Would I be unreasonable to email the gym manager after my shampoo and conditioner were stolen from locked locker?

[DickieAnderson]

I’ve been going to a small hotel gym for 15 years and all the staff know me and are lovely and friendly.

I use the gym and pool at night and I’m often the only person there until closing, I usually decant my shampoo and conditioner into travel bottles but last week took the whole bottles as they were brand new and didn’t have a chance.

They were both £20 each so not cheap (I have bleached hair and swim daily so need decent stuff to deal with my hair constantly doused in chlorine) and I’m struggling for money so can’t just replace them but it’s also my own fault.

My friend had an emergency and needed me to go and watch her kids, I’d walked to the gym as it’s 3 minutes from home so was on foot to her house 15 minutes away.
I didn’t want to drag all my gym stuff so left it in the locker and took the key and planned to go back the next morning to collect my things.
There are plenty of lockers and even when the gym is full there are free lockers but it’s been quiet for months.

I had to stay at my friends with her children till the next afternoon as she was in hospital and her husband was working away, I waited until he returned home and went back to the gym for my things.

I didn’t notice until the next day my shampoo and conditioner were missing from the gym bag, I’m absolutely certain they were left in the locker. I’ve checked and nothing handed into lost property and the cleaners said they didn’t see them. There is only one member of female staff and two cleaners, would either have another key?

I know it’s my fault for leaving them and I take full responsibility but I still find it so upsetting that someone has stolen from me knowing they were aware everything in the locker was mine (my name is on my gym bag and other things in the locker were identifying) and it’s made me feel really upset.
Everything was folded nearly and in different pockets in my bag and it was clear someone had gone through it and moved everything.

Would it be unreasonable to mention it to the manager or should I just accept I was at fault and took a risk that backfired? Interested in others opinions whilst I decide what to do please.

Do it again but with hair removal cream decanted into bottles...you'll soon find culprits 😃

Yanbu though. How did manager reply?

You need to tell the bosses OP. Your locker might not be the only one stolen from and could be a missing piece to a thief being caught. Even if you write them off.

Sadly I think leaving your gym bag in a locker bears the same responsibility as leaving your car in a car park - it’s at your own risk. I understand it’s frustrating, and maybe if this happened in the timeframe where you went for a little swim I’d say they might be more inclined to address it, however I’ve never heard anyone leaving things in a public gym overnight - it’s certainly not the norm so they will probably say sorry this happened but there is nothing we can do for you. They certainly won’t reimburse you.

I have bleached hair and swim daily so need decent stuff to deal with my hair constantly doused in chlorine

Going forward, why not invest in a swimming cap to stop your hair getting wet and needing so much expensive shampoo? 🤷‍♀️

As for the missing items, it seems utterly bizarre that someone would open the locker, unzip your bag, steal shampoo, zip up your bag and close the locker again. I'd feel ruffled too though at someone rummaging through my things. What did the manager say?

I think management need to know and I would word it very neutrally, eg 'I'm certain the shampoo was in my bag, I rushed off to help my friend in an emergency leaving my bag in the locker, next morning everything was in the bag in the locked locker, except the shampoo. I understand that I left the items at my own risk and that I shouldn't have left them overnight so I'm not looking for compensation, but it worried me, and I thought you would want to know that something is amiss.'

Did the manager reply?

I'd mention it. If there is a thief on the staff team, I'm sure management will want to know. They may not be able to do anything, but there may be other reports and your report could help in building evidence.

Email the Manager asking for a copy of their policy on locker use then explain why you're wanting it. Let them know your stuff was left over night which you take responsibility for, however you still don't think that gives anyone reason to steal from you. Ask them to check CCTV as you'd like them to be aware if their staff is responsible for taking your Shampoo & Conditioner.

If you can have a conversation with the manager, I suggest that would be the best thing to do. If one of the team is a thief, they could be stealing more than just shampoo.

The manager absolutely know a member of staff /guest is a thief...

Someone going into your bag in your locker must’ve had a master key. Expensive products are easy to target either for resale or use by themselves/others. Would be interesting to know what they say.

Even if you were not allowed to leave things in the locker overnight, I'd expect staff to remove the items and put them to one side, but honestly I'm wondering whether you left them out since you were in a rush to leave.

I hope you did report it. There probably won't be a direct outcome (as there is likely a "use of lockers is at own risk" policy) but it will hopefully alert management to what is going on. If it's a staff member they have likely done it before and will do it again. Hopefully they'll get caught.

This happened to me once though it was over 20 years ago. My bag had been taken out of a locked locker, emptied out (there wasn't anything worth stealing) and stuffed back in, the locker was then left unlocked. I found some of my stuff in the corner on the floor. Most likely the perpetrator was interrupted by someone coming in. I told the manager and he was totally unbothered and even sniggered a bit about how my stuff must be a bit crap if a thief didn't actually want to take anything. I didn't renew my membership after that.

You can ask at reception what might have happened if you're very sure they were in there.

Why did you take them to the gym and not use them?

I used to just go swimming and then go home and shower. I don't imagine your hair will suffer for a short time between swimming and going home anyway.

It's odd that someone would rifle through your bag and only swipe the (unopened?) shampoo and conditioner bottles. Surely someone working at the gym wouldn't risk their job for toiletries, no matter how high end? Isn't it more likely a fellow gym user has opened your locker and helped themselves? At the gym I go to, several lockers have the same key, which only came to light when someone lost theirs, and was able to access their locker using my key.

Going forward, why not invest in a swimming cap to stop your hair getting wet and needing so much expensive shampoo? 🤷‍♀️

This. A swimming cap won’t keep your hair completely dry, but will keep most of the water out. I spend a lot of money getting my hair salon coloured so obviously I want it to last as long as possible. Used to use expensive shampoo/conditioner too but then it got discontinued and I’ve found a cheaper alternative which is just as good if not better, so I’d been wasting my money all along.

I would inform the hotel, they need to know an expensive item has gone missing. It might prompt them to invest in wristband operated door locks like they have at my health club.

It's right there in the OP:

My friend had an emergency and needed me to go and watch her kids, I’d walked to the gym as it’s 3 minutes from home so was on foot to her house 15 minutes away. I didn’t want to drag all my gym stuff so left it in the locker and took the key and planned to go back the next morning to collect my things.

You're lucky you had anything at all left in the locker -- you really can't leave anything in the gym lockers when you're not physically present at the gym, otherwise everyone would just bagsie a personal locker for life!

Practically, it's no different to just abandoning your things in any other public building. Was it really so difficult to take a gym bag 15 minutes down the road?

Most gyms would have just emptied it at the end of the day.

ah - thanks, didnt spot that

Don’t be so passive!! You have the right to be upset. And the right not to have your stuff stolen. Speak up! Complain! Ask for recompense. You’re a long term valued client. Be assertive!

No, this would apply if she'd left them in the open area of the gym but not in a locked locker. The establishment doesn't take responsibility for items left where anyone can access them but it's a completely different proposition if staff members are opening lockers with the master keys and stealing things! The disclaimer certainly does not apply here. It would be completely inadequate of them to shrug and say 'not our problem' if she reports this. Theft is a serious problem and they must take it seriously regardless of whether OP should have left her things in a locker overnight or not.

The owner of the car park in this scenario can't take any responsibility for randoms breaking in to the car but if the car park was locked at night and only members of staff had access and a member of staff broke into the car that's a different situation!

Don’t say you take full responsibility @DickieAnderson

You took reasonable steps to secure your belongings. It’s not unreasonable therefore to expect that they would be safe.

Someone has stolen from you. The gym manager needs fo investigate.