I’ve started a new self care routine over the past few months and that includes swimming several times a week. I love it because afterwards I feel more energetic, more supple and actually quite chuffed with myself!
Recently, when I got to the gym for my swim, the receptionist asked me to use the gents changing rooms. I was understandably confused,
“sorry, what?”
And again, she asked that I use the gents changing room.
“Why?” I asked, which I thought was reasonable, considering I had been given no good reason to go into the gents changing rooms. And she simply said, “they are second on the left.”
I didn’t ask where they were, I knew where they were, I’m a regular now after all. I wanted to know why I was being asked to use changing rooms that I’d been conditioned from a very young age not to go into. So, I tried a different question,
“Where will the men be changing?”
“In the ladies changing room”
I looked at her quizzically, as this seemed to be making even less sense now.
Then male receptionist demonstrated with his hand where the changing rooms were. I already knew where they were, I’d said that right? So, I tried to get some clarity with another question.
“Can you please tell me why the switch around”
Aha, at last a result!
“The ladies changing room has workmen in it so we can’t have the ladies changing in there”
Now that did make sense. ‘Thank you,’ I said, because I’d also been brought up to be polite.
With my confusion satisfied I proceeded cautiously to the gents. No matter that I was told the men were in the ladies changing room, I was taking no chances! I opened the door slowly, just in case it was some kind of prank, but no – to my relief, there were four ladies getting changed, and one looked at me, confusion all over her face.
“This is wrong” she said, “it just feels all wrong” and another said, “I’ve no idea why I am in here”
I smiled because I had the answer, and I love having the answers.
“Because the workmen are fixing our changing room” I informed her, as looking all knowing and wise as it’s possible to look whilst wriggling out of my clothes and into my swimsuit.
Then there was a prolonged conversation about how no-one knew why they were here, because no-one had told them, and I thought to myself ‘maybe because no-one asked?’
“Go use the gents changing rooms”
“OK”
Really? Without any quibble, and even though they felt uncomfortable, they just did as they had been told.
After my swim, as I was getting dressed, I heard another woman say that two men had come in while they were getting changed. This made me chuckle because that meant the men had totally ignored the instruction and the two large signs signalling them into into the ladies changing room. Hmm, another difference between the sexes?
Our changing rooms are usually relatively quiet, with an odd hello or a smile, but when habitual patterns are altered, that caused feminine confusion to be aired and emotions stirred.
Now the club had other choices; they could have closed the gym, they could have restricted use for women, instead they made a decision, albeit poorly communicated, that let us all continue to use the facilities.
When I left, I sat in the car laughing at my experience, reflecting on the different actions of the people at the gym that night. Some ignored the request, others followed instructions without question and others like me requested an explanation before proceeding.
Of course, the switch could have been better communicated. However, more than that, I wondered why so many people just ‘did as they were told’ without clarification, without explanation or reason then proceeded to complain quite bitterly about what was happening.
Human beings, all so similar and all so different.
That’s what makes life and business so interesting.
What Would You Do Without a Good Reason?
I’ve started a new self care routine over the past few months and that includes swimming several times a week. I love it because afterwards I feel more energetic, more supple and actually quite chuffed with myself!
Recently, when I got to the gym for my swim, the receptionist asked me to use the gents changing rooms. I was understandably confused,
“sorry, what?”
And again, she asked that I use the gents changing room.
“Why?” I asked, which I thought was reasonable, considering I had been given no good reason to go into the gents changing rooms. And she simply said, “they are second on the left.”
I didn’t ask where they were, I knew where they were, I’m a regular now after all. I wanted to know why I was being asked to use changing rooms that I’d been conditioned from a very young age not to go into. So, I tried a different question,
“Where will the men be changing?”
“In the ladies changing room”
I looked at her quizzically, as this seemed to be making even less sense now.
Then male receptionist demonstrated with his hand where the changing rooms were. I already knew where they were, I’d said that right? So, I tried to get some clarity with another question.
“Can you please tell me why the switch around”
Aha, at last a result!
“The ladies changing room has workmen in it so we can’t have the ladies changing in there”
Now that did make sense. ‘Thank you,’ I said, because I’d also been brought up to be polite.
With my confusion satisfied I proceeded cautiously to the gents. No matter that I was told the men were in the ladies changing room, I was taking no chances! I opened the door slowly, just in case it was some kind of prank, but no – to my relief, there were four ladies getting changed, and one looked at me, confusion all over her face.
“This is wrong” she said, “it just feels all wrong” and another said, “I’ve no idea why I am in here”
I smiled because I had the answer, and I love having the answers.
“Because the workmen are fixing our changing room” I informed her, as looking all knowing and wise as it’s possible to look whilst wriggling out of my clothes and into my swimsuit.
Then there was a prolonged conversation about how no-one knew why they were here, because no-one had told them, and I thought to myself ‘maybe because no-one asked?’
“Go use the gents changing rooms”
“OK”
Really? Without any quibble, and even though they felt uncomfortable, they just did as they had been told.
After my swim, as I was getting dressed, I heard another woman say that two men had come in while they were getting changed. This made me chuckle because that meant the men had totally ignored the instruction and the two large signs signalling them into into the ladies changing room. Hmm, another difference between the sexes?
Our changing rooms are usually relatively quiet, with an odd hello or a smile, but when habitual patterns are altered, that caused feminine confusion to be aired and emotions stirred.
Now the club had other choices; they could have closed the gym, they could have restricted use for women, instead they made a decision, albeit poorly communicated, that let us all continue to use the facilities.
When I left, I sat in the car laughing at my experience, reflecting on the different actions of the people at the gym that night. Some ignored the request, others followed instructions without question and others like me requested an explanation before proceeding.
Of course, the switch could have been better communicated. However, more than that, I wondered why so many people just ‘did as they were told’ without clarification, without explanation or reason then proceeded to complain quite bitterly about what was happening.
Human beings, all so similar and all so different.
That’s what makes life and business so interesting.
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