BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids bending over backwards for parents

hi again ! well here we go again with parent entitlement. i just had to tell everyone this story.i work at my gym in the day care on weekday mornings. the other day i had a child who cried for over 1/2 hr. luckily her mother came and got her. the kicker is that instead of taking her home she took her into the cardio room where she was taking a class. the instructor was very [censored] about it and i don't know if she said anything but she must at least gave the mother a dirty look b/c afterwards the mother came into the nursery and was complaining about it. i guess she's been coming to the gym for a long time and felt like it wasnt' a big deal b/c the daughter wasn't bothering anyone. one of my co-wokers who has 4 kids sided with her. i didnt' say anything but the next day i talked to the instructor about it and when she explained why she felt that the child shouldnt' have been there it made perfect sense to me.it's of course a liability issue and she's the only one who does that and it wouldn't be fair to the other parents to just allow her to bring her child into the cardio room.i talked to the owner's son about it yesterday morning and he said that he would take care of it and that no child should be in the cardio room at all and that he doesnt' even want them to run out after class to meet their parents.i know this mother is going to be upset but hey it's the gym's policy and i don't know of any gym that would allow that. i gues she threatened to go somewhere else. we'll see....

just thought i'd share that with you all!

indigo

wow, that's pretty outrageous! Maybe she wasn't bothering anyone, but she could have been hurt, and like you said... a liability issue. Wow.

I also work at a gym - park district run - and sometimes work in the childcare area as well as the front desk. The stories you and I could share!

The instructor definitely shouldn't have let the mom have the kid in the class with her. We have parents complain about us not being "child-friendly" sometimes, which is of course ridiculous, considering we're the park district. They don't seem to understand the liability aspect. They say "oh I am responsible for my child." Yet, the minute something happens, the kid trips, then it's OUR fault. Not the parent who wasn't watching their child.

i totally agree! i was telling my husband that other day that the same parent that was complaining would also be the first to sue if her child got injured in the cardio room. my boss made a flyer reiterating the gym's policy which i like b/c it makes it clear and she can't say that she's being singled out plus it's coming from my boss instead of me which is what i believe it should be. i think having a daycare at the gym is really child friendly enough. i don't know about your gym but at mine they have morning and evening hours plus they have hours on sat. mornings. i think that's pretty generous.

i'm sure we'd have some very interesting stories indeed! i'm really curious if the parent who complained will come back or if she does if she'll say anything. if she says anything to me i'll just smile and say take it up with the owner!

indigo

We are open 8:30 - 1 and 4 - 7 weekdays, 8:30-11:30 Saturdays. It's not enough for them, though, they want it open all day every day, but they don't seem to understand that we have to pay people to staff it, and it's not enough if only one or two people use it during those times that we are closed.

I have a coworker who I consider a friend. We are not allowed to have cell phones at the desk. However, her cell rings about 10 times a shift and she answers it and goes in the back - leaving me completely alone in the front with no help. Who is calling her? Her 7-year-old son. Because her daughter's not playing with him, or the babysitter told him he couldn't have ice cream for dinner, or he's bored, or he wants to play a game, or blah blah blah. It's never anything "important."

How come it's okay for her to be away from the desk talking with her kid for so long? She'll walk away from customers who are trying to get her attention to do this.

It's frustrating. But, then again, I don't have kids, so I don't get those rights.

Ingilbert that is pathetic. There should be no double standard regarding cell phones. Either your coworker should turn her cell phone off when she is working, or she should find a job elsewhere. Personal calls should be made when she is on a break only.
And if I was one of those customers who was trying to get some assistance, I would be contacting the manager to complain.
Sorry that you are having to pick up the slack for your coworker.

that is lousy and unfair. I hate to sound insensitive but if she cannot turn off her cell phone, she should not have that job. We were all kids pre-cell phone and we grew up just fine without calling mom and dad 10 times a day!! If there is a desperate issue, use the landline!

One of my coworkers gets text messages from her daughter, while her daughter is in class! They're not supposed to use their cell phones while in school, but my coworker lets her get away with it. Of course, she herself is practically surgically attached to her cell phone, so I'm not surprised. She got her oldest daughter a cell phone at age eleven.

I agree, cell phones don't belong at work, unless it's a work issued phone for work related duties. My company doesn't provide cell phones for any of its employees but you still hear them going off constantly.

Cindy