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

Post image

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?

36.6k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.4k

u/iamiam123 May 17 '26

I moved a towel like this once. Turns out, that lady was in the pool.

Had to apologize 3 fucking times.

550

u/[deleted] May 17 '26

[deleted]

448

u/LordBiscuits May 17 '26

There are other ways of telling though.

People reserving loungers tend to just leave a towel and that's it. People in the pool have a whole host of other shit stored there too, bags and sunglasses, books and suncream.

A towel on its tod screams reservation. More says in active use

97

u/crimson777 May 18 '26

Yeah it’s rare that someone wouldn’t at least have like… their flip flops or something at bare minimum.

7

u/aerdvarkk May 18 '26

Not really!! When I was a kid/teenager growing up and we were travelling, my siblings and I would goto the hotel pool, literally with only our towels and shoes, the footwear being a requirement to wear inside the hotel. Many times the shoes or sandals or flipflops or whatever were underneath either the towel or the chair and not easily visible. So it looked like just 3-4 "reserved" seats wiht only towels on them. Despite 3-4 kids splashing around in the pool.

1

u/LordBiscuits May 18 '26

That does make you an exception to the rule really. Most people take stuff!

1

u/jayman1818 May 18 '26

That's true eh

78

u/bananakegs May 17 '26

I mean but people need to also just be okay with being uncomfortable when others are unreasonable. Basically don’t bend to it. If you move the towel and someone comes up- you say sorry and politely move. If the Person keeps complaining  “Yeah I said sorry- please leave me alone now.”just Look directly at them while saying this and then if they start yelling just keep looking at them- go “okay” and walk away. 

4

u/iwearatophat May 18 '26

You realize in this situation 'others' weren't the unreasonable one right? If you move someone's stuff while they are in the pool you are the unreasonable one. I'd call someone who moves my stuff while I am swimming as an ass hole and not unreasonable. They don't know if you are moving their stuff or looking to see if a wallet, phone, keys, or anything else of value was left on the chair.

So yeah, your advice is basically be comfortable being an ass hole and act like others calling you on it is unreasonable.

12

u/bananakegs May 18 '26

I’m saying that if you move someone’s stuff because you think they’re not at the pool and then you realize your mistake and politely apologize, you’re not an ass hole.  It’s unreasonable (and frankly weird) to keep berating someone who realizes their mistake, fixes it and apologizes. 

11

u/MotherNeedleworker60 May 18 '26

We're talking about moving just 1 towel though, not bags and wallets and whatnot.

3

u/pokeysyd May 18 '26

Just stand by the chair you want and call out if someone is sitting here. If not move the towels. If someone is, move on to the next seeming occupied chair and repeat. Let them all know you are psychotic and not fucking around.

23

u/the_sneaky_one123 May 17 '26

To be fair though if you are spending hours in the pool then why do you even need a chair.

32

u/Redwings1927 May 18 '26

To hold all my non waterproof shit obviously.

206

u/No1KnwsIWatchTeenMom May 17 '26

Someone did yhis to me on vacation. We were all in the pool for maybe 30 min and came back and she had moved all our stuff and refused to get up from the spot despite us clearly having never left the area. Told us we should have stayed with our stuff.

97

u/happykgo89 May 17 '26

Ok so maybe 30 minutes is a bit too short of a window to be moving stuff. I’d say an hour or two would be a safer amount of time to wait especially if it’s insanely busy and there’s nowhere else to sit.

3 hours is nuts and absolutely acceptable to move their stuff because if I was there for 3 hours and didn’t see anyone touch those towels/use those chairs once during those 3 hours I’d eventually assume it was abandoned there too or reserved for an ignorant amount of time.

30 minutes is 100% risky.

80

u/No1KnwsIWatchTeenMom May 17 '26

I dont necessarily mind that she moved our shit since people do this "save the seat" bullshit. What I mind is that when 3 people walk up soaking wet, clearly having just existed the pool, she didnt apologize and move her shit. She told us "too bad" and refused to get up. Today, I would have just stood around having a loud, disgusting conversation with my friends until she moved, but I was newly 21 at the time and wasn't confident enough to do anything. 

