Christmas Play 'seat saving' Loser!

[LegalEagle99]

So I was at DS Christmas performance last week and parents had been queuing to go in from 1.30pm, performance started at 2pm. Anyway, a cluster of us were queuing from 1.30pm including a mum who I'm not friends with but from the little we've chatted over the years, she is a single parent and often isn't able to attend term time things such as awards and assemblies because she can't get the time off work.

Xmas perfomrance was announced in the newsletter from school so plenty of time for me and other parents who need notice to book it off.

So we get there, queue. Doors open at 2pm sharp and we go into the hall, me and this other mum are in the hall and we head to the row of chairs at the front, this 3rd mum, call her B for Bitch, turns around and says 'sorry, this seat and these seats too are reserved, I'm saving them for my mum and dad and DH...' by this time all the other seats near the front have been filled and B is glaring, her parents walk in then and B tells her mum 'this woman has been really rude to me about the seats! I've just spent 2 hours in school photocopying AND I volunteer in class 2 days a week!' B then turns around to working mum and says 'what do YOU do for the school!!??'
Not sure what other mum replied with, my reply would have been quite colourful!

I think people that 'save' seats for others are BEYOND selfish, only think about themselves and have no awareness of others!
I would have said to B, in case she's reading this, you are not special because you volunteer in school you loser! You are not entitled. You are rude and obnoxious and your roots need doing.

Rant over.

Good luck to her. Anyone who volunteers and does stuff in my children’s school is welcome to the front seats.

I can’t stand those that hold their phones up to film the lot though. Just bloody watch it.

Well, I'm not a fan of seat saving tbh as I don't think it's overly fair. Probably wouldn't mind if the people the seats were for were nearby.

However, you sound a delight 😳 you're not being U about seat saving, but you are absolutely being U by name calling and being so rude.

God yeah let the volunteer have a decent seat. And calm down, you'll have an apoplexy.

Although her "what do you do for the school" comment was also unreasonable 👍

Unless there's an official system for reserving seats, it should be first-come, first-served. At a push, saving one seat for your partner/companion isn't too unreasonable, but not saving multiple seats for the whole family.

No seats should be saved. Ever. The end.

At my chuldren’s School the front rows are reserved for any parent helpers. Makes sense to me- if you are willing to help 15 year ones wriggle into angel wings then you should be rewarded.

Sounds a right bitch

At dds school people arrive really early and save whole rows of seats with various coats and bags etc. Not even for specific people but so they can offer them to any friends who might be attending... surprise surprise dd’s school is in Germany!

I think saving one or two seats is fine, more than that is a bit off.
However DH and I volunteer to sell raffle tickets and programmes before the concerts specifically because whoever does it gets to reserve a front row seat. I'm too lazy to queue in the cold for 45 mins which is the only other way to be anywhere near the front.

So you just went and sat somewhere else? More fool you. I’d have parked myself there and cheerfully said “oh sorry I don’t think so, I’m sitting here.” 😊

But doesn't that mean essentially that the parents who have help with kids at home, either a partner or family nearby, or are not working full time, are treated better than those who don't? Maybe full-time working single mother would help out twice a week at school if she didn't have to work to house, clothe and feed her kids.

I am not in paid employment and I volunteer at school. My school doesn't have this system of getting better seats if you help out and it wouldn't occur to me to expect it. I volunteer to help out. I enjoy it. I get to see my kids in their school setting (well briefly at least), that's my benefit. I'm certainly not more entitled to see my kids' performances than any other parent is of theirs'. And when you've seen the faces of kids who SCAN the audience and again don't see their parent (because they can't get off work), the child whose parent can never go in class trips etc, you'd give up your seat so that child can see their mother.

Bitch indeed.

I don’t have a problem with saving seats- I’m a teacher and just had our KS1 production. We had mid day supervisors save seats at front as they couldn’t queue as were working, aNd parents of teachers (who had children at school) Saved seats for. I think it’s a sad job if it isn’t a perk of the job. I do not agree to the rudeness and the entitlement of the lady at school tho- as that is plain rude.
I’m a parent who queues to be in the front row and don’t care how early I am lol! I’ve sat through 14 years of other children’s performances I want to get to enjoy my own children’s. However sometimes being at the back is better as you can stand throughout hehe xx

Our school numbers seats and tickets. 2 tickets automatically per family ( one for day and one for evening ) and you can buy up to 4 additional tickets from school office on the week of the show. No fighting / queuing and if you can't attend they sell the returned tickets making money for the school.

Ok for a seat to be reserved for her if she was busy helping in school and therefore not able to queue. Not ok that she chose to reserve for all her family members (how did they manage to get seating for 4 people anyway??) and totally not ok for her to be so high and mighty. Horrible.

I attended my ds nativity today and I was there early enough for a front row seat,i would have ignored anyone who came out with seat saving bullshit! You queue then you sit thems the rules!

I wouldn’t have a problem with her getting a seat herself but for her mum,dad and dh! No chance.
Agree with more fool you for moving

Was there reserved signs on the chairs? I put them on for people we have reversed the chairs for- was she just using her position to get the front row or were they actually reserved? X

So you let her get away with it? More fool you.

What happened in between her informing you about the seats and calling you rude?

God, this takes me back. There was a group of mums who always sat at the front for plays etc as they were on the PTA. One week it was praise assembly and I sat down on the second row. It filled up quickly and the queen bee's friends sat by me. She actually walked up to me and asked her friends to get me to move whilst not meeting my eyes.

I completely ignored her and refused to move but she stood there for ages until she realised I would not comply and flounced off. It is still primary school in her mind and I was the kid not picked for the team. She honestly expected me to slope off duly chastened.

I cant stand people who save seats for numerous family members but any little sympathy went when she asked working mum what she did for the school. No need to say anything to that is there as it speaks volumes.

It's really not clear from the OP what happened in the end. Did you give up the seats

By her reasoning her Mum and Dad should volunteer for the school if they want front row seats? Plus as PPs have said that lots of parents aren’t fortunate enough to be in a financial position to do voluntary work - it’s quite shitty (and not in the spirit of volunteering) to use it as a stick to beat other parents with.

We got to ours in plenty of time, only to find lots of single seats dotted along each row (because apparently it's fatal to sit directly next to someone you don't know). Politely asked the woman in the 2nd row if she could budge along one seat so DH and I could sit next to each other, and she huffed 'I'm not moving for anyone.' Merry Christmas to you too, cowbags, hope you burn the turkey.

I used to be in charge of front-of-house for High School productions, the front row was reserved for the Head, Governors, the Mayor etc., school guests, nothing else was reserved. A member of staff who contributed nothing to any school production would go into the Hall and place reserved signs on four seats, complete with her name, I removed them. She arrived a couple of minutes before the start and wasn't happy at all!