I Have Been Stewing about this for a Very Long Time.........

[ekerr19]

If it's been ten years ago, as you seem to imply, it was time to move on nine years ago.

 

I don't think the incident was 10 years ago - I think Sail was referring the length of time it's been since she used Steiner's spa services...

[sail7seas]

No, Tom.

 

 

It was very much more current than ten years ago.

I don't know where you got a 'ten year ago' notion.

 

It was actually very recent......note the reference to recovering from heart surgery. That surgery was in December '03.....and we weren't allowed to cruise until months after that. We have only been on 4 or 5 cruises since then.

[sail7seas]

Laura.....Thanks. That's where he got the idea.

 

I couldn't figure out where he got the 'ten year' thing from. You're right; I have not purchased a Steiner service for the last ten years.

[Bill S]

Sail, IMO, the trainer was way out of line to do that without asking you permission or approval first. Being in a management position, I tell our clients that I cannot fix problems that I do not know about, so yes, you were right to report it. It is management's decision to decide how to deal with that kind of behavior, how to "fix" the problem, that is.

[RichardK]

As I read this thread, the score to this point is: 16 votes for S7S, and none against!! What did you expect??

 

If you're feeling guilty you should feel less so now. However, I don't think you should have brought it to the attention of High Ranking Officers -- there is a definite chain of command which you bypassed. The problem should have been dealt with. The manner in which you dealt with it could have been handled better!!

[Druke I]

I agree that the "trainer's" actions were inappropriate, but I think it is time to let it go.

 

Stewing over it just exacerbates the situation.

[mountainmare]

I agree with the others that the trainer was out of line. You did wait until the gym was empty to express your opinion and his reaction indicates that you were correct to do something else.

On our last cruise I wrote a letter to guest relations about an inept and person who did not live up to the idea of service first.

RichardK has a point about chain of command, but since you are friends with many officers I don't think that you did anything wrong. Noone should be stressed on a vacation!!!

[ImpulsivePuppy]

i believe you did the right thing and the instructor was out of line.

[Without Tessa]

S7S - you mention that you don't ever want to do anything that would result in someone loosing their job. I think in most cases that's a really good and decent philosophy. However, in cases like the one you described, I respectfully ask you to throw that philosophy out the window!!! What this trainer did, risked your well-being. What if you hadn't said anything to anyone and he continued to have free reign to do those types of things? What if next cruise he added a hundred pounds to someone's dumbells? What if he made a mistake and push a wrong button on someone's exercise machine and seriously hurt them? If passengers did not report these things, his manager would never know and this trainer would continue to endanger people's health and safety.

 

We have no idea if there have been complaints before about this person and if they have tried to improve his performance by being understanding and accomodating. Perhaps he is just not a good fit for his work? (can you tell that I am a manager??) And there are just some situations where employees need to be let go.

 

JMHO.

[EmilyM]

Without Tessa is completely right. Not that I am able to follow through in similar situations. I was in a position last year where I felt morally obligated to report the behavior of my employer. Of course, I started feeling horrible that it would ruin his life, he would be forced to retire early, and the rest of his life, his career would be thought of with shame. So, I let the man grovel and forgave him, then quit. Since then, I have heard of similar behavior from him.

 

It is so hard to let people receive punishment for their actions -- I am so glad I am not a judge since I would let everyone off and crime would run rampant. Don't feel guilty at all. You did the right thing.

[stanford's girl]

S7S,

 

Hard to believe that this guy was a certified trainer. If he had any knowledge about physical fitness, he must have forgotten what he was taught. To tell someone they need to work out harder and adjust their treadmill without being asked, was totally irresponsible and dangerous. He had no idea of your health background. I would have reported him immediately. If he is that dense, he shouldn't be working in the gym. You should write to HAL and tell them the story. They need to know that things like this happen on their ship and can take the proper steps to insure that it stops. They can't fix what they don't know about.:)

[cruzngal]

S7S -

You were perfectly justified to be angry and take action. The only gentle critique that I would give you is that next time, follow through with the appropriate chain of command. As was stated several times before, you are the customer, and they need to know if one of their employees is out of line (and acting recklessly, I may add....).

 

If you report it through his supervisory chain, it's dealt with. I'm a little rusty on my acronyms, so I don't remember what F&B is, but in general, you would probably want to avoid talking about it around the ship to other employees not related to his particular area. They are all coworkers after all, and it just fosters gossip, which does no one any good.