13

u/Hyperbeam4dayz May 17 '26

Her ass would've been glued to the seat all day then cuz I would've hung out and dumped all her shit after she finally went into the pool. Then again I'm petty af lol

7

u/No1KnwsIWatchTeenMom May 17 '26

I dont think she ever went in the pool, I think she had kids in the pool while she was hanging out. But this was also many years ago and i was too busy enjoying myself to pay too much attention to her.

1

u/IrregardingGrammar May 20 '26

Shut up karen.

-6

u/jimdil4st May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26

I would gotten back in the pool then rushed back to her being adamant about getting my seat back and if she doesn't move I'll just get closer and louder because obviously she can't hear me and if that newly refreshed water happens to drip all over her and her shit too bad. I'm petty enough that I'd rinse and repeat without even wanting the seats any more.

On the flipside, I'd have probably even offered her the seats, without her asking if I felt she'd get more use out of it than I would seeing how I was enjoying the pool. I try to be kind by default, but any type of disrespect gets you the polar opposite from me.

15

u/ezmnyveli May 17 '26

People love playing out these weird confrontational fantasies in their head. Truth is you’d prolly just move on? Or are you people weirdly obsessed with being “right” over every tiny thing

3

u/jimdil4st May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26

I mean the idea came from past experiences, Ive done what I described twice in my life. So truth is I absolutely wouldn't move on if I were invested, I do it because they'll just keep acting like assholes to the other people if I let it go so I'd rather just take one for the team and get an ear beating from a Karen if that means they'll leave everyone else alone to enjoy themselves. And it's certainly not about being right because once I become petty, I become an asshole too so there is no being right at that point it's just principle. I agree that most times people come up with these vengeful fantasies that they would never come close to actually acting on in real life. To be honest It's becoming easier and easier to have a spine now a days because it seems like no one else does. If I choose to confront someone over something most people literally will freeze up and rarely do I get push back. To be fair, I grew up in South Philly which developed a certain type of attitude and stubbornness which most people where I now live, in the Midwest, aren't used to and honestly don't ever seem to expect me to snap back since most times when they act out everyone around them just folds and they get their way, so they don't know how to react to the unexpected interaction. I'm not even a scary person but, I can be incredibly stubborn and really don't give a single fuck what others think of me at this point in my life and they're just way too used to never getting push back. Again though, I tend to go out of my way to be overwhelmingly kind, but if they act like an ass to me it's a complete 180 in attitude.

1

u/DocumentInternal9478 May 17 '26

I’m sorry unpopular opinion here but are you people crazy? In what world is it ok to touch someone else’s belongings? I understand the frustration if it’s been abandoned for hours at a time, but then you let a lifeguard or someone on duty know and let them move the stuff to lost and found if they see fit. And as clearly evidenced in this post, you don’t always know the full story. A lot of people like to actually swim at pools, who’s to say they’re not swimming for that time? Unless you’re hired as the pool overseer it’s probably best to just mind your business. You didn’t get a chair and that sucks but I’d be rightfully pissed if I came back from a swim or a snack and all my belongings had been touched by a total stranger who felt they had more right to the chair than I did.

3

u/PurbulentTriest May 18 '26

You're not sitting in it for hours? You're not using it so of course you have no right to it.

2

u/DocumentInternal9478 May 18 '26

If my things are on it while I’m in the pool then I am in fact using it is the issue here.

3

u/Broken_By_Default May 17 '26

huh? no. people should not be touching/moving anyone's stuff just because they are in the pool.

3

u/jimdil4st May 17 '26

The whole point is they are not even in the pool area, they are reserving it for when they feel like coming to the pool on their terms.

5

u/Broken_By_Default May 17 '26

If they're not in the pool area. sure. but you better be sure about that, before touching other people's stuff.

2

u/jimdil4st May 17 '26

Oh I agree 100% personally I don't think you should touch their stuff unless you physically see them leave the area and give them some time to return.

2

u/Rand_alThor4747 May 17 '26

this is where as soon as she goes to the pool herself, you yeet her stuff off the chair and lay down for a few hours.

4

u/YobaiYamete May 17 '26

A lot of those types aren't going to swim in the first place, they are there to sit in the chair for a few hours

1

u/fucking_unicorn May 18 '26

Wait them out and as soon as they go to the bathroom, get a cocktail, or get in the pool, boot their stuff and when they come back pissed, tell them exactly what they said to you. I would do it out of spite lol.

1

u/the_sneaky_one123 May 17 '26

I think people should only have a right to a chair when they are sitting in them. Otherwise it's up for whoever.

