People who don't sit in their own booked seats

[Badbadbunny]

Is it just me or is there an epidemic of this at the moment. Yesterday, went to a football match with family, booked seats a few weeks ago to get a decent view, easy access to toilets etc and for us to sit together. When we arrived, two pairs of people were sat in the middle of our booked seats and wouldn't move, we asked the stewards for help, but they couldn't get these people to move either, so we just ended up sat in someone elses' seats who weren't happy with us, but we just referred them back to the steward who wouldn't help us. Last weekend, at the cinema, we booked seats online beforehand, again reserved seats, but when we got in, again, someone else sat in our seats so we had to sit somewhere else. Midweek, went on a 3 hour train journey to London, booked our seats on the Virgin website weeks ago, again, when we got on, someone else sat in them, again, wouldn't move as the train was full, again, the guard wouldn't move them on, so we ended up split up on odd seats elsewhere. Since when have people become so inconsiderate and rude that they don't sit in their own seats, and won't move when the person with the valid ticket asks them to????

@Mirkobaba But ffs those seats were empty, so why not use it?

Err because you didn't pay for them! You sound like a total CF!

She did eventually move but was rather loudly huffing for a while. I think she’d struggle if she was on a peak commuter train. She just seemed so astonished that her bag didn’t deserve its own seat.

I took commuter rail into New York City for many years. She would have learned right quick that bags don't get seats and the explanation wouldn't have been especially diplomatic.

I once went to a West End show with my DH - fully sold-out house - and the theatre had double-sold our seats, so there was a 20 minute delay to the start of the show (which made many people very agitated) as we wouldn’t go (we were standing at the front of the dress circle in full view) until they had found us seats.

CF to take a BC seat if you have an economy ticket. I'm amazed the cabin crew let you stay. When I've flown BC if anyone pokes their nose through the curtain in the hope of using the BC loo they are told in no uncertain terms where the economy loos are (which are no different in size just you get better hand lotion in BC).

Not a pre booked story, but London commuter train. Lady refused to move her bag from its very own seat, after I’d asked her politely. I have mobility issues so really needed the seat. I warned her I was going to sit regardless, and spent a few stops sat on her bag. She slowly retrieved it over he next few stops, without saying anything. Other commuters found it quite funny!

I don't agree. The plane is going anyway. The number of passengers are fixed. Let's see why you are paying more on bc? Slightly bigger legroom, bit more comfy chairs. Same tv/movies. Different food, free drinks. Lotion in the loo.
What costs money: drinks/food. Everything else has a baseline cost whether anyone is sitting in them or not.
CF to go to premium class where they have small cubicle type things and loads of extras and bed type chairs. Yes. But this? It's there anyway. I'm not hurting anyone, not taking anything from anyone (not eating extra food/drinking free alcohol), then where is the harm?
Oh, I'm harming the airline. Well, I don't think so. I did pay for them to give me a seat and take me from A to B. I didn't pay for sleeping quarters and loads of extras, not getting that. So in my eyes this is fair.
Sitting in someone else's booked seat is not okay as that is directly "harming" someone. I'm sorry if I can't feel sorry for an airline not making a few extra hundred pounds for nothing.
And to be fair, if the stewardess would have been more persistent to get me back to my seat I would have gone without a fuss and a word. I would have had no grounds on which to argue from. Then again most CF stories here show that the real CFs are always loudest when they have no ground to stand on.

Not a pre booked story, but London commuter train. Lady refused to move her bag from its very own seat, after I’d asked her politely.

I usually start those conversations with "Did your bag buy a ticket?". Then if they don't move it I stand there and wait until the conductor comes through and requires them to move it.

Oh, I'm harming the airline. Well, I don't think so.

In a way, you are. The BC seats have a scarcity value. If the odd chancer can just wander in and take an empty one it lowers the incentive to buy one and reduces demand for them. That's why most airlines are quite strict about protecting them from folks who want a free upgrade.

I used to fly a lot for work. I took the miles and turned most of them into upgrades from economy to business class. Why should I do this if I could just nick an empty one? Your argument is along the lines of it won't hurt if I walk on the grass/don't get my flu jab/jump to the front of the queue. Just hope that there aren't too many other CF's following your example.

No conductor on this train, it’s every woman for herself!

I once went to a West End show with my DH - fully sold-out house - and the theatre had double-sold our seats, so there was a 20 minute delay to the start of the show (which made many people very agitated) as we wouldn’t go (we were standing at the front of the dress circle in full view) until they had found us seats

20 minutes? Ouch, I don't think I'd have had the gall to cause that kind of hold up. Some people would have had to choose between missing their last train home or leaving the show before the end. I wouldn't want to be responsible for that.

