A lesson in seat saving.
October 29, 2009 | Everybody's got one, Whinging
Last night, I went to a photographer’s meeting to hear some famous dude speak. I always feel a little like a poser at these things, like I’m not QUITE cool enough to be there. So when I found the meeting room at the hotel where it was held, I took a deep breath, activated Ginger, and strode confidently into the room. I glanced about for any open seats and found one in the middle of the 4th row. Other seats nearby had coats and notebooks or humans guarding them, but not this one. I sat down, got comfortable, then heard my name called from behind me. Oh! A friend from a Me Ra Koh workshop! Hooray! I began chit chatting, starting to feel a little more comfortable, when I heard all of a sudden, in a snippy tone I might add, “That seat’s taken.”
Here’s where the lesson in seat saving begins. When I am queen of the universe, the rules will be like so: You cannot save a seat with air. A coat will do, even a pen. If you’re at a bar, you must leave something on the seat, or put your coaster over your beer. You must leave SOME INDICATION that you plan to return. Alternatively, a person may save as many seats as she likes, if she’s there guarding them, and she tells you BEFORE YOU SIT DOWN that the seat is saved. Those are the rules.
If, for some reason, one has followed all the above rules and still someone has sat in one of the “saved” seats, it is on the saver to phrase their request in a way that allows the sitter to be the nice one. For instance, “Excuse me? My friend was sitting there. He just got up for a second…” This, or something similar, should be said while making apologetic facial expressions or hand gestures. This will allow the sitter to smile and say, “Oh, okay, no problem,” and feel good about what a nice person they are as they search for another seat.
But when someone declares, IN A SNIPPY TONE I might add, that your seat is somehow taken by proprietary air molecules, all I wanna do is say, That’s right, bitch! BY ME.
Seriously. This is something that has always bugged me that I find it impossible to be zen about. Line cutters? I’m fine with it. Bad driving related lameness? No problem. But this, “that seat is saved” business is more than I can breathe through.
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October 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm, Melinda Says:
You are so totally cool enough to go to photographer meetings, silly! And I can’t agree with you more about the seat saving. She was doing it wrong. How was it besides the crazy seat saver? Was Dane Sanders as awesome as I’d imagine he would be speaking in person?
October 1st, 2009 at 3:31 pm, Serror Says:
Oh man! Yes, agreed. Totally unacceptable to “save” a seat with air! I would have refused to move had I been approached as such!
I have been in the other situation of saving too many seats, with not enough coats. But then you tread lightly and kindly, as you are saving a bunch of seats for as yet non-existent people. Sheesh.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:04 pm, Lisa Says:
I always loved the policy at Wintergrass (where I volunteered for several years.
At Wintergrass, “Your seat is your seat while your seat is in your seat.”
October 1st, 2009 at 4:58 pm, Edward Gibbs V Says:
No indication of saved seat = seat not saved. Most places either have no policy on saved seating, leaving it to public discretion, or expressly forbid it when it’s general seating. So I hope that snippy lady was encouraged to take a hike.
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:38 am, Jenny Lloyd Says:
J – I feel like we need the rest of the story! Do tell – how did it all work out?
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 am, Lucy in UK Says:
Tell them you needed to move seats anyway as the pelvic floor hadn’t entirely recovered since childbirth!
Who do these people think they are? This sort of thing makes me so cross…
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:55 pm, Jenny M Says:
Yes, I would like to know what you did. I also have a real problem with seat savings. Saving one, two seats on either side of you, fine. Saving 10 seats, not so much. Wintergrass is my kind of deal.
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:26 pm, hliv Says:
I hate saving seats. I think it is one of the most stressful things in the world!