I can't say I wasn't warned about Miss Jackie. I know enough people who still have to wake up way too early or be out way too late just so they can exercise while their student husband is still/finally home with their kids. I could have bought a gym membership through Mark's school for dirt cheap but they didn't have day care. That's why I thought Bally's would work--I guess that's what all these previously mentioned women thought too. And yet they are still forced to sacrifice sleep time or hubby time so that they can get some exercise (no, chasing your kid around the house does not count--if it did, I would be in better shape). So here I am, paying $30 /month so that I can waste gas to drive all the way out to Bally's, hang out with Noah in the kids' club for 10 minutes. Go work out for 13 minutes. Then get called back in to the kids' club to hang out with Noah for another 15 minutes. And then convince the care taker to let me leave Noah there so I can take the world's fastest shower before leaving Bally's and continuing on with my day.
Maybe I'm so frustrated about this because I expected it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Maybe it'll get better. Today was only my 3rd day here. The problem is that Miss Jackie is a poor care taker. All she does is sit at the desk. She does not interact with the kids. She will not greet and welcome Noah when I bring him. She will not sit with him until he is feeling better. All she does is sit at her desk and talk on her phone or with other employees who walk by the room. It's pretty ridiculous that another gym member offered to come in and hold/play with Noah while I finished my workout. Isn't that what Miss Jackie is getting paid for? Isn't that her job? There are a lot of people out there needing jobs right now and Ballys is paying this lady to do nothing?! They are having money problems too and I'm pretty sure they can't afford to being paying someone to do nothing when there is actually work to be done!
Miss Jackie also seems to think she is a doctor:
I come in the door. "I think he's sick, he hasn't stopped crying since you left him" (He wasn't even really crying until he saw me walk in) "I think he has an ear infection," she tells me. "
"Oh really? He's never had one before. I think he's just really attached" I say
"Well he's still a baby, he can still get ear infections."
"I doubt he has an ear infection. He doesn't cry any other time. "
"Well his coat is pretty light, it's cold out there you know"
"Uh, we walked maybe 100 ft outside to get from our car into the building. " (It's was a pretty nice morning, Noah had a light fleece coat on with long sleeved shirt and onesie)
"Well I'd call the doctor and get him checked, I've had this happen alot and I am alway right. besides, he's new here and he's just not used to it yet"
"well he's not going to get used to it if you don't help him and you always call me in right away"
I spent another 15 minutes playing in the room with Noah when a gym member came to offer to play with him. I told her I was just going to take a shower and that I would be back in 5 minutes. Well now Miss Jackie must have been feeling awkward about this: "Well I could hold him while you go take a shower."
I gave Noah to miss jackie and walked out with the other lady who then told me how she has had the same problem for years, which is why she wanted to help me out.
When I came back to get Noah (He was distracted by the TV and fine now), Miss Jackie tells me that he has a really high fever and that I should call the doctor to see if he's sick.
"Of course he feels hot, he's been crying on and off for the past 30 minutes." And we leave. Just as I thought he would, Noah perks up and has no sign of fever.
I guess I should try a few more times before I give up. But before I give up, I'm definitely going to complain--especially since I know plenty of people to back me up. The end (for today)
9 comments:
WHAT-THE-HECK!? That sounds terrible, Holly. I'm really glad you're going to complain. It's really awful that this woman is caring for children. I'm very sorry if this is your best option for working out in your part of town. I hope you get plenty of people to back you up. That lady should be fired. Especially if this type of behavior has been going on for years!
Oh my goodness. I would be so mad and annoyed if I were you. The ear infection/fever stuff would have seriously put me over the edge. What a genius! I hope you can find a different gym that has better day care- there's got to be a better one out there. If you have a contract with Bally's, you should be able to terminate it because of their horrible service.
Wow. Seriously, I'm sure there's someone out there who would love to take her job who would actually DO the job. Sheesh.
Oh, and I will definitely tell Shells that she needs to let you back in :) (She still has the link to your blog on hers...that's how I found it. So there still must be some love :)
Holly I'm sorry! I'm really mad at Ms. Jackie too now that I have heard about her. There are lots of people who actually like kids. They should get one of them.
that stinks! that lady sounds horrible. i always get so bugged by people who think they know better about my kids than i do. thankfully in my case those people haven't been the care takers at the gym(so far). my gyms have all had pretty great people working in their kids clubs. you're right to complain. hopefully it will yield some results. good luck!
Lame. All you want is a workout at a decent hour of the day! =)
We had a similar problem at our YMCA here---not as bad, but they'd call me in for the tiniest reason and I never got a decent workout. We talked to the caretaking manager and haven't had a problem since. I hope you have a successful outcome. You need that time for you and to know that your child is being taken care of. Good luck!
Holly,
So sorry to hear that it hasn't worked out! I'm bummed! We should plan to go at the same time next week or something and see if it works out for Noah and Nora to play together. Or at least we can swap out of something like that.
Get out while you can!
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