Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think this person should be "struck off" from being a lifeguard?

208 replies

chippietea · 07/06/2017 12:28

Stayed on a holiday park well known chain last weekend Friday to Sunday. Sunday afternoon we went into the pool for the first time (we had already looked around it). I took the baby in a float (10mo) and my son and my niece (both 13yo) headed for the slide. I paddled over to near the exit of the slide with the baby to watch them drop out. My son came out first and after he landed in the water and came back up to the surface a female lifeguard (I'll call her L) said to him "there is a gold fish in the water why don't you try to find it?" I had already heard her say this to two other little girls and thought well he is a bit old for games like that and sure enough he didn't take much notice. Then it was my nieces turn. As she came around the last bend of the slide and I caught sight of her the same lifeguard L said to her "Quick!Stop!" before she had exited the slide. So my niece tried to stop herself from exiting the slide and told me afterwards that she panicked and thought something bad was about to happen. She couldn't stop herself from falling off of the end of the slide so she landed in the plunge pool. When she came up out of he water she looked at the lifeguard L and waited for her to tell her why she had told her to stop. But she didn't say anything and was grinning. At that point my niece turned to me and asked me why did she tell me to stop? It was only then that I saw L's expression change as she hadn't realized up until that point that I knew this girl and had witnessed what had happened. So I replied to my niece I don't know, I then turned to L and asked her the same question. To which she replied "it was just a joke". I informed her that I did not think that that is very funny and it was quite juvenile and she said I'm sorry. It was at that point that I found out what this lifeguards name was. I then swam away from her. I was furious. I think it is outrageous that somebody in a position of responsibility as a lifeguard thinks that it is a funny joke to tell a 13-year-old girl who is going down a waterslide to stop when in my opinion she knew full well that she would not be able to stop and make that child believe that she is about to be injured or is in danger when in fact there was absolutely no reason for her to stop. I saw L speaking with another lady after the incident who was wearing a white polo shirt and obviously a member of staff. I decided I would go to reception once we had left the pool to raise my concerns when the children were not with me, I did not want to distress them. I was also not keen on staying in the pool after this incident had occurred but again I did not want to distress the children and make them feel as though they were being punished for something that was out of their control. When I arrived at reception approximately 45 minutes to an hour later I started to speak to a lady and express my dissatisfaction. During this conversation the lady in the white polo shirt entered reception from the back somewhere and the lady that I spoke to at reception beckoned her over. She introduced herself as the sports and leisure manager (I'll call her N). So I told her what had happened and her response was yes I know all about it L spoke to me after the incident. She then began a corporate sounding speech saying that "here at THE COMPANY we don't believe our lifeguards should be viewed as being there just to enforce rules, we believe they should engage with the guests. L told me that she said to your niece quick stop look for this goldfish". Obviously at that point I stopped N and told her that did not happen, there was no mention whatsoever of a goldfish to my niece when L told her to stop, at which point she was still actually going down the waterslide. This was utterly untrue. N said she would speak to L about the incident and she can only apologize. This exchange with N did nothing to pacify my dissatisfaction. I asked N that if she had known about this incident for up to an hour why where we only having this conversation now? She said she didn't know who I was in the pool area. I found it very hard to believe that she couldn't have asked L to point me out. I also felt that had L not felt that she had done anything wrong as N was trying to put across to me why would she have approached N to discuss this matter quite quickly after it happened? I felt in my honest opinion that she had done so in order to put her spin on what had happened for her own reasons, to try and save herself and not for any concern for my or my nieces experience. Not only that but she had lied by telling N that she spoke to my niece about the goldfish which was utterly untrue. I also felt that N had already come to a conclusion in her mind as to what had happened just purely from L's perspective and she had little interest in finding out from me what had happened before she formed her opinion. I ended up logging this as an official complaint at reception and the lady who took my complaint asked me what do you want us to do for you? My response was for me quite simply nothing. I don't want a refund, I don't want a free upgrade, I don't want any vouchers. I want L to be dealt with appropriately because she not only made a child believe that they were in danger she then went on to lie about what happened. Also by my niece trying to stop when there was no need to could have caused injury or harm to my niece or another person. In my opinion this is a health and safety issue and a safeguarding issue. I received an email today again apologizing and saying the member of staff has received additional training to make sure that this never happens again. All within the space of less than 48 hours. I find it very saddening that an adult in a position of responsibility such as a lifeguard has in my opinion abused the power that comes with that responsibility over a child and that THE COMPANY finds it appropriate to allow that member of staff to continue operating in that position of responsibility. To this date I have no idea of L's motives when she told a child to quickly stop when going down a waterslide and I expect that I never will. AIBU to want to stop this woman from being able to continue working in this capacity?

OP posts:
chippietea · 07/06/2017 13:08

Moving.....

To think this person should be "struck off" from being a lifeguard?
OP posts:
chanel19 · 07/06/2017 13:09

So you aren't that bothered now then op?

chippietea · 07/06/2017 13:11

Chanel I asked for opinions and I'm getting them. I feel the same.

OP posts:
Quartz2208 · 07/06/2017 13:14

You got what you wanted. She received appropriate training and presumably knows not to do it again.

