An Equinox Dilemma: What would you do? What should I do?

Here is my dilemma. When I am in town, I go to the Equinox in my neighborhood every morning. I am always there before it opens, along with a group of fellow insomniacs. The numbers vary but there is always a group waiting for the opening. This Equinox is certainly the nicer of the neighborhood health clubs and only one block from our home. I have been a “member” since it opened 3 years ago.

The fellow responsible for opening on weekdays sets a very welcoming tone and allows everyone to wait inside until time to go to the gyms. Everyone waits in an orderly line, patiently, fully aware of the procedure and the timing. All of this happens before 5:30 am. By the time we go to our respective workout locations, everything is on and ready to use.

The folks responsible for opening on weekends are invariably snarly and never open the doors until the minute the gyms are allowed to be used. Those who are waiting get cranky, impatient, and annoyed at the seemingly meaningfulness stringency. And all of this happens around 8:00 am. Even at that later hour, most of the time much of the gym is not quite ready.

I learned that a number of those who wait for the opening on weekends have written to the management to complain. The consistent response has been that the management of this Equinox location is not sympathetic at all. A number of regulars have quit because of their experiences. [I have since learned of more.]

Finally a couple of weeks ago, I too had reached the point where I was simply too annoyed with the rude manner, to say nothing of the silly procedural rigidity, so I wrote to the Equinox headquarters. In my note, I highly praised the week-day greeter and suggested that the weekend staff should take lessons from him. My feelings about this fellow are widely shared, especially contrasted with most of the other greeters. The headquarters folks did not respond at all but I did get an email from the manager of this Equinox. The manager told me that she appreciated the kind words about the staff and would make sure that he knew of them, but then went on to justify why the weekend procedure was the correct one. [That there were inconsistencies in her response only reinforced to me that she and thus the weekend group had simply decided to adopt a very stringent interpretation of how to open.]

A few days later, I asked the weekday greeter if the manager had passed along my good words. He assured me that she hadn’t. Two days later he told me that she never said a word to him but another supervisor criticized him for his lenient practice and was advised that the procedure should be to keep everyone locked out until the time to let people exercise.

So here is my dilemma: Instead of praising and giving a bonus or raise to a prized employee, they turned a positive into a negative. It led to one of the other morning greeters who was very warm and welcoming, to quit. And even other staff, waiting for the door to open, have also voiced their annoyance at the silly rigidity.

The question: What should I do now? I certainly do NOT want to endanger this employee.

1. I can write to the headquarters again.
2. I can go talk to the local manager, but anyone who has done so says that she is neither pleasant nor responsive.
3. I can quit and give the money I don’t give to Equinox as a bonus to this employee.
4. Other?

I am now going to be away for a bit so I won’t act in haste, but I do want to do something. Let me know your thoughts.