Issue at nursery pick-up - would you have expected an apology?

[CluelessInLondon]

Just wondering if I am BU/overreacting for thinking this other parent was a bit rude...

Went to pick up DD from nursery yesterday at about 5.45pm. There's a buggy shed at nursery where you can lock away pushchairs and we leave ours in there pretty much every morning, no issues since she started there in July. Yesterday I arrived to find that someone else had taken my pushchair - there was another the same brand and colour there, but very obviously not the same one (it had loads of stuff in the bottom and a fleecy seat liner which mine doesn't have).

I told the room lead who happened to be outside doing a handover at the time, and a few minutes later while we were still figuring out what to do (I had no alternative for getting DD home other than to walk the 20 minutes back home, get the car and come back) the phone rang and it was the parent who had taken my pushchair, belatedly realising he'd got the wrong one. He was asked to bring it back, and he arrived within about 10 minutes. I was waiting inside (parents aren't usually allowed in), and the room lead told him that I was ready to leave so could he leave the pushchair outside for me.

When I got outside, there was no sign of the pushchair or anybody who looked like they had it - it turned out he had locked it back in the shed and dashed off. Now, if I had made this mistake and accidentally nicked someone else's pushchair from nursery, I would have been absolutely mortified by the error and for inconveniencing another parent when it's freezing cold, dark and they need to get their child home - I would have made a point of waiting for them to come out so I could say sorry.

AIBU to think that it was a bit rude to just bung the pushchair back in the shed (especially when he'd been asked to leave it outside for me) and run off without saying sorry for the inconvenience? And if you'd made his mistake, would you have waited to apologise?

I didn't lose any sleep over it last night, but just curious if I'm expecting too much!

cant believe parents aren’t allowed in nursery. That would be a huge red flag for me

Presumably you'd put the other buggy back in the shed/left it there, so he would have had to go in there to get his out? Makes sense to me that he just did a swap.
Had it have been me and you'd been waiting outside I'd have apologised. I wouldn't have hung around though.

Wouldn’t have bothered me personally, seems an honest mistake and he brought it back quickly

It’s also “such a mumsnet thing” to post and then get annoyed that everyone disagrees with you and fail to see perhaps you’re being a bit OTT about it…like you.

Surely it would be quicker to hand over and apologise than go through all the faff of going to the shed, unlocking it, putting the pushchair in, and locking the shed again?

I expect he had his kid in the car so was just doing it quick so he could get back to them.

My dad kindly picked my boy up for me recently and did the same thing.. I have no idea how he confused a grey buggy with a yellow and navy but here you go… I wouldn’t expect him to hunt down the other parent no

I expect he was flustered and forgot he was supposed to leave it outside and just left it where he normally does. He also has a child who was probably tired and cranky and must have been really pissed off when he realised the mistake. He probably apologised on the phone.

I honestly can't imagine wasting energy getting upset over something so trivial.

But he still had to get his buggy from the shed.

well he couldn’t leave it unattended could he, what if it’d been nicked? He couldn’t see you, you weren’t by the window looking out for him by the sound of it. Maybe he was in a rush - child in the car or being minded by somebody.
I don’t think it’s a big deal.

With all due respect there's bigger problems in the world

It depends, if he was aware that you were waiting inside for him to bring it back so you and LO could go home, then yes he was a bit of an arse locking it away. But if he didn't know you were still there and had been told to just swap them, then it's understandable. Obviously if he'd really thought about it, he might have realised you would struggle to get home without it, but he was probably rushing and didn't think.

You’re being ridiculous.

This it’s likely they apologised on the phone

A big bottle of gin and some chocolate for 10 minutes of inconvenience? 🤣 What would you expect if someone accidentally ran into the back of your car, a luxury cruise?

He probably rushed off because he'd nicked a pushchair and then thought oh crap when he realised it belonged to you! Hes no doubt detected vibes of you before that you are, let me put it politely a 'diffcult person. Normal people have radar for this and trust me you will be giving off signals. The fact that you were 'miffed' and then had to argue for 6 pages your point gives me that clue! However aside from that he actually DIDNT DO ANYTHING WRONG. He accidently took the wrong pushchair and then he put it back. YABU. Oh and this thread has made it onto FB where I found it so I bet some of the other mums and dads are absolutely loving this on the WhatsApp chats 😂 You have made yourself look like a real fool

I do hope the dad is shown this thread through FB and turns up with a gin and some chocolate on Monday (Dad if you are reading this please do this 😆)

Poor guy was simply too embarrassed. He returned straight away so no issue

Holy projection, Batman!

So, how did he get his pushchair back? And maybe he did apologise on the phone to the nursery

He should have apologised in person but there may have been all kinds of good reasons why he didn't, including being in a right flap about his mistake and overrunning for something else he should be doing!

It’s a pushchair, he made a mistake he didn’t slap you in the face. Get over it tbh.

He made a mistake and immediately sorted it out You weren't outside to receive it so he locked it away securely.

He might have apologised on the phone and it wasn't necessary to grovel to you. You were waiting inside where I assume it wasn't freezing cold and dark.

Some people are saying he may have been embarrassed. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, it was obviously a simple mistake and he sorted it straight away.

It's a non issue.

Gin and chocolate for a minor inconvenience. That's a bit much. And weird.

A big bottle of gin and some chocolates for the most minor of inconveniences?
Bloody hell