Hello! I'm from Europe but recently moved to Canada and am finding a few things different here from what I'm used to and am hoping someone here might be willing to chat and help me understand the local culture a bit better? When I go out running or to the gym, people sometimes have come and mentioned things to me but I never really understood it all but today I was asked to leave the gym so I am feeling a bit upset and confused. I'd appreciate someone to talk to about it. Thank you so much! Andy
Soy latino, y vivo en Canadá. Y tambien me cuesta adaptarme a la cultura, pero eso que dices de que hayan sacado del gym es muy raro
So in my opinion, I didn't do anything wrong, I just went for my usual routine, did some reps and showered and then as I was leaving, they said they have to take my access card back. Well there's a little more to it but I'm trying to figure out if I said something wrong or offended anyone? I used the sauna too and I wipe down the machines with the sanitizer wipes when i'm done, maybe I'm not supposed to wear a pouch when i'm on the treadmill? Is that allowed you think?
I don't think a place can tell you to leave for no reason, so either you've had a very extremely rare situation happen to you or you're withholding the reason from us.
Yes but the man was very rude to me and was swearing so I just left. Maybe I'll call them tomorrow and ask again. I just feel like I'm not adjusting well to life in Canada in general. I used to eat Quorn products but they don't have those here either so my diet has been suffering and I've been losing a lot of weight too.
I called them and asked to speak to a manager, she was not aware this happened so she put me on hold and then after a few minutes came back and started apologizing and said I can have my membership card back. She said they will give me an extra month free and hopes I'm not offended but then I asked again, "why did that man take my membership away" and she said "he thought you were too skinny and he thought you have some contagious sickness because your skin has patches." So um, I have something called vitiligo starting but it's only a couple of dots on my legs (I have white skin so it's not noticeable really), so I mentioned it to her and she said she assumed as much but apologized again and well. Here we are, I guess I can go back but I feel so scared to go there now. This has never happened in London or Edinburgh where I used to live. I feel ashamed a bit. Can anyone suggest what I can do to hide my condition better maybe?
Don't try to hide it, let your skin act as a natural filter for people who aren't worth interacting with meanwhile put on some weight.
Wow @andyl thats a pretty messed up thing they did to you. Personally, I wouldn’t go back to that gym or give them your money. I would have them refund you, and take your business where you will be treated better.
It's the only gym nearby, well I'd have to run 30 mins to and from the other one which I guess is probably not a bad thing lol. Maybe I'll try to get a refund, good point, it's not the best place because I've been feeling so awful there.
That is incredibly unprofessional. I've worked in customer service jobs for years and swearing at customers in completely unacceptable. Well, where I'm from you don't swear at customers. Surely this is not normal in North America either.
I thought I had done something wrong for sure but, I went in to get my card today and they actually refunded my whole membership for the year on their own and are giving me free access. The guy who yelled at me is still there working behind the desk so I may just go to the gym further away. Swimming with vitiligo is a new challenge for me because it has been spreading and people stare a lot in the shower and one person (Asian guy, very old), offered me some herbs to make it go away.
I'm sorry to hear about your experience at the gym, that must've been really frustrating. Canadians are in general good. My sister used to live there and she got no problems. Also I am a Canadian Pharmacy B2B partner and all they guys I met due to this job were so lovely and sweet so just give'em a second try.
Tell you the truth, I've lived in this country my entire life but I still can't get used to people here. There's too many cultures existing side-by-side, but ironically it's the locals who are forced to assimilate. Most of the immigrant communities tend to keep to themselves (as is their right, to be fair), but this means that cultural misunderstandings are bound to occur. For example, where I live, there is a large Eastern European community, and cultural misunderstandings/clashes occur almost every time we cross paths. I think their behaviour is cold and rude, while they think my politeness is fake and insincere. I've just made peace with the fact that we're simply too different to have a strong bond, so I just decided to keep my distance. The sad truth about Canada is that the people there are not as nice as they would have gullible people believe. Many people immigrate thinking that this is the case, but they get a very rude awakening like you did. Employers usually take the side of their staff in conflicts (I know this from my own job); if they fire their own staff for infractions towards customers, then they lose face for hiring them/not catching these flaws in the first place. Ego is everything in Canada, whereas customer satisfaction is a façade. Trust me, I can tell you stories there. Don't let that guy bother you too much. In fact, the best way to get rude employees to back down is to take their picture with your smartphone and write up a bad review for Google. Mention EVERY detail. If there's one thing I've learned, most businesses hate bad press, whereas larger more established companies will give customers a chance to "Tell us how we did today."
Wow, this is so sad but helpful. I know they did resolve this issue but on their terms and I'm still left feeling terrible after so it's not resolved for me, like you say, I'm having a tough time getting used to people here. Feel free to DM me if you have more to share so I can learn from you as I am still new to all this. Since this incident, I get home from school, change and run 30 mins to a different gym, then workout there and run back and actually, I'm losing weight when I'm supposed to be gaining so it's not the ideal situation for me. I think it's maybe also from stress as I'm feeling scared sometimes at school and work too. Maybe I'm just letting it all get to me, is this normal?
