AIBU to use an unoccupied pool changing cubicle left full of belongings?

[Noddyslittleredcar]

Local authority pool, exclusively used for kids swimming lessons between 4 and 7. All lessons are 30 minutes, all starting and ending at the same time. 5 lessons with about 10 kids FS in each, so 50 kids. No idea how many cubicles, I'd estimate 50 but haven't counted.

Family changing rooms, so all cubicles. There are lockers and parents viewing area with chairs.

The pool periodically sends out emails telling people not to "reserve" changing room cubicles by leaving their clothes in for the duration of the lesson. Idea is the child changes and the adult takes their stuff to the viewing area. And yet, every week, almost all changing rooms have clothes, towels, bags and school book bags in them for the duration of the lesson. This means if you have to get your child changed before the lesson (like we do), there are no free spaces.

This week I went in a cubicle with stuff in it, because there were no free ones. Waiting would mean my child missed part of her lesson.

The parent shouted at me - actually shouted. "That's my changing room and you've taken it" and banging on the door. Her child was still in the water. I continued to get my child dressed, and came out - before the lesson got the children out the water. I explained she wasn't supposed to "reserve" cubicles like that. She said "it had my stuff in it".

So was I being unreasonable?

This is a weekly occurrence. They don't man the changing area so no employee to speak with, just reception and then the swim teachers who obviously can't come and police the changing rooms.

I have complained to the pool before now and an email goes out, but nothing changes.

B take all the clothes to reception and say you found some stuff for lost property.
You're an evil genius.

Empty the shit left in the cubicle into lockers or onto a chair etc and go ahead and use it!!

Same problem every week where my child swims. I’ll usually wait a few minutes and hopefully one becomes available rather than going in one with stuff just because I hate the confrontation but one week we were waiting ages and there was a cubicle with loads of clothes hanging up and no one in it so we just ducked inside and I hoped we would be out before they came.

Well, we also experienced the banging on the door. My child was almost changed by this point, so I said ‘just a few minutes’ and they shouted angrily about their things being shut inside. When we emerged it was a teacher from my child’s school who was with their own child. So awkward that I didn’t dare to point out the rule about reserving changing rooms. She still does it every week too.

Who ARE these people?
This was one of the many reasons I stopped lessons the moment they could swim properly. Absolute nightmare with three kids in 2 years. Esp in the winter, with all your clothes on waiting poolside, in glasses that mist up. I cried a few times standing outside changing rooms or changing them in what was basically a corridor alongside some cubicles. Arghhh

YANBU

The other thing that used to annoy me with kids swimming lessons was that there were 3 showers and maybe 15-20 kids getting out the pool at the same time, and some parents were getting their kid to do a full hair wash, conditioner, body wash taking 5-10 mins per child, while the others stood there dripping and shivering waiting for a quick warm rinse.

(I know it's a pain to have to go home and shower again ... but just have a look at the number of kids and number of showers before letting your kid spend ages!)

At the pool I use, there are hooks (quite a lot) on the wall near the showers where people tend to leave towels/wash bags. They then grab them before going into the shower.
I take two towels - a large bathsheet and a small hand towel specifically for my hair. I then use the small one to stand on whilst getting dressed after spinning my costume.
Bags are left in lockers until you're ready to get dressed,

I would have just thrown it out of the cubicle. I can’t stand entitled twunts.

If course YANBU.

If this happens again, a good response would be "please could you get a member of staff to resolve this".

At our local pool, people put stuff in the lockers without paying for them so you spend 10mins opening 20 fucking locker doors with keys in them, thinking theyre empty only to find a bag and shoes stuffed in there! Sends me into a rage 😡

I’d move the stuff to an empty locker

I’ve had to do this before. Hate it but have also left stuff in changing rooms myself when my experience of the numbers at the lesson each week mean there isn’t pressure on space - if someone had used the changing room I know I would have had to suck it up as I caused the problem! Wouldn’t have dreamt of complaining and would have felt a twat for misjudging the level of space. YANBU.

I bloody hate people doing that! I always just tell my son to get changed in them anyways

I think you were unreasonable and spoiling for a confrontation to have used the cubicle with her stuff inside. Obviously she was unreasonable first by ‘reserving’ it with her stuff and yes it should be first come first serve but why didn’t you just pop it on the floor outside? That way she could get on with changing elsewhere and added bonus you wouldn’t have to argue with her in front of the kids because you can just shrug and say it was empty when you got there, if she speaks to you at all, she probably won’t. I move stuff all the time and not once has anyone ever said anything to me.

I get my towels and shampoo out of the locker then relock it before I shower. I have a big towel for my body and a wee wrap for my hair. I wouldn't put stuff into a cubicle/changing room unless I am with it. I get my clothes out but sometimes relock again and leave shoes and coat (depending on space, no of DGC etc).

OK thanks all – I will stop as of now bagging a cubicle with my kit while I take a 2-min shower. If everything gets wet I will be back to blame you all :D

There’s a life skill there somewhere you need to learn……..

Parents like this at swimming are dicks. They also appear to think the "poolside and changing area = flip flops/crocs" only rule doesn't apply to them. You WNU.

I leave my clothes in the locker while showering. I take my shower bag (soap, shampoo) and a hair turban to the shower. Then walk back to the lockers with my hair in said turban, obviously costume still on, and gather my stuff and go into a cubicle to change.

If course you are not being unreasonable. If it happens again, take all their belongings and leave them outside the changjng room. This is the result of weak incompetent management.

Our local pools have a no shoes rule, so you either leave them in the shoe racks or carry them to your locker. Except the piss annoying people (that would probably do the same with blocking cubicles) who dump their shoes by or on the benches that are used for shoe removal. Meaning you have to work your way through the blockade of shoes.

I take huge delight in throwing them all haphazardly out of the way, ideally in separate directions and behind any large objects. It’s amazing how many people around grin as I do it.

Move the stuff out of the changing room.
Feign ignorance if challenged “oh is that your stuff? Sorry I’ve no idea, this cubicle was empty when i got here. But you’re not supposed to save cubicles so I guess that’s why someone moved it. What a shame it was left in that big puddle” big smile.

I explained she wasn't supposed to "reserve" cubicles like that. She said "it had my stuff in it".

'yes, let me repeat it slowly, this is the thing you are not allowed to do here, leaving your stuff in a cubicle to reserve it. Any other pool rules that you are having difficulties understanding?'

You absolutely are, I'm sorry to say! When you are not in the cubicle, you are not using it - therefore, others should be able to use it.

yeh I have acknowledged this and will not do it again.

I've taken my kids into faux-occupied rooms to change them on multiple occasions, and I have never yet been confronted by the owners of the items. What this tells us is that these people leave their clothes for 10+ minutes for their showers or, I assume, perhaps even for entire lessons (and to those thinking "oh, that's bad, but I'd only leave for a very quick shower so I'm fine!" - no, you are staggeringly inconsiderate).

Who are you people that do this? Do you think your convenience trumps everyone else's in all areas of life, or just this one?