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Man Is Puzzled That A Woman Turned Down His Request To Watch His Belongings At The Airport While He Uses The Restroom
Many will probably agree that air travel has become one of the most convenient ways of getting around. All you have to do is listen to a podcast, maybe watch an episode from your favorite TV show, eventually doze off, and, before you know it, you’re a couple of minutes away from landing in a different country.
But let’s not forget that every good thing comes with a side of cons – and, in this case, it’s the airport and its chaotic culture. For some, just the thought of going through that crazy busyness can induce astronomical stress levels – and chances are, the majority of you have had to endure things going totally wrong at least once or twice.
An airport is a place that works best if everyone follows a few simple practices, such as staying in your lane, multitasking and moving quickly, not hovering at the gate, and perhaps avoiding asking strangers to watch your bags while you pop to the restroom if you want to keep away from any unnecessary tension.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:
Tip of the day: Never ask an airport stranger to watch your stuff or you could end up getting blasted online
Image credits: Mark Hillary (not the actual photo)
“AITA for asking a small favor from a stranger at the airport?” – this netizen turned to one of Reddit’s favorite communities wondering if he was wrong to ask a stranger to watch his bags at the airport while he ran to the restroom. The post has managed to receive over 2K upvotes and 801 comments discussing the situation.
Woman turns down this man’s request to keep an eye on his bags while he uses the bathroom, he takes it online to find out if he was a jerk for asking
Image credits: dlo3
The man began his post by revealing that, at the time, there were no people at his gate apart from him and some lady with a kid. He really needed to use the restroom as he was a bit late getting out of the hotel, his belongings were disorganized from the security checkpoint, and he also had his hands full with coffee and a sandwich. The bathrooms were located right next to the gate, no more than 50 feet away, and although he’d never done it before, he decided to ask if the fellow passenger would be able to watch his stuff while he quickly ran to the toilet.
The man didn’t have a chance to visit the restroom prior to the security checkpoint, so he decided to ask a fellow passenger to watch his belongings while he quickly ran to do his business
Image credits: dlo3
To his surprise, the woman turned down his request, and rather harshly. For a minute, the man thought that she was joking because of how “blunt” she was being, so he smiled and asked her again. The mother snapped and asked him if he couldn’t see that she had enough going on already. She then sighed and looked away, so the OP apologized for bothering her, took his disarrayed bags, and made his way over to the bathroom.
To his surprise, the woman declined and in a rather harsh manner – which, in the moment, the man also thought was pretty uncalled for
Image credits: dlo3
The woman’s response puzzled the man, so he took his pondering online to find out if he was a jerk for even asking.
The post garnered quite a lot of attention, and following an array of thoughts from community members, the man decided to add a bit of commentary. He read all of the input and wanted to say that it was made very clear that, in this situation, he was in the wrong. The OP acknowledged the fact that he should’ve used the restroom at the hotel and tidied his stuff up to make it easier to carry. Plus, he shouldn’t have asked a stranger to keep an eye on his belongings for obvious reasons, with the main one being the security risk posed.
Due to the abundance of responses, he later edited the post to include some extra commentary
Image credits: dlo3
He also added that he shouldn’t have assumed that the woman was joking by saying “no” and that that’s the part that he’s embarrassed about the most, since it was a pretty transparent situation. After all, he was a total stranger asking a mother and her offspring to watch a soccer duffle bag and a laptop case in an empty airport.
The man couldn’t explain why he thought that the woman was having a bit of banter with him, but speculated that it was perhaps just because of his sense of humor. Also, while he originally thought that the tone of her response was somewhat uncalled for, looking back, he realized that she had every right to react the way she did.
The OP acknowledged his wrongdoings and said that the woman had every right to react the way she did
Image credits: dlo3
The author of the post also touched on his “I’m an experienced traveler” statement and said that he should’ve used “I have experience with air travel” instead. The guy is from the States originally, but lived abroad for several years and had to make frequent trips to and from the US for work and studies. He added that he had never asked a stranger for such a favor before and that this for sure was a first and last time.
