Stamford JCC — Local services in Stamford

Can’t believe what happened today, JCC Stamford CEO Marshall ( I think that’s his name) in person told me to choose another place other than JCC in front of his staff and members in the front desk. You may think I did something terrible and deserve to be treated like this. I will write details down below, so you can decide who is crazy here.

Both of my kids started learning swimming here 3 years ago and we have been members ever since. They liked the coaches here and had a great progress. Now my daughter is 8 and my son is 6. We were so excited when the coach told us they were ready to go to the Junior team recently. In the past year, the family locker room on the first floor has been renovated for a long time and hasn’t finished until now. We don’t have a place to take shower after swimming lessons (3 times/week), so I figured maybe we can use the women’s locker room (I’m a mom). I asked if that’s Okay we use it temporarily until the family locker room is finished. The lady in the front desk said no.

At that time, the CEO came out and told me that I can not take the kids to the locker room and I can always choose to go to other places if I think it’s not fair.

I guess a member like us only paying a few thousand dollars for membership and swimming lessons every year don’t deserve to be treated friendly and respectably in JCC.

I thought JCC is a family friendly place and recommended so many friends to take lessons here. Now, I realized that JCC don’t really care about the families who have kids taking lessons here. They don’t care if your kids need a place to take shower. They don’t care if you parents have a hard time to find a place to change your kids clothes. They don’t care to provide good service to you members. Allowing kids using women’s / men’s locker room during the renovation of family locker rooms is just a trivial thing that for them to do for the young members, but they just ignore it. I’m wondering what they really care. Getting easy money (donations form those good people) by pretending they care about members?

The front desk lady said many women don’t want to be seen naked in the locker room by a boy older that 5 year old and that’s why they made this rule. My son is 6 year old now, so he can not go to the women’s locker room. I totally understand the lady’s concern, but no body seems try to understand my (maybe and other moms) concert. I’m not sure how many moms will be comfortable to send their 6-year son to men’s locker room taking shower and changing clothes alone, at least I’m not ready for that.

The family locker room is not finished due to some reasons, therefore families with kids like us have difficulty to find a place to change and take showers in JCC even though we paid membership to get those basic services. We are punished by other people’s fault and the CEO said it is fair. There are so many ways to solve this problem for us, but all they said is you can go home to take a shower. Nobody takes responsibility here. This is such a poorly managed place.

I told the kids that we have to move on and go to find another place to swim, but they said they like the coaches and teammates and don’t want to leave. This is sad. I don’t want to punish my kids for a very mean and rude CEO, but I don’t want to pay a place that don’t care about their members. Anyway, I will start looking for other places...

⚠️🏊‍♂️ Swimming JCC School Review - Stamford: If you're considering enrolling your child in swimming lessons, please read my experience.

Pros: It's one of the few options in Stamford.

Cons: Unprofessional Enrollment Process: From the start, the entire procedure felt rushed and careless. Instructor's Approach: My child was pushed into the water on day one with minimal support, leading to stress and tears. Scheduling Issues: Tried private lessons with Tyler, who not only had scheduling issues but also unjustly charged for a missed class. Customer Service: After addressing my concerns with the Swim School Director, Alex, his response was dismissive, making me feel like my genuine concerns were minimized.

I genuinely hope Stamford gets more swim schools to challenge this establishment's approach. Until then, parents spend your money wisely and consider what's best for your child's well-being. 💡🏊‍♀️ #StamfordSwimSchools #ParentReview #StamfordJCC

Remember, every child and parent's experience may differ....

I swim 2x a week, my adult son uses the gym 3x a week, my wife takes workout and yoga classes 3x a week — and my friends play pickleball 2-3 nights a week as well.

The JCC is the center of gravity for our community in so many ways — and we’ve been coming here since my kids were little. Like everyone, our kids learned to swim here, held big kids bday parties here, made friends for life at Sara Walker Nursery School (actually we made more life long friends this way than our kids did!), attended galas celebrating our friends or seeing a comedian now and then.

I recommend giving it a look. You certainly don’t have to be Jewish to come daily, feel like you belong and make it part of your family’s story too. It’s clear that all people are...