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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To get the absolute rage at the local leisure centre

37 replies

LoftyTurtle · 04/04/2024 17:34

Because their booking website is SO BAD? I like going to the leisure centre, it's nice, the staff are pleasant, the facilities are good. I try and book online because its more convenient. But their website is so God-awful!! You can't book more than one adult per session (eg swimming), not because they've got some rule that only one adult is allowed (there is no such rule) but simply because their website doesn't allow you to book more than one adult because it glitches and can't manage it!! I have to make a separate account with a different email just so I can book both myself, DH and DC in swimming 😤

End rant

OP posts:
YaMuvva · 04/04/2024 17:35

Is it run by the council? My last one was the same - I reckon they plump for the cheapest shittest system

PartnersInCrime · 04/04/2024 17:37

Ours is rubbish with a lot of duplication, but at least I can book for us all in one go!

WhateverMate · 04/04/2024 17:37

I'd just ring them up.

Bit of a pain in the arse but definitely more convenient than their website.

Eloraa · 04/04/2024 17:37

Oh god ours too.

I have to use two separate email addresses to book swimming lessons for both DDs, because it can’t cope with the idea that I want lessons for both a one year old and a four year old.

DuckonaBike · 04/04/2024 17:41

I had a similar problem and asked one of the staff (in person) and she was able to link our accounts so that I can book a swim for me and for DD at the same time. It was infuriating before. It might be worth checking if something like that is possible? Depends on the exact system obviously.

Funfuninthesunsun · 04/04/2024 17:41

We've visited various leisure centres on our holidays over the past few years and nothing gives me so as much rage as using a series of useless websites to try to book a swimming session or trying to understand complicated swim timetable.

I miss the days you could just turn up with your swimmers and go swimming pretty much whenever you fancied.

TudorClock · 04/04/2024 17:43

Yes ours is terrible. Website is completely unusable.

Yesterday I rang them 13 times trying to find out what time the family swim was. Each time it was answered with a message saying I was in the queue and then 5 mins later it automatically cut off each time.

In the end I drove there to ask them in person and they told me the wrong times for today, so got there and had to come home 🙄

LlynTegid · 04/04/2024 17:45

There are many things that are a bad legacy of the Thatcher/Major years, and the contracting out of leisure services is one. At least in the OPs case the facilities are good.

The Brittas Empire was a bit too near to the truth.

TeddyBeans · 04/04/2024 17:46

Our leisure centre is the same. Can't book the kids into soft play from the same account because they need to have a kids account each. So they each have a separate kids account which is different to my account. They've just changed their swimming booking system too so you now can't book members in online. I used to be able to book myself and my son (a member) in for leisure swimming by inputting his membership number, can't do that now.

And to add insult to injury they've got rid of the telephone queue as well. It'll put you on hold for one minute and then if noone answers in that time, it tells you to call back later. I tried booking swimming for Tuesday this week and it took me several attempts to get through 🙄

Ellemeg82 · 04/04/2024 17:50

Ours is exactly the same! Still using outdated covid rules as well like limiting the amount of people per swimming session to 20 even though it's a huge 25m pool, plus only get a 40 min session which you MUST prebook even though before Covid it was "general swimming 8am-2pm" and you could turn up anytime and stay as long as you like.
It is council run.

Saschka · 04/04/2024 17:51

Argh same - Southwark council has just taken services back in house, and my god the booking system is shit compared to the previous, private system.

As well as all the stuff d one else has mentioned, when they first switched, the new swimming lesson system kept on re-setting to the first lesson ever booked. Which meant my 7 year old kept getting booted out of his swimming lesson and put back into the Mum and Babies class we had been to in 2017.

Each week I’d go to reception and they’d sort it, and the following week it would have happened again. Went on for 3 months. Luckily his teacher just ignored it and taught him anyway.

StellaGibson2022 · 04/04/2024 17:55

Is it the Activ site? Ive just recently started using the leisure centre and the faff of booking for me and DC is infuriating

AnotherCountryMummy · 04/04/2024 17:56

Not Everyone Active by any chance?

CranfordScones · 04/04/2024 18:01

I was ranting about this recently. Every government and local authority website looks the web from 15 or 20 years ago for some reason.

Redshoeblueshoe · 04/04/2024 18:04

Ours is absolutely ridiculous. So I decided to try one in the next borough.
You just turn up and pay. I even get a discount which I don't get at my local pool. the parking is great too.

EnglishBluebell · 04/04/2024 18:05

I don't think we can help with this you'll need your contact the leisure centre

RainBow725 · 04/04/2024 18:16

Yup - ours is the same. Absolute garbage. It would be better if there was a person on the end of a phone with a notebook. The Center was rubbish too with holes in the ceiling and tiles falling off the walls. It's closed for refurbishment now so we live in hope.

Strikeback · 04/04/2024 18:37

I actually love the Everyone Active app and find it dead easy to use - I book every week for me (member) plus DD, just have to pay for her.

MrsSkylerWhite · 04/04/2024 18:39

Councils are on their knees, they can’t afford anything other than basic systems, book separately.

RainbowUnicornSparkleShit · 04/04/2024 18:44

Everyone Active’s site also doesn’t let you book carer tickets, which frankly is discriminatory. Why should families with disabled members either have to phone up during opening hours to get the tickets they are entitled to, turn up and hope there are still spaces or pay full price for a ticket that should be free, when everyone else can book online whenever they want? Their receptionist agreed it was bad well over a year ago and was sure it would change but it never has. Other places seem to manage to have carer tickets available online, but Everyone Active somehow can’t.

meganorks · 04/04/2024 18:45

No one has answered the phone at my local leisure centre for 15 years. If you want anything you have to go in. Some things can be booked online. Some can't. My friend was there and asked to book something with them:
'You can book that online'
'Can't I just book it now as I'm here'
'No, you book it online'
'I'd rather do it now'
'Book it online'
Got home - not something you can book online

IsadoraBathrobe · 04/04/2024 19:00

After all these years being starved of investment as well as having to shut for months on end through COVID, do you honestly think local leisure centres have the money for new websites and booking systems or enough staff to make sure all phones are answered immediately? It must be just as inconvenient and irritating for employees as it is for customers but there’s probably not much anyone can do until councils are no longer facing bankruptcy. That’s the real scandal not the fact that the IT systems are a bit crap.

sugarplum33 · 04/04/2024 20:07

Same here, I had to go in to sort DD's swim lessons in the end as the website was convinced that 30-odd year old was the one who wanted to learn to swim 5 metres in a yellow latex hat.

Undertherockpool · 04/04/2024 20:21

Our leisure centre desk have been told they aren’t allowed to answer questions s about lessons, the customer must do everything via the app, which is unbelievably infuriating when the app is so bad! There is no phone line either! Aaarrrggghhh!

ChampagneGold · 04/04/2024 20:37

Omg ours is horrendous too. Also won't let us book more than one for swimming. Perhaps it's the same leisure centre!

I always make my husband ring up to book now because it just makes me so mad.