'AITA for refusing to honor cold rules and not letting empty chairs hold spots in line?'
"AITA for refusing to honor “cold rules” and not letting empty chairs hold spots in line?"
My boyfriend and I showed up at 8:00 AM to GameStop for the Pokémon card drop. We sat in our car until 8:30, and during that whole 30 minutes nothing about the line changed. When we finally got out, I saw three actual people standing in line, then six empty chairs, and then two people sitting in chairs after the empty ones. Those six chairs had been empty the entire time we were watching.
I walked up to the two people at the end and asked if they were in line. They said yes and that the back of the line was behind them. I said, “Okay, cool, scoot up and we can get behind you.” They refused and said the six empty chairs were saving spots for people who were waiting in their cars. They told me it was the “cold rules” and I had to respect them.
I told them I was not doing that. If you are not physically in line, a chair does not hold your place. I again offered for them to get in front of us. They said no, so my boyfriend and I got behind the three actual people in line and waited for about an hour. Twenty minutes before opening, all the people who had been sitting in their cars suddenly got out, ran to claim their empty-chair spots, and immediately started complaining that we cut them.
When the GameStop employee came out, people were yelling at us. I explained that when we arrived there were three people, then empty space, then the two people at the end. I even tried to get the two at the end to move up in front of us, but they refused because of their “cold rules.” The employee confirmed that chairs do not save your spot, but also said we still technically cut because there were two people in line we got in front of.
I am genuinely confused how that counts as cutting when I literally asked them to move up so we could get behind them, and they refused. People were yelling enough that we just left and went to Best Buy instead, where we got cards with no drama.
Here's what other people had to say to OP:
JGCii says:
If you're not PHYSICALLY in line, you're not in line. I've heard of people in sleeping bags in -40 weather overnight for an 0600hrs opening. If you want a guaranteed spot...BE IN IT. NTA. (As for the two you "technically" cut, they volunteered to let you in front of them when they refused to step in front of the empty chairs).
EmiliusReturns says:
ESH. Holy shit this is embarrassing for everyone involved. Grown adults getting into a fight about Pokémon cards.
hiraeth_stars says:
NTA. Chairs don't hold places, bodies do. No body, no place in line. If the two at the end didn't want to be at the end they should have stepped forward. My local DMV has an app where you can sign up on line and then wait in your car. That's pretty handy for when the weather sucks.
pottersquash says:
I've always felt the sensible rule is a single person can hold one single spot head or behind them. A "bathroom rule" cause we'd prefer holding the spot than stand next to someone using a diaper or other apparatus. So in your situation, at most, two chairs could be held (3rd person and 10th person). NTA.