To think you can't take a chair from someone else's table?

[anyoldamy]

We're on holiday at the moment and there's evening entertainment on so I walked over with the children while H was having a shower and sat down to grab a table.
I sat where there was 4 chairs because we have are a family of 4 dh was on his way and children had got up to go to the stage floor.
A man came up grabbed one of our chairs so I politely said excuse me my husband is sitting there.
He made a joke about H being very small because he couldn't see anyone sitting there.
I then explained H was on his way and would be here shortly but he took the chair and said no love you reserve seats with bums.
Aibu to think I had grabbed a table for 4 because we're a 4 and he should not have taken our other chair?
By the time H has arrived I'd found him another chair but that's not the point he could have done that himself.

That’s really rude of him and I’d have kicked up a bit of a fuss.

YABU. He was there and needed to sit down. Your husband wasn't there.

"Put the chair down."

@dickiedavisthunderthighs - no

Yet if your husband was sat there and he tried to take your chair I bet he wouldn’t have responded like this.

what a cock

Some people are just weird. Least the chairs were sorted.

Why didn't you stand up and take the chair back? He sounds like a fucking idiot; are people supposed to be glued to their seats for the entire duration and never go to the toilet or the counter?

Yeah that was very rude of him, yanbu at all

YANBU, that's really poor form on his part.

The 'no love' is the worst bit - patronising git. Clearly you can reserve chairs, hence why normal people ask first!

I don't think someone can save 3 seats though.

But most of the time people ask. I would.

I bet if it was your DH with the two DC the bloke wouldn't have taken the chair.

People are just assholes and that was very rude

We once had a man try to move our table as my husband had just sat down at it.
He wasn't very happy when my husband said he couldn't take it.

Odious little man

Yup he was rude.
It's not like you're trying to save 3 seats on a bus or in the cinema. You chose a table for four. Normal people ask 'sorry, are you needing those chairs or can I take one?'

what a prick
how dare he

She was sitting at the table! You don't go up to an occupied table and start taking chairs!

I can see both sides to this. I would always ask before taking a chair from another table which I think is the usual and polite thing to do. That said, if a place is very crowded and there are only a couple of tables with extra chairs I can see why somebody would want to prioritise getting a chair for somebody who is already at the venue than leaving a chair for somebody’s friend or family member who could then not turn up for ages whilst people actually already there are left standing. If there were lots of other tables with empty chairs available then he shouldn’t have taken it from your table, but if there weren’t any others clearly available the person needing a chair at that moment trumps your husband’s want for a chair later when he’s done showering, by which point more chairs could have become available anyway. Nobody should be left standing whilst other chairs are left empty and being ‘reserved’ for an indefinite amount of time.

I'd have picked up the chair and twatted him with it just for being a patronising prick.

He was being a dick, just be glad you aren't the 'poor love' he's on holiday with.

The correct process is surely "Hi, is anyone using this chair?" And then they take it if it's available.
Although with 2 kiddies up and dancing did you need 4 chairs, not just the two for the adults or was there a show after?

Rude arsehole. I’d never take a chair without asking if it was taken.

Having been on the kind of hol OP is talking about, saving tables and chairs for the evening entertainment is very much the norm and bloke was a massive twat. A jacket draped over the back is the definitive sign chair is taken.

I think ‘reserving’ stuff before you’re actually present - sunbeds, tables and chairs etc is pretty poor form too. I’m with him. He needed the chair and you were singularly taking up a table of four.

It was a shame you couldn't raced over and nabbed his chair, as it wasn't 'reserved with hid bum'

@Screamingabdabz - so by that logic, he should have grabbed the kids’ chairs too while they weren’t using them.