The procedure would be a warning first so unless it is not the first complaint then she was treated correctly. Sacking her for a first time misdeamour would be unfair and potentially illegal (probably not based on the contract she has but you get the point)

Mulberry72 · 07/06/2017 13:15
Biscuit
StripeyCurtains · 07/06/2017 13:15

YABU just for the sheer lack of paragraphs.

rainbowunicorn · 07/06/2017 13:17

OP you really sound a bit unhinged to be honest. I can't for the life of me fathom why this is such a big deal. Your niece is 13 not 3, nothing happened to her or anyone else. Get a grip for goodness sake.

Starlight2345 · 07/06/2017 13:17

Oh dear..MY 10 year old jokes with the lifeguards at our local pool.. The 13 year old probably would of laughed it off if you did.

Have you took your 10 month old to soft play I shall look forward to that post.

Wanttobehonest · 07/06/2017 13:18

I think it is a bit silly to shout instructions to someone going down a slide.

But it is not because all the power and responsibility has gone to her head, it sounded like she was trying to joke/interact with people.

So it was reasonable for you to mention to her or manager that it might not be a good idea to shout instructions to people whilst sliding down a slide.

But YABU she shouldnt be struck off. People can learn.

RtHonMistress · 07/06/2017 13:20

This is the most bizarre thing I've read all day.

TheMonkeyAndThePlywoodViolin · 07/06/2017 13:25

This reply has been deleted

This post references a deleted post. Talk Guidelines.

Stickerrocks · 07/06/2017 13:27

Loving your diagram. Can you please resurrect this thread on Friday to lighten the mood around the country. (I must say I think you've taken it all in very good humour Easter Smile)

KERALA1 · 07/06/2017 13:32

We would all want you around OP if a crime were committed against us - as a witness! Though paragraphs...

Draylon · 07/06/2017 13:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

chippietea · 07/06/2017 13:37

Stickerrocks I'm sure I'll have some other loony adventures to rant about by then. But even if I am an "unhinged" loony, so what? They have to take me as they find me. This is me, they can like it or lump it! Grin

OP posts:
gillybeanz · 07/06/2017 13:38

Why are you hovering around teens in a pool Shock and are their parents as bothered about this as you are.
This is some sort of weird involvement, are you sure there's not more to it than this?

chippietea · 07/06/2017 13:39

Draylon no but I would like to meet this person Wink

OP posts:
beepbeepimasheep · 07/06/2017 13:40

The problem I have with it is IMO she abused the power that her responsibility comes with and I don't know her motives.

Her motive? Helping the children to have fun.

Get a grip.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 07/06/2017 13:50

I once read two pages about a woman's problems with a local pharmacy (things like having to speak to them so they could fulfil her prescription and other "unreasonable" things). It included a remarkable level of detail about her yeast infection although she never quite managed to explain how it was relevant.

I do not and have not ever worked in the NHS and I didn't know her.

TheMysteriousJackelope · 07/06/2017 13:50

It sounds like the lifeguard had no training whatsoever before being launched into the job. I live in the US where community pools and water parks are very common. The duty of the life guards is to sit on an elevated seat and watch the pool. That's it. The ones at our community pool change out once an hour, when they aren't on duty they can talk to pool users, while on duty, we aren't even allowed to talk to them to avoid distracting them from their boring, but necessary job.

Encouraging people to lark around at the bottom of a water slide is a recipe for someone getting kicked in the head. I'm really surprised at the number of people on this thread who thing this is a great idea and not worth bothering about. I guess they haven't thought what would happen to a small 6 year old in three feet of water when a 13 stone man comes shooting out of the slide and lands on them. The life guards in the US are vigilant about keeping people out of the dropout area at the end of slides and certainly wouldn't let children hang around in that area for any reason at all.

It wouldn't take long to train L in what she needs to do to supervise a pool and check that she is doing it correctly. 48 hours would be long enough. I suggest returning and seeing if the life guards are supervising the pool correctly. If they are, then your message got through. If they aren't, find out who at the company that owns the pool is the head of safety and write a short letter to them alerting them to their life guards not supervising the pool or ensuring the area at the ends of the water slides are kept clear.

RtHonMistress · 07/06/2017 13:52

@gillybeanz are you meaning to ask the OP? Because if so, the teens mentioned were her son and her niece..

HerOtherHalf · 07/06/2017 13:53

Have only skimmed the whole thread so can somebody tell me, was there really a goldfish in the pool or not?

Also, OP, I think you should just be grateful she didn't ask you to leave on the grounds that the Royal and Ancient Institute of Heavy Petting, Running and Bombing Regulators would not consider one adult supervising 2 young teens and a baby as remotely safe or acceptable.

MixedUpConfusion · 07/06/2017 13:54

Why are you hovering around teens in a pool shock and are their parents as bothered about this as you are

OP IS the parent (and Aunt). She already stated in her very first post her son and niece Hmm

chippietea · 07/06/2017 13:54

Themysterious absolutely. Nail. Head.

OP posts:
chippietea · 07/06/2017 13:55

Herotherhalf my husband was also there. Flowers

OP posts:
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.