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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not let them in the queue in front of us?

19 replies

jaychops · 29/05/2023 09:34

Me, DH and our 2 young children were queuing for a specific type of transport at a public attraction that only fits 2 per 'carriage'. Long queue, approx 1 hr, due to BH and sunny weather. One of us occasionally left the queue to take DCs to toilet when required.

3 men in front of us. When nearing the front of the queue, 10, yes 10, family members - women and children - appeared and joined them. 1 pregnant and 1 elderly. I assertively stated that this isn't fair - I had no issue with the pregnant lady and the elderly lady, but all the rest of them should have been in the queue as everyone else is as it meant 5 more 'carriages' and a significantly longer wait. After a bit of an argument they begrudgingly allowed us to go in front of them (their suggestion) but did stay in the queue as the people behind us did not say anything.

WIBU to make a stand and say this is unfair or should I have let the men hold the queue for them?

OP posts:
DojaPhat · 29/05/2023 09:38

Ywnbu! Good on you for speaking up though! Many would have just quietly seethed. I can understand if say mum or dad had been waiting elsewhere with the kid and reappeared just in time but not the extended family unit rocking up.

HTruffle · 29/05/2023 09:38

You were quite right to stand your ground, a wait of 5 more carriages - 4 if you only count the more able - is ridiculous.

ExtraOnions · 29/05/2023 09:39

…you would have been in the same position regardless.

2 of them queue and then 8 people join them … you are 5 carriages behind
8 people queue and 2 people join them … you are 5 carriages behind

You also left the queue to do stuff, then rejoined

Sounds like a very poor queuing system if 8 people can go straight to the front.

EvilElsa · 29/05/2023 09:40

Well done for saying something. An additional 10 joining a queue is ridiculous.

Original poster
jaychops · 29/05/2023 09:41

@ExtraOnions yes I appreciate that, but what I forgot to mention was that the transport was almost due to close, and it may have led us to miss the last one!

OP posts:
Original poster
jaychops · 29/05/2023 09:42

Just to clarify we hadn't seen these family members at all so had no idea the men weren't on their own.

OP posts:
realityhack · 29/05/2023 09:45

No, not unreasonable. You queued knowing the transport was due to close and you chose to queue on the basis that only 2 people in front of you needed a carriage. If you had known it was in fact, actually 8 more you may not have bothered to queue due to the time limit. If I had been them I would have turned around and told you that 8 more people were with them so you could make an informed decision whether to queue or not.

golddustwomen · 29/05/2023 09:48

This kind of shit pisses me off no end!! It happened to me not that long ago, I said something and got the most horrific death stare. Which pissed me off even more!

TheHoover · 29/05/2023 09:49

Just standard selfishness. Nothing you can do about it.
At a theme park last weekend walking at normal pace to join the back of the queue along the cordoned off queue path a 9ish y/o girl pushed passed us (there was physical contact) and runs ahead. Moments later we are at the back of the queue and the 5 members of her family asked to get passed us to join her. I pointed out to the parents what happened (super politely) but they just shrugged (it was obviously a well used tactic).
so I proceeded to glare at the 9 y/o for the rest of the queue

CabernetSauvignon · 29/05/2023 10:03

Off the point, but how often did you have to take your children to the toilet during a one hour wait?

Original poster
jaychops · 29/05/2023 10:12

Once each. We'd just had lunch and encouraged lots of fluids due to the heat.

OP posts:
Jibo · 29/05/2023 10:16

YANBU but were there no staff controlling the queue?

Shakespeareandi · 29/05/2023 10:22

TheHoover · 29/05/2023 09:49

Just standard selfishness. Nothing you can do about it.
At a theme park last weekend walking at normal pace to join the back of the queue along the cordoned off queue path a 9ish y/o girl pushed passed us (there was physical contact) and runs ahead. Moments later we are at the back of the queue and the 5 members of her family asked to get passed us to join her. I pointed out to the parents what happened (super politely) but they just shrugged (it was obviously a well used tactic).
so I proceeded to glare at the 9 y/o for the rest of the queue

How petty. Staring at a 9 year old child?

Beseen22 · 29/05/2023 10:35

Some people really respect a queue others don't. I'd sadly have been quietly raging but also probably not said anything. The only time I've ever spoke up was when I was flying home because dh lost his job, in an airport the day before it shut due to covid, had a 6w old and a 3yo on my own and 2 car seats, pram, 2 suitcases etc etc. I was waiting for an hour in the busiest airport I've ever seen and 2 men tried to sneak in front of me and I lost it. People are so selfish.

Chamomileteaplease · 29/05/2023 10:40

I do wish they had people patrolling the queue and that they did actually control it.

I once had the misfortune to be at a theme park and had about 10+ people gradually join the couple in front of us. I was too scared to challenge them but when we got to the end of the queue I told the ride person what had happened and he made them all wait at the side😀. Not sure what happened to them because we got on with the ride!

Funkyslippers · 29/05/2023 10:45

I had this once at a theme park. Couple of teens in front of us, then a group of their friends appear and push in front to join them. I wasn't going to say anything but my DD who was around 12 at the time said "Mum, don't let them push in!" So we just walked in front of them. These days I've got much more courage and I'd tell them to get to the back. You can't reserve a space for others in a queue, just like you can't reserve a space in a car park without a car 🤣

MzHz · 29/05/2023 11:33

ExtraOnions · 29/05/2023 09:39

…you would have been in the same position regardless.

2 of them queue and then 8 people join them … you are 5 carriages behind
8 people queue and 2 people join them … you are 5 carriages behind

You also left the queue to do stuff, then rejoined

Sounds like a very poor queuing system if 8 people can go straight to the front.

Erm no. 2 of them in the queue= 1 carriage.

EIGHT People joining is a piss take. If there were 6 people in the queue and the 2 less able to queue joined later, not much impact, but they knew what they were doing and it was poor form to do this.

FictionalCharacter · 29/05/2023 11:40

Yanbu but people do this all the time, it's so annoying. 1 or 2 people queue, then suddenly a massive group joins them at the front.

Whaleandsnail6 · 29/05/2023 11:45

Yanbu. We regularly go to a local theme park. Im fed up of the amount of people who try and push past the queue to "join their friends". Ive started not letting them past and telling them to get their friends to come back to them, funny how they never do.

There is signs all round the queues in the park defining their definition of queue jumping but people ignore them.

People who cant queue are entitled to a ride access pass to virtually queue so there is no excuse for trying to queue jump in the main queue line other than being cheeky and entitled. I wish parks would clamp down on it more.

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