It’s time for the season to kick into high gear, and we know that newcomers can use all the wisdom they can access to get through the summer.
In addition to the physical and mechanical skills required of the job, employees will have to deal with awkward situations involving patrons.
Some visitors will complain about others, or may take issue with the water temperature or a particular facility policy. Handling such situations smoothly requires training just as much as any other part of the job.
For this article, we asked long-time aquatics managers how they’d respond to a number of awkward situations — some rare, others more common than they’d prefer. You’ll find snippets of these conversations throughout this piece. In those conversations, 10 principles or lessons became apparent:
1. PUT A POLICY IN PLACE TO BACK UP YOUR INSTRUCTIONS.
A staffer’s instructions that patrons change their behavior will seem rather toothless in the absence of a policy requiring that change. Document these rules, not only so that new members can read about it before using the facility, but also so staff can point to the policy as backup.
2. MAKE USE OF MESSAGE REPETITION.
Members and patrons may have to read facility policies while signing up, and the rules may be posted on your website. Back those up with real-time reminders. For instance, have instructors and other staff tell patrons to make sure not to leave behind any belongings when leaving the property.
Or, if you need swimmers to clear out by a specific time to make way for other programming or to close shop for the day, use the intercom system to broadcast several notifications counting down to when they must exit the pool. But reserve signage for only the most important messaging. If an area has too many signs, they can become invisible.
3. TREAT EVERY COMMENT OR COMPLAINT AS IF IT’S VALID.
Don’t dismiss a person, their comments or complaints, no matter how petty their comments may seem. Don’t address them in a way that suggests their complaints or input are not wanted.
4. LOOK FOR CONTEXT.
Find out as much as you can about the circumstances of a situation. If there’s a turf war over a swim lane, for instance, try to find out who got there first. In most cases, this person gets to keep the lane in the event that you need to move one of them to another.
However, context may guide you in a different direction. For instance,one person in that lane may need to stay there, if that space has disability access. In other scenarios, you may find that the patron doesn’t have housing, or has a mental health issue, which could steer you in a different direction when finding a solution.
5. MAKE USE OF THAT FIRSTCOME-FIRST-SERVED RULE.
People can be territorial animals and, as such, you may find yourself facing clients fighting over a lane or other space. Both may be uninterested in moving, even if you find a comparable space. If your facility has instituted a first-come-first-served policy for
such spaces, rely on that to determine who would have to move.
6. DON’T APOLOGIZE IF THE FACILITY ISN’T IN THE WRONG.
When somebody complains, saying you’re sorry is often a way to convey empathy and assure the client that they’re being heard. In this context, however, an apology could raise the expectation that the facility will change something. This doesn’t mean you should take a defensive or contentious tone: You can express that you understand it’s not their preference but it is facility policy.
7. LET THERE BE CONSEQUENCES.
If somebody’s behavior puts anyone’s safety at risk, or if a visitor purposely does something to make staff or other patrons uncomfortable, let them know that banning them from the site is an option. None of these aquatics mangers like this solution, but sometimes it’s necessary.
8. TREAT UNSAFE BEHAVIOR LIKE THE DEAL BREAKER IT IS.
No matter how accommodating you try to be, allowing unsafe behavior can’t be considered an acceptable solution.
9. STICK WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF YOUR JOB.
You may think you can handle a situation and/or make a decision on how to solve it. And you may be right.
However, if policy says somebody else handles it, there is a reason behind it. For instance, if a staffer has found a t-shirt stuck in the toilet
drain, you may think you can just try to pull it out and be done with it. But some facilities will specify that only the custodial staff should deal with such issues, because they are most qualified to assess the problem and fix it without worsening it or causing damage. Other times, a situation could have escalated to the point where the manager should be brought in. For these kinds of policies, the most important role you can play is to notify the proper people.
Those with a lower position on the org chart also can take advantage of this fact when you explain to patrons that you can’t change the water
temperature, for instance, whereas a manager or supervisor may be more likely to take ownership of the decision and explain to the client why the policy is in place.
10. SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS THAT ENABLE YOU TO DO YOUR JOB THE BEST.
A fitness or swimming instructor won’t want to stop their class to handle disruptive behavior. They also may not be
best positioned to enforce policies, as they have to consider their long-term relationships with an offending student.
For this reason, it may be best for instructors to signal to a lifeguard or other nearby staffer, who then can handle
the disruption or bring management on deck. On the other hand, if that instructor has a good relationship with
the patrons causing the disruptions, that relationship make the offending patron more likely to listen.
