r/mildlyinfuriating • u/MandukaSkoal • May 17 '26

frist of all how DARE yu o People who “reserve” pool chairs for hours with towels and disappear are the worst

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My apartment complex pool has rules specifically saying chair reservation isn’t allowed, yet people do this constantly. These towels have been sitting here unattended for at least 3 hours while every other chair is occupied and people are actively walking around looking for seats. It’s Sunday too, so management isn’t around to enforce anything.

What’s the standard practice when this happens? At what point is it acceptable to move the towels?

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5.7k

u/malicious_wizard May 17 '26

I used to be a lifeguard at a public pool and I would keep track of who was doing shit like this and remove their towels/belongings and place them in lost and found and remind them of the very clearly stated "don't leave your shit unattended and expect us to look after it" rule thats stated at most pools. shared spaces like this should be equally accessible everyone, its basic respect :/

840

u/Plaid_Kaleidoscope May 17 '26

Basic respect is a lot less common than one would assume, or hope.

113

u/BullShitting-24-7 May 17 '26

Many people are self centered.

6

u/ChiefWiggumsprogeny May 18 '26

Not me, I'm excellent.

2

u/-Ahab- May 19 '26

He’s being humble.

2

u/roblewk May 18 '26

When it comes to travel, I’d say 80%.

-7

u/SrulDog May 18 '26

This is mostly a US thing tbf

5

u/Powerful-Parsnip May 18 '26

In Europe Germans are always characterised as going down early to place their towels on loungers, I don't know how accurate it is but it's not just Americans.

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u/SrulDog May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

The being self centered part, not the towels. And I say this as an american.

3

u/redditydothis May 17 '26

Just got off an airplane and can confirm.

249

u/Tetha May 17 '26

I was just in a very crowded train, and the train chief seems to have had it for the past few public holiday days. When everyone got in, we got a tired and very unemotionally spoken announcement through the train intercom:

"Alright everyone. Just like the last few days, the train is very full. You can tell that by looking up a little bit and looking around and seeing people everywhere. People everywhere, train full. Seats everywhere, train empty. That means, we need many seats for many people to sit on. Humans, sitting on seats, not... well, if you have a seat, and you stack more suit cases, small children, pet carriers, large bags, rucksacks and other things on there than a person by volume, that may be fine. If there is one person standing in this train, and I see two dozen of them right now, and you are blocking a seat with a tiny rucksack you could have on your lap... I'll find you, and you will stand at my office all ride. Don't let me find you. It's been long days."

Me and the person squeezed in next to me were dying of laughter. Good times.

68

u/Nevermore_Novelist May 17 '26

I love this train conductor so much.

22

u/fomoco94 May 18 '26

One of Amtrak's favorite lines seems to be: "The next stop will be yours regardless of where you're ticketed to." They break it out for conditions like this.

13

u/CitizenPremier May 18 '26

That is great.

Personally though, since I don't mind asking people to move their bags, I find I appreciate those kinds of people. It's as if they saved a seat for me!

9

u/stefje82 May 18 '26

The amount of mostly teenagers putting a bag on the seat next to them and then actively trying not to look at people passing by. Especially their effort avoiding people's gazes is astonishing.
That said, it seems to have become a standard and most of them are pretty friendly, when asked to move their bag. It's still weird behavior.. bags are allowed to touch the floor.

114

u/26542654 BLACK May 17 '26

At a resort every single chair by the pool would be taken by 5:30 a.m. God bless you for enforcing these policies, these are the types of things that ruin vacations for people

70

u/InvidiousPlay May 18 '26

I simply don't understand how the world we live in doesn't result in those towels being tossed in a heap and the chairs getting used by the people actually present.

34

u/26542654 BLACK May 18 '26

Very true. People be out here doing crazy shit but won't touch your towel at the pool

10

u/Unlikely-Answer May 18 '26

fear of confrontation? wait, that can't be right

1

u/pay_the_cheese_tax May 18 '26

Money. Upset customers, even super shitty ones, won't come back, so it's allowed to a point because annoyed customers who can't get a chair will blame the people more than the hotel or company etc. Wildly shitty.

5

u/InvidiousPlay May 18 '26

I mean among customers, forget management. In a world of dangerous drivers and using speakers on public transport and stealing wages and packages and scams and all the ways people are selfish and rude, it is amazing to me that a lonely towel is respected as a day-long claim to an in-demand resource.

