At the gym, lockers are a great way to keep personal items safe but are sometimes intimidating for first-time users. Gym staff members break down how to use lockers and give tips for remembering locker combinations and numbers.

Carmichael Gym has two options for keeping visitors’ items safe while they work out: day-use lockers and overnight lockers. Jason Spivey, associate director for Wellness and Recreation, said day-use lockers are free, available in most spaces around the gym and have built in locks, but many people use the lockers without actually locking them, making their items susceptible to being stolen. 

“We have an abundance of lockers in almost every space that we have,” Spivey said. “And those lockers come with locks built into them, so you don't even have to have [your own] lock. … I would encourage everybody to put stuff in lockers and then to actually lock the locker. A lot of times people will just put stuff in lockers but not lock it. And that's really not doing what it's supposed to do.”

Spivey said day-use lockers are meant for temporary use and work by allowing users to set a new lock code each time it gets used. To set a new lock code, users should pick an unlocked locker, while it is unlocked, set a new code using the dials, close the locker and scramble the numbers so it locks. 

Leo Jaffe, graduate student in public administration and program assistant facility operations for Wellness and Recreation, said many gym-goers don’t use the lockers because they aren’t sure how to use them.

“A lot of times students, they're a little hesitant to use lockers only because they may not know how to use them,” Jaffe said. “We do have infographics in our main hallway and I think on [the second] floor as well.”

Jaffe said gym staff are also available to assist users with the lockers. 

“Our staff is completely available to teach users how to unlock and lock a locker,” Jaffe said. “And more often than not, for users who do have trouble opening the locker, our staff is more than happy to … open the locker for them. There's never a bad time to ask our staff for assistance with unlocking a locker.”

Jaffe and Spivey recommend either writing your locker number and combination in your notes app or taking a photo to make finding and unlocking your locker easier. 

“Take a photo [with] your phone,” Spivey said. “I think one of the challenges is that all the lockers look the same, so I think just having an awareness of what bank of lockers you used, and taking a photo of the area, or of the locker specifically just helps.”

Spivey said gym-goers can also rent overnight lockers, which can be more comfortable since users would become familiar with a specific locker and its lock. 

“If students are really hesitant because they don't want to feel like they don't know how to use day-use lockers, we also have overnight lockers that they can rent,” Spivey said. “And that's a combination lock that's preset. I think that gets you more familiar with that lock and that locker, so you may have more of a comfort level doing that as well.”

Overnight lockers work by renting monthly for $5 or annually for $60. These lockers are found in the locker rooms at the bottom floor of the gym and are only used by the person renting the locker, which may make users more comfortable. 

“They're a little larger in scale [and] typically they're also only located in the locker rooms,” Spivey said. “So, that's maybe a drawback or an advantage to it depending on how you want to look at it, and those are theirs to keep for the whole time they're renting it. So, it's one user using that [locker]. I think that can be an advantage at times.”

For overnight lockers, the gym’s Member Services department keeps a log of all renters’ locker numbers and their combinations, Jaffe said.

“Usually the way they purchase that locker is through our Member Services department,” Jaffe said. “They keep a spreadsheet of all those lockers, all their combinations and the assigned person to that locker. So, let's just say I forgot the combination for whatever reason, I can go to the Member Services Desk Attendant and ask them ‘Hey, this is my locker, can you quickly look up the number or the combination for me?’ and they'll probably ask you for some identification just to make sure it's you that owns that locker.”

Jaffe said users should be aware that some day-use lockers get a lot of use and are old, so they don’t always work properly. 

“They're old; they've seen a lot of people use them,” Jaffe said. “We had like 94,000 visits in just January, so we're bringing tons and tons of people and people are using those lockers … Sometimes you will put a code and let's just say is 1-2-3 and the two is slightly off, not fully set in, you might put that code in, and it's right, but when you go to open it, the two was never set into that code. So, it's still pulling that number from the previous whatever. So in that situation, you didn't really do anything wrong, it just didn't put the code in all the way. … Just contact our staff, they're more than happy to fix it.”

Spivey said, when things like this happen, users can contact staff to open the lockers for them. 

“That's when you can get with Wellness and Recreation staff, and they can get you access to [the locker] pretty quickly,” Spivey said. “They're typically going to ask you for a brief description of your items, just so when they unlock that door for you, if it's something that's not yours, they close it back. We're not going to give it away, so they're going to just ask you to verify that for us.”

Spivey and Jaffe said the lockers are a great resource and they highly recommend students using them. For more information on lockers, check out the Wellness and Recreation website at wellrec.dasa.ncsu.edu/memberships/amenities/

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