Pool ethics

I have insomnia, so I will share an ethical dilemma with you.

I teach yoga in a fancy building. There's a private club on the 34th floor. It has a gorgeous view of Central Park, Great Lawn with all the treetops and people lying on the grass, the skyscrapers, the sunset, you name it. It also has a beautiful pool that is hardly used.

When I first heard of the position (through subbing), the girl who had my slot at the time said that we'd have full access to the gym. The pool was not mentioned, though it's on the same floor as the gym, and would seem to be included under "full access." Later, when the position became mine, I was looking for a sub and one of the subs mentioned how much she liked swimming there.

So last Friday, I decided to try it. Since I hadn't used the pool before, I called in advance to make sure it was kosher. The person at the desk said, "Actually, nooo....we can't have staff in the pool...but it's dead here today, you can sneak in." Talk about mixed messages.

So I used the pool, it was beautiful, warm, half-empty, no ropes separating lanes, etc.

I don't know if I can go back or not. Does it have to be "dead"? Should I seek out a second opinion? (There are other desk people I could ask.) Should I assume I can just "sneak in" again? The thing is, I don't feel really comfortable with sneaking. But it's a great pool and someone should be using it.

I do have a pool at my gym. It is, however, more crowded and not quite as pretty.

What would you do?

Update:

So I went to the pool at my gym today, not wanting to deal with the other situation, and it was more pleasant than I remembered. The lanes are longer than at the private club, and there was a Jacuzzi, which the private club doesn't have. Also, there were only 2 other people in the pool, so I got my own lane :) The only downside was the lack of a skylight (not a big deal) and the ropes (which I kept hitting when I was doing my backstroke, so I had to adjust my arm movements a bit).

Comments

Anonymous said…
I wouldn't feel comfortable with sneaking, either. Maybe you can ask someone else... the manager, maybe? Or whoever is in charge of hiring the trainers/instructors?

My gym doesn't have a pool. Sad. :(
This suzy said…
I would check with someone there that you feel comfortable with, but someone that has enough authority that their input would matter. It seems odd that they wouldn't want staff to use the pool - shouldn't their staff stay in shape too? lol
Bearette said…
Liz - I think that's what I'll do. I'll ask the girl who's at the desk the night I teach. Maybe DC has a community pool? There's one near us run by the city...I haven't checked it out yet.

Suzy - good point!
bdogg_mcgee said…
I don't know, I would probably just swim anyway and not inform the desk people that you were going swimming. Do you have to walk right by them when you go to the pool?

A dear friend once told me, "It is better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission."

But who's kidding who here? I would probably go up to the receptionist and be all, "um, may I swim here?" I'm such a wuss.
Bearette said…
Huh. I never heard that one before :)

You do have to walk by them, but I could walk into the locker room and go to the pool from there, and they probably wouldn't know the difference.

However, my gym pool is not that bad. It doesn't have a skylight, like the private club pool, but I'll live ;)

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