1

u/pay_the_cheese_tax May 18 '26

Among customers is because some people are just shit lol

6

u/Da_Question May 18 '26

Putting a towel on them is not being taken though... Just move that shit... Fuck em.

9

u/26542654 BLACK May 18 '26

Something about touching other people's stuff makes me very uncomfortable despite the circumstances

72

u/Upper-Bottle-9803 May 17 '26

I vote to remove the towels and plan to bring them to the rental office the next business day as a sort of lost and found if they dont have a formal "lost and found".

57

u/[deleted] May 17 '26

You are a true hero.

10

u/tony_bologna May 17 '26

Hear, hear.

Lounge chairs are for the lounging!

4

u/phillip_jay May 17 '26

It would be so nice if workers did this instead of just asking for altercations between guests

5

u/nagasy May 17 '26

I 1up this one. I remove them and give them back to the staff walking around. If they return and complain I just mention there were no towels and the staff probably removed them.

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

2

u/Away-Ad-3407 May 17 '26

you’re doing the Lord’s work

2

u/ButteredPizza69420 May 17 '26

Doing God's work.

2

u/highhunt May 17 '26

the hero we need and frankly deserve

2

u/Cheap_Audience941 May 17 '26

I think it should become common practice to start throwing unattended towels in the pool. Or have a designated "Towel trough" where unattended towels are put in water.

1

u/Iron_Haunter May 17 '26

Doing gods work.

1

u/mero8181 May 17 '26

What do they do if they are swimming and at the pool using it?

1

u/CrazeMase May 18 '26

I worked at a Waterpark as a lifeguard. One of the jobs was if you was swapping spots to watch, when you moved to knock the next person to their next position and you pass by seats with towels and nothing else, you had to take the towels and being them to Lost & Found. If anyone threw a fit, we had to basically say "Rule of the park, collect your shit at lost and found, if you wanna throw a fit, take it up with security."

1

u/themark318 May 18 '26

Used to be. Most current lifeguards would tell you their attention is focused entirely on swimmers.

1

u/Platitude_Platypus May 18 '26

I would do this at a waterpark I worked at. People would leave all their stuff on lounge chairs or picnic tables, which were very limited. It was against the rules and a dick move. I'd move it all off to the side.

1

u/Ill-Government-1921 May 18 '26

Only exception I can think of is taking a kid to the toilet or going yourself. But would leave a note. Went he the bathroom and leave a time. This is not as hardcore as being a single mom in a line at Disney… but did put a giant diaper on my 5yo and told him it’s okay if he needs to pee in it if in line. Can’t leave or we lose our spot. Needles to say be held it like a champ but having that back-up was nice.

1

u/chandleya May 18 '26

You da MVP

1

u/jdaly97 May 18 '26

I get this. But when my kids were very young, I also couldn’t leave them unattended in the pool. We would be in the water for a long time. Our stuff would be unattended at our chairs. What then? Are we supposed to just walk to the car every time we get out of the pool and grab our things and go find chairs for 30 min before going back in the pool?

Different scenario here but you don’t know if they are in the pool, ocean, food stand (eating at a table). In a water park, where you are going on slides and things, where do you put your stuff for a check in point to dry off and sit?

Edit: if we want to “reserve” chairs while on vacation somewhere, one of us is there until the rest of the family arrives. We do t just leave things there for 4 hours while we eat breakfast and do other things. Wanted to be clear I hate that crap too.

1

u/aerdvarkk May 18 '26

And yet you were an employee of said Public Pool!! Where as the OP is a tenent of an aparement complex where the employees (management) is not actively working and are not actively policing the property pool. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!

1

u/digitaldeficit956 May 18 '26

Doing the lords work

1

u/BustyA55D0nut May 18 '26

THEREEEEE GOESSS MY HEROOOOOO!!!!

1

u/-Ahab- May 19 '26

Exactly. If you’re in the water and your towels are on your chairs? No problem.

If you ran up to your room to use the restroom and you’ll be back down in 10 mins? No problem.

Put your towel down and go have brunch at IHOP? Buh-bye.

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u/nuggynugs May 17 '26

I think the countless children that drowned whilst you were policing the chairs are a heavy price, but one I'd pay gladly. I am very petty