Gym employee hit on me and asked for my number.. do I mention how uncomfortable that makes me to a different manager?

[ella5525]

@markvs Just tell him that you only date people the same age as you. Or go on a date and eat/talk with your mouth open, burp a lot, one up all his stories, ect. ect.

 

[summer37087]

@markvs This was inappropriate workplace behavior. It is unprofessional for an employee to hit on a customer. Tell a manager. They probably have policies against this kind of thing, and if they don't, hopefully they will formulate some as a result of this. Do it for the next woman he hits on who does feel threatened.

 

[micro1984]

@markvs One time I asked a gym employee if someone had turned in a ring I’d lost (a college ring, very very special to me) and he helped me look around and said he would check in the managers vault the next day (manager was out). He was very polite and we chatted a bit as he was helping me out.

He ended up finding me on Instagram and DMed me and we chatted. I wasn’t against making a new friend and I didn’t shut down flirtations because I am painfully oblivious. Anyway he started getting a little ballsier and started coming up to me every time I was working out and would text me comments on what I was doing and I drew the line when he sent me a gif of someone getting spanked (I was not being flirtatious, it was friendly at absolutely best). After that it made me extremely uncomfortable and self conscious to go work out so I had to stop going to that gym altogether

TLDR you can shut it down or you can accept that it might change your gym going experience

 

[dawn16]

@markvs Block his number and report to management. I can’t believe all these comments saying that since he wasn’t creepy it’s ok.

It’s not ok for employees to hit on customers. And it’s not your responsibility to make him feel comfortable or protect his job.

 

[peeday]

@markvs Be honest and say it made you uncomfortable and that you’re not interested in going a date, don’t worry about hurt feelings because what he did was super inappropriate. And then definitely tell the manager if he gets fired he gets fired he made a choice that was super inappropriate he has to live with consequences

 

[blessedbeyondbelief]

@peeday He made the unprofessional choice to hit on someone at his place of employment. He shouldn’t be getting paid to hit on customers. He can ask someone on a date in his free time outside of work. Even if this was the sweetest nicest person he should no longer work at the gym where he should be held to a professional standard.

 

[maryj94]

@blessedbeyondbelief This is a pretty heartless thing to say in these times.

Getting fired during a pandemic is a very harsh consequence for asking someone for their number in a non creepy way. He shouldn't have, sure, but getting fired over it is an extreme he doesn't deserve.

 

[blessedbeyondbelief]

@maryj94 So what you think it’s acceptable to behave unprofessionally because it’s a pandemic? A pandemic doesn’t stop people from being fired or evicted. I’ve been homeless and unemployed during the pandemic and I never made inappropriate advances on anyone. It’s not heartless it’s inexcusable behavior in the workplace.

 

[dawn16]

@maryj94 Just because he was polite doesn't mean he wasn't creepy. A cold approach (i.e. they had no rapport built up) is creepy in almost all situations.

 

[maryj94]

@dawn16 OP said herself it wasn't creepy. I'm echoing her words here.

 

[peeday]

@blessedbeyondbelief Exactly!

 

[lajasha]

@markvs It happened to me too, I told the manager about it and switched gym locations lol

 

[dawn16]

@markvs Well, I’ll be honest, if he wasn’t particularly creepy or rude about it, there’s not really any point in telling another manager. If he starts to harass you or even stalk you, that’s when I’d say it’d be a problem. I understand it can sometimes be hard to say no to men; especially ones you don’t know, considering you never know what they’ll do or how they’ll react. But honesty is always the best policy, and can help avoid messes like this. In this particular scenario, it doesn’t seem to me he did anything wrong, (unless of course the gym has policies against employees approaching members in such ways, which is also a possibility) but from a personal/social standpoint, it just seems like he was being nice and reaching out in hopes to make something out of it. I’d just text him and explain you just felt a little pressured, and that you aren’t really looking to get involved with anyone right now, and maybe throw in that the gym is more for a stress-relieving, solo-time, therapeutic type thing for you and isn’t your ideal place for that type of stuff. Hope this helped

 

[localpr]

@dawn16 Honestly I think that’s probably the most sensible thing to do. I mean, if OP felt he had nefarious intentions then it would be ok to report him. But if the motive was just friendly chat, just say no to him and move on.

 

[dawn16]

@localpr Yeah I have no idea how I got so many downvotes lmao. Seemed sensible to me

 

[epidemius]

@markvs You don’t necessarily even need to say who it is, you just need to say that somebody asked you for your number and asked that they tell employees not to do that.

 

[dawn16]

@epidemius It’s important that management know who it is.

 

[kiwisalad]

@markvs Definitely speak to the manager! Also, let them know if you have a specific gym schedule that you stick to so maybe they can move his schedule around so he won’t bump into you anymore!

 

[clegane]

@markvs I think you should just let him know you’re not interested. If he doesn’t back down, then you should let the manager know for sure.
He should probably not have approached you but I think he was just shooting his shot, which is something I wish I had the guts to do, as a woman.

 

[brayandrea15]

@clegane Yeah, honestly, I know a lot of women are completely opposed to the idea of men approaching them in the gym, but I really don't think it's that big of a deal. In fact, my current boyfriend worked at a gym where he approached me, and we have been dating for 2 years since. Obviously if he can't respect your boundaries/move on once you've made it clear you're not interested, that's one thing. But I don't really see anything wrong with him shooting his shot. Why wouldn't someone want to take a chance with someone who clearly shares a similar interest?