To be annoyed I gave up my seat on train

[NameChangedJune]

4 hour journey, late train so pretty empty carriage, most seats unreserved.
i take a seat on an empty table of 4 which has a laptop charger.

before train moves, a family get on (there are loads of empty twin seats but no empty table), but say they are a group of 3 and a baby them, do I mind moving from the table so they can have the table to lie the baby on?! They say they have reserved the seats but the seats themselves say unreserved. I see they have a small baby so say fine and close my laptop and move to a twin seat (now have no table or laptop charger).

the three adults (couple and I assume grandparent), and baby sit on the table. Baby doesn’t settle so after a few mins mum takes baby to another free twin seat to feed and they both settle to sleep there. The father then move to another empty double seat nearby and sleeps. This leaves the sleeping grandparent taking up the entire table with feet up on the seat opposite (plus a few baby bits/scattered about).

AIBU to now be annoyed I gave up the table and the chance to catch up on work as the other tables don’t have power sockets?

It’s just a seat

That would piss me off.

Why did you not go back over and say ‘you don’t mind if I move back to the empty seat to charge for a bit since they aren’t in use, do you?’

why did you suffer in silence?

Because I would have had to wake one of them up to access a seat with power - they all have fell asleep straight away after moving.

They sound very entitled!! Not surprised you’re pissed off, no wonder.

How long is the journey/how much work have you missed the chance to do? If you've got a presentation to write for tomorrow wake the grandparent up. Otherwise I'd let it go and think you did the right thing and you're judging it negatively on hindsight bias. I never regret being a good person. The outcome isn't relevant.

Maybe just move on?

You shouldn't have moved in the first place. They had no pressing need to sit together.

Bloody hell a mum and baby are sleeping on a train at midnight I certainly wouldn't be worried about charging my laptop. I'd assume something is happening in their lives to be travelling at this hour with a baby. They're not exactly living the dream right now. Wanting to sit together and hopefully get some rest whilst baby sleeps was fair enough and obviously didn't pan out.

It literally says "4 hour journey" in the very first words of the OP!

About 2 hours which I will now have to do at the weekend. Fair enough I was lucky to get the table initially but I did speed walk to the train to get the best chance.

It didn’t seem like it - they were pretty cheerful for the 5 mins before they slept and I got the impression they do the journey regularly. Perhaps visiting long distance close relatives.

I'd honestly have probably just moved back over to the table and plugged in, if the only person sat there was asleep they're hardly going to protest are they?

I probably would have been mildly irritated, but I wouldn't still be thinking about it. If getting work done was important and there were no other tables I could run a charging cord to (even if this meant asking someone if I could use the outlet by them), then I would have politely declined to move to begin with. If I had moved and then they didn't end up using the table I would have either shrugged it off or done something to change the situation.

If you take a step back from your annoyance, do you think they realized that you had any need for that particular table?

I’d say they do the journey regularly and probably don’t hurry to get the seats because they use the same excuse to whoever is there and probably always get the seats.

And it’s intimidating too, a family group asking you to give up your seat. Personally I would have been too scared to refuse.

I would consider carrying a portable charger these days.

Were there no chargers on any other seats, even if you had to walk through the carriages?
I'd say it's more the train company at fault for having so few chargers. You mentioned the carriage not being that busy, though I guess all the other ones could've been full.
It is annoying but they were clearly knackered. It would've been worse if they were loud, animated, overbearingly chatty or even pissed. (Well, hopefully not the baby, but it could've been bawling the place down)

I never understand people going on a train NEEDING to charge a laptop. Unless the trip was a surprise you charge it up before you go surely.

Seriously? I've often spent a full day at a clients having to move from room to room with laptop in and out of use throughout meetings. The laptop charge would last maybe 7 hrs in those circumstances. I'd have to send stuff to the client that evening when I'm on a long distance train or plane home so need a power source.

And no one is doing work on the train at midnight for fun either. Maybe the OP has a serious deadline the next day or a client delivery that's urgent.
The family sound massively 'but we've got a baaaaaayyybeee' entitled types

The family sound massively 'but we've got a baaaaaayyybeee' entitled types

Or maybe they just saw a single person at the only large table and had no idea that none of the other tables had a power socket OP needed.

you did a nice thing for a family and then their needs changed. It’s irritating but not their fault things didnt work out.

Never give up your seat!

If it was LNER all seats have a charging point, they are a bit hidden underneath and between the double seats.

You did it to yourself. You should have just said no. Several capable adults and one baby don't need to sit together. Learn yoir lesson for next time it happens

If you look at the twin seats, some have plugs too. Taking a table of 4 when you are just one person never seems right to me anyway.