 

As I say this, I know that in similar circumstances I might very well do the same thing. There have been a number of times when I'm unhappy with some service and have had to stop myself from complaining to anyone that would listen. And sometimes I've not been so disciplined, not handled it properly, and then did my own little passive-aggressive thing. (But of course, it's easy to comment when you see others do it.)

 

But given all that...SHEEESH! That guy sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. You shouldn't ever feel bad about reporting something that egregious. You would have done your fellow passengers a favor if they had fired him on the spot.

[tomc]

s7s...

 

I sit corrected as to the time frame. Given the circumstances, I'd have lodged a complaint and let the chips fall where they might. In a lesser situation, I might have seen the person later and chatted privately. Perhaps going up a strict chain of command would have worked better; I don't know. But if someone's idiocy causes a health risk to me, their job status suddenly falls into last place on my list of important matters.

[blackbird71]

S7S' date=' [/size']

 

Hard to believe that this guy was a certified trainer. If he had any knowledge about physical fitness, he must have forgotten what he was taught.

 

This person should not be in any service industry. His first question should have been Do you need any help? I sure the HM had somebody talk to him.....

 

Back to this 4 or 5 cruises since Dec 2003 :D:D Hard work but somebody has to do it...... Wish it was me....

[kryos]

It has bothered me since.

I never want to get someone in trouble.[/font][/b]

Was I wrong.

I stay as far away from the gym during a cruise as I can. :) Now I know why. :)

 

Seriously, you were not wrong. Frankly, the guy sounds strange to me. He probably won't last long on HAL anyway. Why someone would interfere with a passenger's workout when that passenger didn't even request their assistance is beyond me. Normally personal trainers aboard ship charge for their time, don't they?

 

I could see him interfering if you were somehow operating the machine in an unsafe manner ... coming over to you and providing corrective assistance for safety reasons, but this story is wierd ... and you were certainly not wrong bringing the matter up with others who could take corrective action. His behavior could represent a safety risk to passengers with unique health issues that know exactly the level of workout they are to undertake.

 

I doubt he got into trouble ... not if this was the first time he's been reported for such conduct. I would imagine that he was probably just provided with a little remedial training as to acceptable and unacceptable behavior in the gym.

 

I don't see anything wrong with the way you handled it at all. You may have prevented someone else from being injured as a result of his over-zealous attempts to "help."

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Linda&Vern]

s7s - I think you reacted remarkably calm with the trainer. I am afraid the ENTIRE ship would have heard me SCREAMING at him at the top of my lungs. I am actually a very shy person and don't like confrontation - but when you push my buttons :eek: ! You are lucky you are acquainted with the two managers - and could talk calmly (which I'm sure you did) with them about the incident. Again, the entire ship would have heard me screaming at any manager I could find. He was way out of line in what he did and YOU DID THE RIGHT THING.

[blackbird71]

s7s - I am afraid the ENTIRE ship would have heard me SCREAMING at him at the top of my lungs.

 

:D:D

[SantaAna,CA]

I've never heard of a spa trainer, or anyone, doing such a thing to a "client" or "customer" or "guest", which of course anyone is cruising on a ship. You were absolutely correct, he was in the wrong with what he did.

 

I would suggest, however, another way of handling it.

 

Even though someone is testing our patience, I think the better way to go would have been to get out of there, and go find this person's superior immediately. Calmly explain the situation, that it's not only strange, but you don't want it to happen again. I've no doubt that whoever is in charge would have agreed with you, especially when you explained your medical condition. You're absolutely right. It wasn't only rude, it was dangerous for this person to do that to your exercise equipment WHILE you were on it, not knowing anything about you!

 

It's okay to report someone to their superior, especially if you attempted to correct the person one-on-one (as you did) and he would not be corrected. THEN is the time to find their "boss". That is how companies who desire to provide good service, improve!

 

People can do the strangest things and get on our last nerve. But my best advice to anyone would always be, don't come unglued, look for the way to resolve it keeping your temper! Just a suggestion for next time (and there is always a next time!)

 

Jane :)

[ryansmemom]

Sail,

 

I have to say, I don't see anything wrong with the way you handled the situation at all. Since you were so concerned about the appropiateness of your complaint, it was only natural that you speak to the people you knew about the situation. The fact that you are uncomfortable with Steiner employees is another factor that reinforces my belief that you followed the right procedure for you.