To top it off, he added that despite giving her a sorry grin as he boarded the plane, he chose not to say anything for fear of making matters worse
Image credits: dlo3
Image credits: Carissa Rogers (not the actual photo)
Finally, he said that he knew that the woman and her child were on his flight, as after he made his way to the airplane, he took a quick glance up and down the aisle and noticed that she was sitting behind him. Turns out, he even gave her an apologetic/pathetic smile to sort of indicate that he was sorry for creeping her out, but he decided not to say anything in case it made the situation worse.
What do you think about this story? Do you believe that the woman’s reaction was reasonable?
Fellow community members shared their verdicts on this matter
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Jay Krissy 3 years ago
I would have answered No. Neither is the a*****e. I have been told to never to accept, bring or watch anything for a stranger in an airport from I was youngster. TSA warns people about suspicious luggages and to be aware of people asking you to watch stuff. He is a poor traveler. He had too many loose items to manage, he should have consolidated and take his stuff with him into the restroom which is accommodating of travelers with luggages. He could have finished his coffee and put away his sandwich in his bag.
Elliot Fowler 3 years ago
What a bad and negative post. I don't care what OP thinks or what all the replies say. Op is not the AH.
Corrsfan 3 years ago
An airport is a particularly "off" place to ask a stranger to watch your stuff. Politely asking may not be an AH move but he didn't just drop it when she refused; he probed further and that is firmly in AH territory. Just because he asked in a pleasant time doesn't mean it was okay to continue past her NO
Load More Replies...
ZombieSushi386 3 years ago
I totally understand the womans response. They warn you not to do this at the airport. There are signs everywhere and I was always told to keep your bags with you at all times and to never agree to watch someone else, or to carry anything onto the plane that you didn't pack yourself for that matter. Back in the day it was probably way easier for a bad guy to pick an unsuspecting dupe to carry out the dirty work without even knowing it. So many movies start just like this and they never end well. Especially if you are a woman.
Monday 3 years ago
Yeah sure but saying the guy is an AH for asking is just dumb. It was fine for him to ask and it was fine for her to refuse. As a woman myself I've watched the bags of strangers running to the restroom a number of times because I'm A: in a public place surrounded by other people and B: not going to actually take the luggage anywhere, just make sure it doesn't get stolen while the stranger is in the bathroom.
Load More Replies...
Emily 3 years ago (edited)
All he had was a soccer duffel and a laptop bag, why would that have been obnoxious to bring into the bathroom (compared to large wheeled suitcases)? I don't think OP was the a-hole, I do think he should have managed his time better that morning and gone to the bathroom as soon as he got to the airport (or, if he had to go before he left the hotel, at the hotel) and not stopped to buy coffee and a sandwich before getting to the terminal, if he had to pee so bad! To his credit though, in the responses, he did acknowledge that he was having a bad morning and listened to his bladder instead of better social logic.
Honu 3 years ago (edited)
I'm used to the stalls in airport bathrooms being large enough to accommodate a carry-on sized wheeled bag. I usually have one of those and a smaller bag. There is plenty of room for me to wheel that in a stall with me. I get not wanting to take the food in there. I would've left it in the area by the gate and taken my chances. Well, I wouldn't have bought it at all if I knew I needed a bathroom ASAP, but if I was presented with his set of choices in the moment, I would've just left them and taken my bags.
Load More Replies...
Marcia Mongelluzzo 3 years ago
So if she said yes and someone grabbed your stuff what the heck was she supposed to do?
StayClassy 3 years ago
Good on this guy for owning up to being the AH. "No." is a full sentence and shouldn't have to be explained.
South Monk 3 years ago
There's another angle that op forgot. What if you blame her or your bag watcher for taking something even though bag watcher didn't. For some places this might be common...