EVERYDAY SCENARIOS
See what our experts had to say about addressing specific situations aquatics professionals face everyday:
Scenario: At lap swim, a patron complains that the swimmer in
the next lane is splashing them. What do you do?
Pete DeQuincy
Aquatics Manager
East Bay Regional Park District
Oakland, Calif.
I would listen to what they say but, unless it’s intentional, where we see the person purposefully splashing, I would just say, ‘I’d be happy
to watch to see if he’s splashing; I’ll make an assessment.’
I’ll watch the person to see if there’s any intention. But if Bill is just swimming poorly, we’re not going to do anything. Then I’d explain,
‘Hey, I watched the person on Lane 1, and it doesn’t look like they’re trying to splash you intentionally.’
If it’s intentional, we’d be happy to address it. I would say, ‘It looks like you’re intentionally splashing. Is that accurate?’ If they say yes,
I’d remind them that people don’t come here to be splashed … and I would remind them that we have a policy that we can ask people to
leave at any time.
Scenario: During Water Exercise, a patron enters the pool and begins swimming laps near the class. What do you do?
Angela Wild
Owner/Swim Instructor
Elemental Aquatics
San Diego
They’re immediately removed from the area, no question.
I’ve had to deal with this so many times. Usually what happens is the aqua aerobics instructor will explain, ‘This area of the pool is closed off.’ If the instructor is clever, they’ll use humor: ‘Oh, Mr. Smith, I’m so glad you decided to join us for aqua aerobics class today.’
If they continue to swim there, you have to pull them aside and explain that this area is reserved exclusively for aqua aerobics class right now. If they don’t leave, one of two things will happen: The students will harass them, or someone will find a supervisor and have them handle it. Usually, you have a lifeguard sitting in the chair, so the instructor notifies the lifeguard, then the lifeguard notifies management. We have a well-oiled chain of command so the instructor doesn’t need to be interrupted.
Scenario: At lap swim, a patron complains that there is a water walker in their lane. What do you do?
Joey LaNeve
Aquatics Supervisor
Queen Creek, Ariz.
President
Association of Aquatic Professionals
I would treat it like any other lane conflict. The fact that they’re water walking doesn’t make a difference, as long as they’re using the
pool as it’s intended.
Maybe that water walker needs shallow water and can’t swim horizontally. A lot of times with water walkers, there’s a mobility
or discomfort in deep water, so I will try to accommodate that person.
If there’s an open lane, I’ll ask the lap swimmer to move to that open lane. If there are no lanes available and that’s their only option,
I’ll see if we can split that lane in half so one person’s on the right and one person’s on the left.
Scenario: At Water Exercise, a patron complains the equipment smells. What do you do?
Tara Deffley
Recreation Supervisor
City of Petaluma
Petaluma, Calif.
I would definitely thank them for their feedback and assess the situation and see if there’s anything we can do, to address it to the best of our ability. When dealing with subjective issues such as this or water temperature, we want to avoid apologizing when we haven’t done anything wrong. If you apologize, sometimes people expect immediate change. But you can’t always make a change. So, instead, I thank them for their input.
Avoid making promises. Say something like, ‘I’ll assess the situation and see what I can do about it,’ or, ‘I’ll pass that along to management.’
Next time we see them, depending on personal availability, we let them know if we did do something to address the issue. Follow-up is important: People want to feel heard, and we don’t want people to think we’re ignoring a problem.
Scenario: A client complains that the water is too cold. What do you do?
Joey LaNeve
Aquatics Supervisor
Queen Creek, Ariz.
President
Association of Aquatic Professionals
The first thing I always do is try to trust the participant as much as possible. I believe they’re telling the truth, so I’ll check to see if the temperature is where it’s supposed to be.
If the readings are where we expect them, then it’s usually a conversation with that participant explaining that the temperatures are reading at their correct level. I’ll outline the factors we need to consider when determining the right temperature — explaining what the bigger picture is. I’ll tell them how the air temperature can affect how the water feels – on a cooler day, the pool will feel a little bit warmer, for instance. There are a lot of factors that go into play there. Generally the patrons are pretty understanding.
If somebody complains that the pool should be kept at a different temperature, I’ll listen and try to empathize. I’ll explain that it needs to be kept at a certain level to accommodate multiple types of programs and activity levels. I’ll also say that the temperature can’t be changed instantly on a whim as we move from program to program. It’s not like a thermostat. Unfortunately, we can’t make everybody happy, but I do my best.