 

As far as the chain of command issue is concerned, you were a guest, not an employee. That is really not your concern. As close as some of us feel we are to HAL personnel, we are not part of the system. We are guests and not subject to the same restrictions. I deal with issues like this all the time in my practice. Relationships are complex. There is a hierarchay on the ship and the chain of command is an issue for those who are part of it, just as it would be in any orgainization. Guests are not part of the chain of command and need not be concerned with it.

 

Linda

[Krazy Kruizers]

Judy,

 

Didn't have a chance to get on line this afternoon.

 

WOW - yes, you should still be upset over what happened. He was way out of line doing what he did. Did he think that you didn't know what you were doing and by showing you how to "adjust the speed and raise the elevation" that you might ask him to help you and pay for some professional help??

 

I have very severe arthritis of both knees and just had to get a series of shots in the left knee so that I can cruise in May. When I am able to use a treadmill, I can only go at a certain speed and can't do "hills" (steps can be a nightmare for me). So to have someone come over to me, stop the machine, and program it to his liking would infuriate me. The one thing I can't do after having the shots for a couple of weeks is "pounding" - no hard exercise and stay of stairs and inclines.

 

I have a low boiling point at times and I am afraid that I would have made mention of the incident to our concierge and I would also have been down to see the guest relations manager. After going through the channels on our last cruise over a couple of incidents (which I am not ready to talk about yet - still cooling down - another reason why we haven't booked any cruises after November), we did have to see the guest relations manager.

 

I am so glad that you know a lot of people that you could mention the incident to them and it was passed on by word of mouth.

[CDRMark]

I think I might have accidentally fallen and injured his arm

 

You were absolutely justified.

Cheers

MarkB

[stefhef]

S7S,

 

That story is unbelievable! My wife and I frequent the gyms on all of our cruises - for us, it is one of the highlights of the cruise. We have never experienced anything like that, nor witnessed it.

 

I think that what you did was definitely in line. Which ship were you on, btw?

We were last on the ZUI and the gym manager, Lizzette, told us that she has been on board since the inaugural. We enjoyed a class (spinning) with her and with the other gym personnel (I can't remember his name).

 

Even if you are in perfect condition, there is no telling how you may feel that day, or whether you are recovering from some illness or seasick. They should never invade your workout routine! I would write to Seattle.

[tw1nk1es]

I read your post a while ago and it continued to bother me. I think you were too easy on the trainer. A couple of years ago, I had an extremely serious accident. Now, to work out, I wear clothing which covers my scars so I look pretty good. However, I use any equipment at a VERY slow pace as "bionic" parts just need more caution to operate. Had a trainer done to me what he did to you, I would likely have just fallen right off the treadmill! I would have "raised Cain." I am however pretty vocal about physical therapy issues as I only got rid of my walker last summer and the leg brace in the fall.

 

Sail, I think you were patient and polite to the extreme!

[mhb1757]

Let it go....the angst over the actions of an idiot have been far more detrimental to your health than the inappropriate actions were.

 

 

 

You stood up for yourself at the time, you reported his inappropriate actions...that is all you could do so leave it behind you....you'd be much better off laughing at the jerk than stewing over it all...if you don't see any humor in it then resolve never to mention or relive the situation again....your heart and your BP will thank you.

 

To relive the anger and frustration is to give him power over you in a negative way again and again.... letting it go is for you, not for him.

[sail7seas]

Thank you to all of you.

 

 

Every message here has been helpful to me and I appreciate your taking your time to respond. I asked the question and I wanted responses.

 

I feel 'more clear' about the situation now and "ryansmemom's" post was so right on target for me. Thank you, Linda. I am uncomfortable with Steiner personnel due to past incidents. I always go out of my way to avoid any contact with any of them. I know that there is a chain of command on a ship. But, as Linda said, as a guest, I did not feel obliged to acknowledge that chain as I would be expected to if I were an employee.

 

Because we are personally well acquainted with the officers I mentioned, they were 'my comfort zone'. I knew I would be listened to and taken seriously. I knew they would not brush me aside or ignore my comments. And I also knew I would not have to get into lengthy discussion or requests for written comments or any of that. I know they are highly capable people and would deal with it the way they thought best. That was my only goal. For someone in authority to be made aware of what transpired with me and this trainer.

 

(BTW....to the person who asked, the F & B is the Food and Beverage Manager. That person is next in line to the Hotel Manager.) The Hotel Manager, Captain and Chief Engineer I believe are the only four stripers on a ship.....The F & B has three stripes.)

 

[someone please correct me if there are other four stripers I have forgotten about].

 

And, yes, Tom, :) at this point, I am now ready to put it away. You are correct; it is time to do so.