonderful thing (because whilst it's entirely reasonable to expect the changing rooms to be empty after closing time and not have someone butt naked in them, knocking first just incase there's some adults who can't comprehend closing times would be wise), it's absolutely ridiculous to try to spin "I was given 15 mins notice in the pool, took my time, was standing naked after closing time when someone came in, then they came back later and called me from the door to hurry up" as 'look at this horrible pervy man who humiliated me and told me off and I'm emotionally scarred by the whole thing'.

How do you know it was 15 minute shower?

Waking from pool to changing rooms, gathering shower stuff and towel, maybe waiting for a shower to become free, getting dried etc all take time.

My local pool, the showers are always heaving even at closing time.

A reasonable establishment makes allowances.