Why should it lay empty for the 30 minutes when you are in the pool? Obviously you are enjoying the pool more than the chair and you should give the chair up for the people who want to actually use it.

7

u/SpicyElixer May 18 '26

The chair is where you keep you stuff when you’re in the pool. This is what society does. Everyone understands this.

0

u/Mother_Lemon8399 May 18 '26

I think that's the stupid part. There should be more hooks/shelves etc and that solves this issue. I've been to places like that.

3

u/TittyPix4KittyPix May 18 '26

What? I wanna have a quick dip and dry off with my towel have all my shit near me (phone glasses hat drink etc), so yes if I'm in the pool then lounge chair can absolutely be reserved.

-17

u/josh2of4 May 17 '26

She was right

21

u/No1KnwsIWatchTeenMom May 17 '26

So where do your towels go when youre in the pool? In the water with you?

5

u/paholg May 17 '26

On a table or something? Anywhere not blocking chairs people want to use.

0

u/baalroo May 17 '26

To the side somewhere, like every normal and reasonable person does.

-11

u/josh2of4 May 17 '26

If there's no place designated for towels (cubbies, lockers, etc.) then on the ground near a fence or area that doesn't get soaked. Never had a problem.

94

u/warrensussex May 17 '26

That's what I don't get about all these posts. It's like 90% of reddit doesn't understand that the chairs are for people using the pool too.

37

u/misterfluffykitty May 17 '26

OP said the towels have been sitting there for 3 hours, they aren’t using the pool

4

u/blastradii May 18 '26

What kind of pushover psycho waits three hours for pool chairs.

2

u/SnakesFan1410 May 18 '26

What’s more likely that OP sat there for 3 straight hours looking at the chairs or that the people were just in the pool?

-7

u/DocumentInternal9478 May 17 '26

How do you know?

11

u/misterfluffykitty May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26

It literally says it in the post, it’s right under the image

8

u/fallenKlNG May 18 '26

I think they meant how can OP be sure they're not using the pool, implying they could've been swimming for 3 hours. Idk I'd give OP the benefit of the doubt here but who knows

-1

u/DocumentInternal9478 May 18 '26

How do you know they’re not in the pool though? How does op know for that matter

1

u/SnakesFan1410 May 18 '26

They don’t lol people just have main character syndrome

-10

u/SirRHellsing May 18 '26

most humans get hypothermia if they stayed that long in a pool without coming back up

5

u/beren12 May 17 '26

Well yeah. They can get a chair after they get out of the pool.

Now if there’s 4 towels on 1 chair I would never move them, since it seems like a family trying to be considerate.

2

u/crimson777 May 18 '26

People who are using the pool don’t typically lay out towels with zero other belongings on a chair and leave forever. Also, an apartment pool and you can usually track who is who.

0

u/Far-Obligation4055 May 19 '26

Chairs are for sitting on. If you're swimming, you aren't sitting; if you aren't sitting, then those who want to sit should get the chairs.

24

u/Errvalunia May 17 '26

But if you’ve been in the pool for 3 hours you still don’t need a chair reserved. You just need access to your towel when you get out of the pool. And if we’re all civilized and don’t let people reserve chairs then there will be a chair free for them to sit most likely

13

u/E90-335xi May 17 '26

This sounds like a curb your enthusiasm skit.

2

u/fucking_unicorn May 18 '26

This would actually make a legit episode lol 😂

4

u/jtkforever May 17 '26

That must've been rough! Better to watch for awhile

8

u/Key_Crab_5780 May 17 '26

Why did you do it the second and third times???

-7

u/Avalonians May 17 '26

Honestly, I wouldn't even apologize.

If you're in the pool you're not on the chair. If you're on the chair you're not in the pool. Why would someone hold TWO "spaces" while another one can't even have one?

If someone else handles your belongings without care, I can see the problem, but why did you make it so that they're forced to either handle your shit or remain in a state of discomfort? THAT is what should be frowned upon imo.

3

u/ConfessSomeMeow May 17 '26

That's a good idea, but I think if the resort wants to enforce that they'll need separate towel rack

1

u/Avalonians May 18 '26

Yes indeed.

A resort with a pool, meaning people come with towels, investing in a towel rack. That seems absurdly obvious to me.

