to think that leaving your clothes in a cubicle doesn't make it yours. FFS. (Warning, sweary)

[knowitallstrikesagain]

So, swimming yesterday for about half an hour. When I got out, two of the three cubicles around the edge of the communal area were taken and one was full of clothes. I asked the people in the changing room, not theirs. I checked the shower and toilet area, nobody there. So I went in and got changed.

Halfway through changing, there is a knock on the door. 'Is someone in there, that is my cubicle?'
Me: 'I didn't realise this cubicle belonged to anyone'
Her: 'Were the clothes not a giveaway?'
Now, I am allowed to be sarcy, but don't try it if you are in the bloody wrong!
Me: I checked, this cubicle was not being used, I assumed someone had forgotten to put their stuff in a locker. I'll be done i a minute, or do you want me to pass you your clothes?'

Emerge a few minutes later to a cold, dripping woman with a death stare. She had been in the pool when I got out so was definetaly NOT using the cubicle.

I smiled sweetly and said 'There you go, do remember to put your clothes in the locker next time won't you?' and walked off. At least 3 people in the communal area gave me a little triumphant smile.

Now there are fucking great notices everywhere saying 'DON'T LEAVE STUFF IN CUBICLES' so it was bloody obvious she only did it to reserve herself a cubicle after her swim.

WIBU or was she a selfish, rude, ignorant bitch so and so who deserved a lesson?

And why has this made me so irrationally angry?

Where i live the clothes wouldn't be there by the time they came back from their swim!

She was rude, but you should have moved her clothes into a locker before you used the cubicle.

ooh, they always used to do this at my sons swimming lessons, unfortunately my children are quite clumsy when the are getting dressed so accidentally knocked piles of clothes on the soaking wet floor everyweekoccasionally. oops,
While we are on the subject why do people think that its acceptable to let children run up and down the side of the pool while they are watching lessons and stop kicking the bloody chair in front of you for the entire lesson even after I have asked politely for you to stop it.
and breeeeaaatthhhh
My 3 can all swim now so I dont have to do it anymore yippee

We once had out cheapo towels stolen from the side of the pool so people would be very unwise to leave stuff in cubicles at our local pool. A friend's son had his clothes and shoes taken from his locker - staff had to ring his mum while he shivered in just trunks and a towel!

I think you did the right thing, especially as you looked for owners of the clothes.
A few weeks ago I took my two dc swimming and when we got out I showered, emptied our locker and started getting dressed while the dc were in the shower. ds then started screaming because he had shampoo in his eye so I left the cubicle (naked bar a towel) and rinsed his eyes. In that short two or three minute gap someone went in 'our' cubicle and locked the door, leaving me wandering around in just a towel and my two dc with no towels or clothes. The cubicle next door became free so we sat in there and dd peeked out to see a young girl from that cubicle going to the loo so asked for our things, which were then flung at us. Nice!

"not freezing to death in the 30 seconds or so it'd take to go and unlock a locker. "

Oh heavens-I´ve heard it all now!

Can she not leave a towel "poolside"?

I swim in an outdoor pool & leave a couple of towels, shampoo & shower gel in a plastic bag on a bench & then leg it to the shower in the wind/rain-& occasionally stroll in the sun!

If she was outside, I would have been tempted to say "oh these are your clothes? Here you go then" and just hand her all her stuff, she would either have to hold them all or drop them on the wet floor Silly moo

Slightly different, but it reminds me of a story DH told me about swimming pools on holiday. He was on a package holiday with his parents and every day the loungers would always get reserved by towels (this was not allowed, but it didn't stop anybody). Apparently one day some guy got annoyed so while most people were having breakfast, he picked up every last towel and threw them in the pool.

I'm with giserable. Clothes in a pile outside on the grass? Hey that's MY grass!

I think you were the model of restraint!

It is terribly unreasonable to hog a changing in the first place, but when there are only 3 cubicles it is outrageous!

Dd1 and 2 have their swimming lessons at the same time and I go in with dd2. Dd2 sits on the bench while I dry dd1. If there are clothes on the bench, those clothes get wet. I tried to persuade some of the other mums to put their toddlers on the clothes too - people would stop saving cubicles after a while - but they all thought I WBU. It's good to know that I'm not!

As an aside, id me mortified leaving my knickers out on the side. Just imagine!

What´s the problem with clothes on the bench?

Yanbu.
I love response too.

YANBU, particularly as you asked the people in the changing area if the clothes were theirs.

It's very selfish to try and reserve a changing cubicle like that, especially if there's only 3 of them.

And I'd be worried about people stealing my clothes and keys etc if I did that. Had she left her valuables in the clothes, or had she bothered getting a locker for them?

I'd have handed her clothes in to reception as lost property dropping them accidentally in the pool on the way past

Top notch response, OP

Good on you OP. Not experienced cubicle hoggers before, but don't get me started on the people who take half an hour for a shower when there are only 2 of them there (and breathe...)

I hand them in as lost property.

Oh I am so going to send DS (7) into a reserved changing room on Monday after his lesson. He gets his own clothes soaked whilst drying so know anybody elses are in for it!

Whilst he's doing this I may put some of the stuff from other reserved cubicles in lockers the other end of the changing room to the cubicle its in and hand in the odd shoe to reception.

YANBU at all.

DS has swimming lesson tonight. There are signs up not to cubicle hog but many parents do (no communal changing area as mixed changing). Am soooo tempted. Friend of mine did once remove a pile of clothing and place it on the wet floor in front of the cubicle so they wouldn't think they'd mistaken which cubicle. Respect !

I think if I see this in future, I will furtively remove just one shoe from the cubicle and hand it into reception as lost property. That'll piss the selfish cow off.

Had she hidden her knickers under her trousers, or where hey on display? Just wondering.

YANBU btw.

The staff in my local pool very strictly enforce the 'all possessions must go in a locker' rule...anyway, what had the woman done with her handbag, money, phone, etc? Left them in the cubicle or put them on the side of the pool with her towel?

Either way she's ASKING for her stuff to get stolen & good riddance to her says I.

Parents of small babies do this during swimming lessons, the thing that gets me is they do it so they can be sure of getting a change table but the baby group going in straight after them want them for the same reason!

I did once say to a man coming out of a cubicle 'excuse me, you seem to have left all your things behind' and he said 'no, they are someone else's, I just used the cubicle whilst they weren't there'. I have since noticed he makes a point of using the cubicles with stuff left in.

I do get annoyed by big kids coming out of their lesson going in the family cubicles when there are baby swimming lessons on, but the last 2 kids I pointed this out too looked as though they were going to cry when I spoke to them (nicely I thought) so now I don't know if I should.

Thanks. And Breathe

I checked communal areas as I didn't want to use it if she had to nip to the loo or something, but she was clearly still in the pool and had left her stuff there the whole time.

I didn't see any valuables (or knickers!), didn't want to move stuff to a locker as didn't want to be accused of trying to nick anything, just left it all untouched and changed over it. Next time will definately hand in as lost property! LOVE that idea!