to think saying use the disabled facilities for the next week isn't really good enough?!

[velvetspoon]

I belong to a local gym. It's relatively new, been open since the start of last year when the building was converted from some old shops - I say this because everything was then brand new, not just the equipment but all fixtures and fittings etc.

Anyway, since I joined bot long after it opened there's been several instances of the ladies changing rooms being all, or partly out of action. When you walk through from the gym, there's a ladies changing area, off which are the loos and off those are the showers. On one wall of the changing room is a big cupboard which houses all the electrical circuitry, fuse box etc. So every time any electrical work needs to be done the changing room is off limits/ they put a sign up. But you can still access loos and showers.

So tonight i went there and there's a big sign saying for the rest of this week the loos and showers are out of action completely, and the changing room is also off limits between 8 and 5.

The advice is use the disabled facility

That facility is one room with loo sink and shower. There is no separate changing area. So clearly insufficient for the 10-15 women who might be in the gym at one time. Let alone should anyone disabled actually need the facility themselves!

I appreciate maintenance etc has to be done, but why not out of hours? And a week's work on loos/ showers that were installed new a year ago?!

Sometimes things happen in life that are an inconvenience

I agree with you. They should be doing the work out of hours. If that can't be done, they should close completely and give you a refund.

The men's changing room/showers have never been closed since I've been going there, just the women's.

There's been no suggestion of a refund.

I often go twice a week before work. I can't go this week because if I have to wait for the disabled loo/shower (with only one I might be waiting a while) I won't get to work on time.

Likewise if I go in the evening I'd rather not be standing around queuing having finished my workout!

Have you actually taken it up with the management? It does sound annoying but they won't realise how much people mind unless they actually say so. Do you have feedback forms?

In your place I'd probably go home to shower unless that's not possible.

If you were disabled you would face this problem all the time.

Sounds crazy. I don't understand how they can stay open with the changing rooms out of action. And surely 10-15 women is a real midday lull type figure. At peak hours they'll have 40ish women cramming into one changing room!

This happened in my gym, so they swapped the ladies and men around as the engineers were male so could carry out work with the men in the changing room. I hated using the male changing, found it really horrible compared to the female

I don't have a shower at home, plus I don't have time to go back home after the gym in the morning anyway.

I've sent an email to the company. There are no feedback forms or anything that I've seen.

My old gym used to swap them over too

Put in a complaint and request money off your membership until sorted

Yes, swapping the men's and women's over temporarily is how it's always been in gyms I've used. Can you suggest this to them?

Unfortunately there are probably twice as many men as women that go there, so I'm not sure they'd be willing to swap the rooms over, although I do think that's a good idea.