Trilogy gyms and their ridiculous 'health and safety' policy

[McBear]

I've been coming to this chain of gyms in my local town (Fairly certain they are only in this town) for a few months now and have never been asked for my membership card but always carry it with me just in case.

Today, I was stopped by a worker who informed me I must go to reception and they swipe me in. News to me but absolutely fine. As the receptionist is swiping me in she says it's for health and safety. Again, fair enough.

The conversation goes like this.

Me: 'where do I swipe out?'

Her: 'you don't'

Me: 'so how do you know I'm here or not?'

Her: 'we don't'

Me: confused face and 'erm'

She cuts across and says

'But if there's a fire we know who's here'

Me: 'erm, no you don't'

Her: 'yes it's all on a list'

I smile and nod and walk off.

It's not just me is it? This whole thing doesn't work as a concept. She knows who has been there at some point that day. Presuming no one fell asleep and woke up fancying a game of squash.

Someone could go for ten mins and think fuck it and go home. Someone could do 1.5 hours gym and an hours swim and then a sauna and it's assumed they've gone home but are currently burning alive assumed to have gone home. ok this probably won't happen

It's not right tho is it???

Every gym I've been to, you swipe in but not out. I've never really thought about it to be honest.

My last gym, you put your card on the wall and put it back in the Filofax type thing when you leave. They upgraded after I left and you swipe in and out.

But still, a gym thing or not, it's completely flawed as a concept?!

It's nothing to do with safety. It's to track their usage. They can analyse to see how many of their paying members never turn up, how many are in every day, when their busy periods are, how long it takes new members to stop going , that sort of thing.

That way they can design promotional offers around the usage stats.

Our work has swipe card entry, though you can follow people in if they let you. In the case if a fire, fire marshals sweep the building, checking loos etc. so they don't rely on the electronic list of who is there.

That's more like it Nutella. Exactly what I was thinking. But why the bullshit?

that's just ridiculous.
Like clocking into work but not clocking out again is no good either for knowing how long someone has worked or whether they are in the building in the event of an emergency.
All that tells them is how often you come into the gym - not how long you stay or whether you are there at any given moment in time.

exactly nutella, its purely about statistics for their use - no health and safety at all

Sounds like another very lazy and ignorant use of "health and safety" to explain a totally unrelated policy, which does indeed sound more like a tool for measuring usage.

I would have continued the conversation and asked what particular hazard or risk it was meant to mitigate against or eliminate.

I assumed the swiping in was to stop non-members chancing their luck and walking in off the street to use the equipment without paying.

I really should have AmI but I was ready to put some time in at the gym and knew it would put me off. Plus she clearly didn't know...

Yes saucy but honestly, I've been there for months and walked past Huuuuge queues and never been questioned. I assumed all those people were paying or going swimming etc etc. I even thought I may as well not pay and save 26 quid a month...

its not a health and safety thing. its so they can track what % of members turn up.
and to keep the riff raff* out,
also they might offer off peak membership so they need to make sure they aren't coming in at Peak times

*occasionally I have a free swim while one of my lot are having swimming lessons. I'm the only riffraff I know!

My gym you just swiped in. Now and again you get guilt tripping emails saying 'hey lazy fatty-bum, you haven't been the gym in x weeks! Don't you know it's summer and you need to have a bikini body? You definately need to sign up for our x, y and z classes at extra cost, you lazy lump of lard'.....or words to that effect.

Some years ago, there was a serious fire in my home town. Two firefighters were killed searching the building for some workers who'd gone home early and not clocked out. The company thought they probably weren't there, but couldn't be sure.

The gym ought to tighten this up if it really is for h&s reasons.

That does sem a but daft. In my gym you have to use your pin number to get in and out of the gym so they know if you have left.

Surely you have to swipe in so that only members can get in and not any old bod. That will be the only reason they do it.

That will not be the only reason.

If they are open at 6 am and no one uses it till 715 the swipe in system will be used to state a case to cut the hours

I think that the fire service work with businesses to agree their fire safety protocols and there are different models they can use, including clocking in/out and sweeping the building. Obviously the business must then follow what they have agreed. But there are lots of public places - shopping centres, theatres etc where they must have a system other than registering everyone who comes in and goes out.

Swipe in only at my gym too. No way is it to do with fire safety. Some people pay on the door - they just hand over the cash and walk in. Noone actually logs their name or what time they arrive and leave. Others don't bother to swipe their cards at all. It's just a lazy excuse of a reason.

My gym is low tech where this is concerned, we sign in on a clip board, and sign out.

Low tech and efficient!

But the clipboard could burn and then they'd be screwed

I'd prefer they were lying than them actually being that thick! I think.

So could all the high tech equipment to scan people in and out, and one hell of a lot harder to carry outside to do a check on who is out and who needs rescuing!