The rude lady I met at the gym today didn't have nearly as good a figure as this model on the exercise bike.I had a rude encounter at the gym today. What to do about it is the question?
Here's what happened: at my gym you are supposed to put your name down in grease pencil next to the the treadmill or stationery cycle (those are popular machines) you are using and put your name down in grease pencil next to the one you plan to use, if you want to make a reservation and if it will be available.
I dutifully did this for treadmill number ten, which I planned to use from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. and I put my initials (RC) and the time (1:30) next to cycle number two which I planned to use after I had completed my thirty minutes on the treadmill.
I'm sure you can guess what happened next: at 1:30, when I had finished on the treadmill, there was a woman sitting on cycle number two, cycling away and reading a magazine. I looked up at the board to make sure I hadn't incorrectly marked my reservation. I discovered my name had been erased entirely!
"Excuse me," I said politely to the lady riding the cycle I had reserved. "Did you notice my name was written next to this cycle for 1:30?" Well yes, she had noticed it but since I wasn't there and she felt like it she erased my name and hopped aboard. Though that isn't exactly what she said. She said she couldn't read my writing. She said she hadn't understood what I had written. But, oddly enough, she was smart enough to erase my name so we had no record of what I had written to analyze.
I walked away in digust, because there is no way to win such an aegument. Even if you win, you lose. So I returned to the treadmill (which you aren't supposed to do as the use of them is limited to thirty minutes), and I worked out for fifteen more minutes hoping the rude lady would leave the cycle (the rest of them were all engaged) and I could cycle for a while. She did not.
So after fifteen minutes I went over to her and said: "You erased my name and I just want you to know ..."
She didn't let me finish. "You come here." She said.
"You erased my name and I just want you to know if you do it again ..."
She interrupted again. "You come here," she ordeered me, again.
"You erased my name and if you do it again I want you to know I am going to report you. So don't do it again." And then I walked away from her. She continued to give orders to my back as I picked up my keys and left the building.
What would you have done? I hate people like that.
Maybe I should have just smiled at her and said: "Oh well. I can see you need it more than I do. You go on ahead." Ha!
Bullies are everywhere. The most passive you can be is 'react to trends not events', so watch for this behavior in the future. If it happens even once, THEN be assertive, and you won't feel guilty about it later. I think of the apartment parking space issue. I have an assigned space. Once in a great while, a car will be there when I return. I could contact the apartment management office, thinking it's a deliberate provocation, but instead (because I'll feel better should things go sour, that I tried the quiet way first), I note the plate, and watch for repeat behavior. If it happens, then I can leave a note in the windshield, contact apt. mgmt. or even have the offender's vehicle towed, knowing I'm not overreacting to a single mistake.
ReplyDeleteHey, Robin! No fair. You didn't give us an opportunity to second your comment about Lena. I clicked on her image hoping to enlarge it, to no avail. The photographer chose an excellent color scheme, too, with Lena's brown hair, the two-tone blue outfit & the umbrella making her the central figure against the snow-frosted background. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteDear N: re the gym. You have really made a sensible point and I think that is a very good way to look at it in the future. Re my neice Lena (doesn't look like me, does she???) I'll see what I can do. No drooling now.
ReplyDeleteAHHHHHHHH! That is unbelievable. Not to come across pessimistic but this is a direct reflection of the narcasistic society we live in today. Not only was she extremely selfish she did not care! I can make a pretty good guess that you were raised like I was, WITH MANNERS! Since she broke the rules I would have reported her on the spot and more so because of the way she "reacted" to you confronting her "bad behavior" and I want to say "good for you" for doing so, she deserves more than a time out for that! She should be ashamed.
ReplyDeleteBob: The trouble is she didn't care, so nothing I did would have had an impact. It made steam come out of my ears, but in the end, I think I should have just walked away and let her be the pig she is! The real giveaway was that SHE ERASED MY NAME ON THE BOARD, so she knew she was doing the wrong thing. Oh well. Just have to let it go, I guess. One final point: at my YMCA in Florida they finally stopped the reservation method and just made the machines "first come first served" and I think that works better.
ReplyDeleteI would have reported her to begin with. The gym is your time. You did as you were supposed to according to gym policy. You pay your dues. I would still report it. I hate those people.
ReplyDelete