Did they find you a seat? How, in a sold out house? (no shows?)

I have a friend who works in theatres and she had a situation where some system glitch had caused an entire 12 row block of the dress circle to be double booked. There was absolutely nothing they could do and it was first come, first served and everyone else had to leave (with refund/replacement ticket but still!). Can't imagine how angry people must have been if they'd travelled especially for that night only.

I know someone who plays a cello and that gets a ticket. They pre-book seats so cello sits next to them. Any arguments result in “yes the cello has a ticket!”
To be fair I think it’s an expensive one because they play professionally, so they don’t want it bumped about!

At the cinema, always insist a cf sitting in your seat moves, and involve an usher if they refuse. Those people often get moved repeatedly until the auditorium is full then are ejected as they don't have tickets. If its not a full house they'll get away with it if left unchallenged.

We went to the Odeon and an elderly couple were in our pre booked seats, they refused to move, it was a small screen and the only other seats were one either side of a couple who were in a pre-booked double seat - the usher asked them to move up but they refused as they had pre booked the double, then he told us to sit separately either side of the couple - we refused as we had booked our seats together, eventually he showed the elderly couple that we had booked the seats that they were in and they reluctantly gave them up and sat either side of the couple. Then the usher came in with two free coffees for them and A £5 voucher for THEIR inconvenience and we got glared at by the usher - for insisting on having our pre-booked and paid for seats!

Guards on trains should be able to issue fines if people wont move from seats others have paid for, just like they would if they had no ticket to travel.

xwhoami

Sometimes ushers can't even make people move!

This happens repeatedly at our local cinema.

My children don't like me to say anything, but the cinema is cheap and usually full. So you know all the seats will be sat in by the time the film begins.

People in our seats last week mumbled they had a better view from here and they couldn't move as someone else was sitting in their booked seats.

In the end I got the lady who runs the cinema to come in and sort out seating. She worked it back and a LOT of people moved from their current seats into their booked seats.

Just as well I did this as just as the film started two people arrived and sat in the seats my children would have sat in had I not insisted we had our booked seats.

Re. Trains it’s why I like the odd time a virgin train shows start and end of reservation (the cardboard tags on TPE always do) as I can judge whether I’m getting off before the reservation commences!

And I had the inverse once. Going to a conference the next day, I was travelling after work in my work scruffs (I had an odd job then, one day in a suit and the next in paint and muck stained jeans. That day I was in the latter). Ticket inspectors and staff of all kinds kept wanting to see my ticket since I was sitting in first class.
Of course, once they saw a first class ticket they were all apologetic and offering to get me things for the inconvenience:D

TigerTooth

Did you complain to management afterwards?

Only time I’ve ever had staff assist is when I’ve pulled the disabled card.
We booked those seats for easy access because OH is in wheelchair etc.
If they are that bothered where they sit they should have booked a seat.
It’s the same with disabled parking, I feel awful using a parent and toddler bay but when non disabled people and blocking the bays I have no choice if I want to get OH out of the car

Once we boarded the steward held us back until everyone was seated (full plane) and then insisted to move others around so we can sit together as it is illegal for them to separate parent/child unless child is min. 14 yrs old

I thought it was just a CAA recommendation (but may be wro!£?

(wrong!)

@JoroL

I feel awful using a parent and toddler bay but when non disabled people and blocking the bays I have no choice if I want to get OH out of the car

Please don't feel bad, disabled people are perfectly entitled to use parent bays.

I just find this hard to get my head around. The principal. Especially at a big football match, concert,train,flight.
What exactly are you paying for? When you book seated/allocated seats, for such things?
If the security/warden won't enforce it?

Mind knowingly stupid really.

Chloe:

"Sometimes ushers can't even make people move!"

Yes. But ideally they should be able to. Presumably ushers have been threatened and hurt pushed, in the past. At cinemas or football matches etc. But really that shouldn't be allowed to happen. Kicked out by security. Action taken, legally. But it never is. But it should be!

Years ago I once had an big argument on a train from London to Scotland with a belligerent, oafish rugby player. He was with a big group of his mates, my daughter was around I guess 8 at the time, the train was pretty full and no double seats left. He was on our booked seats and no guard to be seen. I asked him politely +++ which then descended into an argument. He wouldn't budge, in the end his mate gave up his seat (another double seat) looking very ashamed of his mate.

Sometimes on the train /cinema the staff change it to all seats not booked at the last minute in which case they have a right to sit anywhere although not in the above instance.