I was a member for almost two full months and I was loving it until my membership was abruptly canceled and I was banned from rejoining. The space was great for me to get work done, and because they allow you to bring guests, I had started bringing my son with me because he is an online college student and it was a great place for him to get his work done also. To give you some context, my son is one of the most gentle people you will ever meet, very unproblematic. He also is a quiet and introverted person, and I prefer to work in noise, so when we go to Switchyards, I sit in the common area with the music, and he sits in the heads down area where it's silent. I have never dropped him off and left him there, we've always remained in the same club, just in different parts of the club due to our different work styles, which I didn't know was an issue.
Yesterday, my son dozed off while working in the heads down area. Apparently someone came and told him he couldn't do that and it was against the rules. No one ever came and told me this was happening. He dozed off a second time and then was told he had to leave. Again, no one told me this was happening. So he came over to me and told me he was going to go to the car and take a nap because he was tired. As I stated, he's unproblematic so he never told me he had been kicked out. Not even 5 minutes later, I get an email from Switchyards saying that me or my guest had been caught sleeping in the club and my membership was being canceled. I was also asked in the email to not attempt to rejoin. I was in complete shock, as the email was the first time I had been made aware of this issue. Literally as I'm typing a response to try and explain my position and appeal, a staff member comes up to me and tells me I'm canceled, I have to leave, and he's there to escort me out. Again, complete shock! I calmly told him that I was so confused and I was attempting to email back and he tells me I have to do it outside. I told him I didn't even know what was going on and he said my son was given a warning and then was asked to leave. I asked him why he didn't come talk to me and he firmly stated "there's no sleeping in the clubs!" I told him I didn't even know anything about that policy and he barked "it's in those terms and conditions you signed when you first signed up!" He then escorted me out in front of everyone in the middle of my workday which was extremely humiliating. I stayed calm the whole time and he kept snapping when I was simply asking for some resolve. He told me the only thing I could do was email if I wanted to discuss it. I finally asked him why he was treating me like a criminal and he told me he wasn't because he didn't call the police.
This whole experience was so ridiculous! Now whereas I do understand why such a policy would be in place, I don't understand why they wouldn't put it on their club rules boards in the clubs. Every club you walk into has a list of rules that everyone is expected to follow. Yes, no sleeping should be implied, as this is supposed to be a professional environment, but if a rule can get you immediately canceled and banned, then yes you should expressly state that. Furthermore, I have witnessed different members at different clubs dozing off on MULTIPLE occasions. So yes, I was in the dark about this ironclad rule. I finally received an email response back and was told the decision was final because I had broken the rule on multiple occasions according to the staff. I don't even know what they're talking about, this was a one time situation that I wasn't even made aware of until I got canceled.
I know Switchyards is cheaper than a lot of work clubs out there, but it isn't worth it to potentially be treated this way. I guess I don't fit their description of what a remote worker looks like. It's a shame too, because I've sang their praises all over Atlanta and advertised them to friends in other states since I joined. Do better with the way you treat people Switchyards, and get your staff some training in customer service. read more