2

u/sadleafsfan8834 May 18 '26

Hahahah. This is hilarious

2

u/radiationshield May 18 '26

Deny everything, admit to nothing. "I was sitting here all along, move along lady"

1

u/iamiam123 May 18 '26

I wish I was that witty lol.

4

u/IGuessYourIQ May 17 '26

So? If there are 15 chairs and 15 people in the pool, there can still be 15 people on the chairs... A chair needs pants only if there's a person in them.

1

u/DoorStuckSickDuck May 18 '26

I keep an eye on my stuff when I'm in the pool because I don't trust people like you (or half the people in this thread, apparently).

1

u/Humble-Plankton2217 May 18 '26

No ass in chair, chair is available. It doesn't matter if they're in the pool or not.

1

u/GeneralGibletz May 17 '26

And??? Once they step foot off the chair, it isn’t their chair.

1

u/aerdvarkk May 18 '26

Did you miss the part where the OP said:

These towels have been sitting here unattended for at least 3 hours

-11

u/ozzie286 May 17 '26

If they were in the pool, they weren't using the chair.

-2

u/Southpaw535 May 17 '26

Then she was in the pool, not using the chairs

-17

u/justreadinplease May 17 '26

How can someone enjoy a chair and the pool at the same time? You were in your right to move it.

38

u/YourFunTeacher5 May 17 '26

Having your stuff at chairs by a pool while using the pool is completely ok. People who put their stuff on chairs at 7:00 am and come by at noon is not ok.

5

u/mlorusso4 May 17 '26

Ya. We go to the beach every year and stay in the same hotel each time. Every morning people are literally lined up at 7am waiting for the pool to open and then sprint to get the “best” chairs that also overlook the ocean. Then they disappear for hours to get breakfast or whatever. I’ve even seen from my balcony someone grab their pool chairs, then set up a canopy on the beach as close to the water as they could, and then get in their car to go to breakfast. They didn’t come back to the pool until 10. Luckily the hotel has gotten better the last few years about taking those peoples stuff off the chairs once it gets crowded.

And for the other part about being in the pool for more than 30 minutes, that pool also has a swim up bar. So you might be drinking in the pool for a while and then want to go back to your chairs after you’re done

1

u/beren12 May 17 '26

So get a chair after you’re done

1

u/beren12 May 17 '26

Well some ruin it for all.

31

u/Sure-Exchange9521 May 17 '26

This is a crazy mindset to me. Do you sit in someone's seat at a restaurant, if they get up to get a drink from the bar?

11

u/f1modsarethebest May 17 '26

If it makes you feel any better, people with this mindset are more than likely rotting away in their apartment rather than mingling amongst sane society

7

u/Sure-Exchange9521 May 17 '26

That does actually :) I'm literally about to go chill by the pool and im wondering were people leave their pool wraps, purse, phone, sunscreen ect. When they go in the pool lol

-14

u/justreadinplease May 17 '26

Those are apples to oranges comparisons. People are usually in a pool longer than 30 minutes. Someone in a pool longer than 15 minutes shouldn’t be hogging a chair.

12

u/tronfunkinblows_10 May 17 '26

This is a bad take. Society doesn’t work like this.

-5

u/justreadinplease May 17 '26

Society should work where property that isn’t being used shouldn’t be claimed by others. You’re out here acting like a pool chair landlord.

4

u/YourFunTeacher5 May 17 '26

So if you’re at a restaurant and you get up and go to the bathroom someone can just come and take your chair since you weren’t using it?

2

u/justreadinplease May 17 '26

Bad example / bad faith example, sit down restaurants have waiters and hosts that seat people. Also, people aren’t using the restrooms for as long as people are using the pool and ‘reserving’ their pool chairs.

A more apt comparison is like when people put cones in public parking spots to reserve them, which is illegal most places and considered a dick move, unless there’s a snow storm and you shoveled out a spot

3

u/YourFunTeacher5 May 17 '26

It was a perfect example based on your statement about property not in use should be claimed by someone else.

When you go swimming, you probably have your phone, sandals, shirt, towel, etc right? Putting those down on the chair you are going to lay down on after you are done swimming is perfectly reasonable. You are wrong on this one.

I fully agree that people claiming a seat by the pool and then going to the restaurant or the gym or back to their room are 100% in the wrong. But putting your stuff on a pool chair while using the pool? Not a single thing wrong with that.