AIBU to be annoyed I was the only one who bought a ticket? Yes, I think I am...

[EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin]

We were away on a trip to a farm park today. There's an indoor play barn there, which me and dd headed towards. On the door, there was a big sign advising people that there is a charge of £3 for a 30 minute stay at the play barn, and you have to go and pay at the tickets office. Anyway, off we trotted and paid. The man assured me that the play barn will be empty as no one else has came to buy a ticket today.

I asked him if i would need to show my ticket to anyone at the play barn. The man said that it was unmanned, but to keep hold of the ticket in case any staff popped in to check.

Anyway, i walked over to the play barn again and it was full of around 20 children.

New people kept coming in and out of the doors. I heard kids saying 'do we have to pay?' and their parents saying no.

The only thing advising people to pay was the tiny sign on the front door.

I was really annoyed that i was the only person who had paid. Even more annoyed because people were pushing my dd out the way on the slide, climbing up it when she wanted down, and sitting at the bottom of it etc. I told several of the children off for hurting my dd's arm by three of them zooming down the slide before dd had even got chance to stand up and move out the way after her turn. Then a mother came over and asked if there was a problem. I explained what happened. She said that her kids were just playing and they have as much right to play as my dd does. So then i stupidly said something like 'Well, I've actually paid to come in here, so i expect my dd to get a turn on the slide and not have to sit and wait for ten minutes while your boys carry on on it." She then said i was talking crap as you didn't have to pay. I pointed out the sign, she laughed and said "Then you're an eejit. Am i fuck paying £9 for my sons to get a play in here. The farm park ticket was dear enough. It should be included in the main ticket price."

Anyway, i stayed for my 30 mins and left, silently seething. I wanted to go and tell the staff at the ticket office that their indoor barn was bouncing with kids who hadn't even paid to get in.

Yes, I'm BU and petty, I'm sure of it. I think I'm just annoyed at myself for being so honest and paying dd in in the first place, when i could have just walked in for free.

You shouldn't have paid and regardless, you aren't staff and it 's not your job to police who has and hasn't paid. I'm not surprised the women said what she did.
Hope your DD is ok

Yeah I wouldn't fucking pay either

The place sounds like a nightmare

''On the door, there was a big sign''
''The only thing advising people to pay was the tiny sign''

Big or small sign then OP

Sorry - being pedantic.

I don't think the behaviour of other kids is affected by wether their parents have payed or not.

But i can see why you were pee'd off.

Better to have done the right thing IMO and paid. Sod's law you would have got chucked out if you hadn't.

YABU to be annoyed with yourself to being honest. I would have gone to tell them at the office, why didn't you?

I wouldn't have paid an additional charge to use something like a play barn. But the women should have dealt with her children behaviour.

I would have complained at the office and told them the system was not working. pointless having it if it is not policed. E-mail them?

I would have said something at the office. The Mum sounds charming.

You aren't being petty by the way Ewe. Unless paying for things you should pay for is unreasonable and petty.

I'm afraid I would have gone over after my time was up and pointed out that they had a play barn full of people who hadn't paid and happily watched the management boot them all out.

Well, the mum has a point. It isn't right that they charge extra on top of the ticket price for children to do one of the things they probably like the most there. I know my dc always liked the play barn best at any farm parks we went to.

She was clearly rude though, and whether or not she had paid makes no difference to how her children should behave. When you say they were 'carrying on' what were they actually doing?

I would have have paid and then commented on the situation on the way out (and made sarky comments in there), pretty much as you did. YANBU.

I don't understand posts like this why didn't you complain to them instead of seething and then posting here? It's so much better not to hang on to petty stuff like this and just complain at the time then come on MN and moan about out

Oh, and I often end up policing such play areas, as I can't stand children being unfair/unkind, either, either mine or other people's to mine. Sigh, I'm fun, me.

Oh and I would never say anything to anyone in soft play,I value my life to much

Too

I didn't want to embarrass myself by complaining. I felt as if i was being very petty and to go and 'grass on them all' would have been silly. I was just annoyed that my dd was being pushed about by kids and not getting a turn on things because of kids misbehaving on them (the place is also under 8's, and more than half of the kids looked 8+) that hadn't even paid to be there.

Sorry. The sign was an A4 piece of paper, Sellotaped at a landscape angle on the door. Very easy to miss, I suppose.

I did keep making comments though whenever new people walked in/if kids asked their parents if it was free, like, "Come on, dd, time's nearly up. I've only paid for 30 minutes." i thought this might encourage people to ask, "Oh, is there a cost?" - but I was ignored.

Surely I can't have been the only person to see the sign?

It was only £3 at the end of the day. And i can understand why parents with multiple children would feel angry paying £3 for each child on top of the farm park ticket. But i'm just angry the place took my money and not anyone else's. Again, i feel really petty.

I would send an email. Not making a huge fuss but just pointing out what happened.

If they aren't going to staff it then people won't pay.Simple.Why would you pay if you don't have to.Also why is it any of your business weather people have paid or not?

You are only cross because you were not bolshy enough to go in without paying yourself.

That made you feel like a fool.

And so now you feel angry.

Well if the OP is a fool she is an honest one.

LOL at you then making loud comments, directed at your child but really meant, in passive aggressive manner, for all the people around you

I would ignore a very small sign about paying in that situation myself and pay up if I was asked to show my ticket. I probably wouldn't get away with it now though as DD1 would read the sign!

I would have ignored your pointed comments about buying a ticket too. I would wait for someone who actually worked there to ask me to buy a ticket.

I would have told the office.

But it felt like stealing to go in without paying. And i would have been mortified if I'd been caught out.

Yes, i fully admit to the passive aggressiveness. I thought perhaps parents just hadn't seen the sign, but after a few of my loud comments 'to dd', I'm certain that most of the parents weren't paying because there was no staff members there to check them.

I'm annoyed at myself, too, yes.

I hate when people ignore rules. The world soft play would be a much less chaotic place if we all followed the simple rules. In this case, that would be no over 8's allowed and that everyone paid the same amount to get in to the play barn. If people has stuck to these guidelines, the barn wouldn't have been so wild and i doubt it would have been so overcrowded.

I agree entirely Ewe. Just because you can get in for free doesn't mean you should.

People are incapable of following rules in communal places IMO. Rules are only for other people.