From the moment we arrived the tone of the staff was short and cold. No greetings, no smiles, no friendly interaction at all.
The interaction centered heavily on the facility's policy that only one adult could accompany a child under five. Specifically, my two year old could be accompanied in by one adult but not the five year old, she had to enter by herself. While I understood and acknowledged this rule, it was repeatedly emphasized in a way that felt unnecessary and increasingly confrontational.
After checking in, I entered the gym briefly with my five year old (as instructed by the front desk lady) to place our belongings in a cubby, before returning to bring in my two-year-old with us. At that point, a woman--who later identified herself as the owner--questioned me about my child's age and repeatedly asked whether my younger child would be coming in. Despite my clear explanations that I was simply setting our things down and would return for my toddler, she continued to reiterate the one-adult policy and pressed for clarification. Her tone became increasingly firm, and she stated, "I'm the owner here, and I need to know what's going on and who's coming in," which made the interaction feel accusatory rather than informative.
The situation escalated further when my five-year-old decided she wanted her father to accompany her and her sister instead of me. We attempted to follow the rules by having my husband sign the waiver to take my place. However, the front desk staff again emphasized the one-adult policy, and the owner joined the conversation. The two of them spoke back and forth as though trying to decide what to do about us. In retrospect I believe they thought both my husband and I were trying to enter with our two children. I did not realize this at the time because I was so flustered by their tone towards us.
By the time the owner told me I was being "snappy," I began to tear up from this ridiculous escalation, the repeated questioning and lack of courtesy throughout the exchange.
Ultimately, we decided to leave rather than continue the interaction. Although we had already paid for both children to participate in open gym, we chose not to stay due to the negative experience.
My husband went back to grab my belongings, and I was sitting on the bench right outside, helping my daughter with her shoes when one of the customers/moms came out to comfort me and let me know that I was not the only one that has dealt with this kind of thing with the staff at the facility. When we got in the car, my husband told me that another mom inside told him that this kind of thing happens like once a week.
My husband later contacted the facility and was able to obtain a refund. read more