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
I take my luggage with. It's annoying, but you just deal with it, b/c there's too many people who've had their luggage seized if it's left alone for under 2 minutes at some US airports.
Ashley Galyen 3 years ago
That last time I was in an airport, there were signs all over saying to not leave bags unattended or they will treat it like a bomb. So the logic follows for travelers to not accept bags either. No one wants the TSA after them.
Jay Krissy 3 years ago
I would have answered No. Neither is the a*****e. I have been told to never to accept, bring or watch anything for a stranger in an airport from I was youngster. TSA warns people about suspicious luggages and to be aware of people asking you to watch stuff. He is a poor traveler. He had too many loose items to manage, he should have consolidated and take his stuff with him into the restroom which is accommodating of travelers with luggages. He could have finished his coffee and put away his sandwich in his bag.
Elliot Fowler 3 years ago
What a bad and negative post. I don't care what OP thinks or what all the replies say. Op is not the AH.
Corrsfan 3 years ago
An airport is a particularly "off" place to ask a stranger to watch your stuff. Politely asking may not be an AH move but he didn't just drop it when she refused; he probed further and that is firmly in AH territory. Just because he asked in a pleasant time doesn't mean it was okay to continue past her NO
Load More Replies... ZombieSushi386 3 years ago
I totally understand the womans response. They warn you not to do this at the airport. There are signs everywhere and I was always told to keep your bags with you at all times and to never agree to watch someone else, or to carry anything onto the plane that you didn't pack yourself for that matter. Back in the day it was probably way easier for a bad guy to pick an unsuspecting dupe to carry out the dirty work without even knowing it. So many movies start just like this and they never end well. Especially if you are a woman.
Monday 3 years ago
Yeah sure but saying the guy is an AH for asking is just dumb. It was fine for him to ask and it was fine for her to refuse. As a woman myself I've watched the bags of strangers running to the restroom a number of times because I'm A: in a public place surrounded by other people and B: not going to actually take the luggage anywhere, just make sure it doesn't get stolen while the stranger is in the bathroom.
Load More Replies... Emily 3 years ago (edited)
All he had was a soccer duffel and a laptop bag, why would that have been obnoxious to bring into the bathroom (compared to large wheeled suitcases)? I don't think OP was the a-hole, I do think he should have managed his time better that morning and gone to the bathroom as soon as he got to the airport (or, if he had to go before he left the hotel, at the hotel) and not stopped to buy coffee and a sandwich before getting to the terminal, if he had to pee so bad! To his credit though, in the responses, he did acknowledge that he was having a bad morning and listened to his bladder instead of better social logic.
Honu 3 years ago (edited)
I'm used to the stalls in airport bathrooms being large enough to accommodate a carry-on sized wheeled bag. I usually have one of those and a smaller bag. There is plenty of room for me to wheel that in a stall with me. I get not wanting to take the food in there. I would've left it in the area by the gate and taken my chances. Well, I wouldn't have bought it at all if I knew I needed a bathroom ASAP, but if I was presented with his set of choices in the moment, I would've just left them and taken my bags.
Load More Replies... Marcia Mongelluzzo 3 years ago
So if she said yes and someone grabbed your stuff what the heck was she supposed to do?
StayClassy 3 years ago
Good on this guy for owning up to being the AH. "No." is a full sentence and shouldn't have to be explained.
South Monk 3 years ago
There's another angle that op forgot. What if you blame her or your bag watcher for taking something even though bag watcher didn't. For some places this might be common...
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
I take my luggage with. It's annoying, but you just deal with it, b/c there's too many people who've had their luggage seized if it's left alone for under 2 minutes at some US airports.
Ashley Galyen 3 years ago
That last time I was in an airport, there were signs all over saying to not leave bags unattended or they will treat it like a bomb. So the logic follows for travelers to not accept bags either. No one wants the TSA after them.
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