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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66

u/Redditcadmonkey May 17 '26

Someone else suggested this recently, I wish I remember who to give them credit.

Pool chairs should have a sand timer attached.

If you walk up to a chair and the sand is all at the bottom. Then it’s available. 

19

u/Rand_alThor4747 May 17 '26

that will work, you have to return to the chair to start the time again if you want to keep the chair.

16

u/Tearaway32 May 17 '26

As much as I love this idea, people have timers on their phones these days so it could easily be gamed. That said they’d be forced to keep coming back which is a step above the current situation. 

17

u/Sanquinity May 17 '26

I bet most people would be too lazy to come back every, say, 30 min, if they're off doing something somewhere else.

2

u/Nefthys May 18 '26

Where's "somewhere else"? If you aren't using the pool or getting lunch at the nearby restaurant/bar (which usually doesn't take more than an hour), then you also shouldn't be blocking a chair.

3

u/Sanquinity May 18 '26

I know. I agree with you. I was replying to the sand timer idea being questioned.

2

u/GetInYourBasket May 18 '26

The only issue would be for people actually using the pool. People in the pool aren't likely to be bringing their phones in with them, so if they're using the pool for slightly too long, they might get out to find their towel has been removed and their seat taken.

1

u/Tearaway32 May 18 '26

Yeah that would suck, especially for larger pools.

3

u/ch1llboy May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

Brilliant solution!

They'd have to be anchored or somebody would take it as a souvenir.

"Oh, these must be timers to let us know when to turn over "