Man asks if he's wrong to ask for 'small favor' from stranger at the airport.
Traveling is hard, no matter who you're traveling with. When this man is conflicted at the airport, he asks the popular Reddit forum:
'AITA for asking a small favor from a stranger at the airport?'
I (29M) am at the airport (small, Midwest US, domestic terminal). There’s literally no one else at this gate (or basically in the whole airport) besides me and this lady with her son.
I REALLY need to use the restroom since I was a bit late getting out of the hotel this AM and my bags are a bit disorganized from security checkpoint, plus I’m holding a coffee and sandwich I just bought.
Bathrooms are right next to gate we’re sitting at - no more than 50 feet away. Now, before I go further with this, note that I’m a pretty experienced traveler as I lived abroad for a few years in several places.
I usually NEVER do this since I’ve found most people want to be left alone at the airport, but I ask politely if the woman can just keep an eye on my bag (I’m sitting right in front of her) while I go to the restroom.
At this point I’m about to pee my pants and I can’t take a second to arrange everything to bring to the restroom with me. She stares me dead in the eyes and replies harshly “no I can’t.”
I honestly thought she was joking because of how blunt she was being, so I smile and say “no?” She snaps at me and goes “absolutely not - are you kidding me? Can’t you see I have enough going on here? No I can’t watch your bags,” sighing after muttering the last word and looking away.
I apologize for bothering her and bring all my stuff in disarray to the restroom with me. Am I the asshole for even asking?
Well, let's see what Reddit had to say.
laughingmosess writes:
Wow. NTA!!! Blowing my mind. I get the airport security part. But also, what harm is there is asking someone to literally just watch your stuff for 3 minutes while you run 50 feet away to pee?
Like if you don't come back, ok, red flag, but you also looked right at them and could describe the person. Not to mention security cameras. She didn't ask the woman to take her bags or hold her bags or load her bags, just literally keep one eye out that no one walks off with her stuff.
There was actually a study done that asking people to watch a bag means they are more likely to stop someone from stealing your stuff. I have done this multiple times and never had anyone be rude or not agree to.
I say NTA for asking. Respect her saying no, but asking isn't an a hole thing.
MCCAstaff disagrees:
I'll start by saying, YTA, OP. But I want to point out, it's possible to have a third bag after check-in, if said third bag is necessary medical equipment. Like, my late father was diabetic, and always had a little cooler bag with his insulin, glucose monitor, and other emergency supplies.
I myself use a CPAP due to severe sleep apnea. So, when I fly, I have my carry-on bag, my 'personal item'which is usually my laptop bag, plus the CPAP's travel case. I like to read, so once I'm at the gate, I'm likely to pull out a book or my e-reader, and yes, I may have paused to buy food and drink before sitting down to wait for my flight.
Three bags, reading material, and meal - that could easily get a little disorganized, and even taking a few moments to reorganize before going to the restroom, it's still a bit much to juggle.
That said, OP definitely should have gone to the restroom before purchasing their food and drink, especially since it seemed they were in rather urgent need of said restroom. And they definitely should never have asked a complete stranger to watch their stuff. yta.
wickedpanda writes:
NTA 100%. I live in/travel around northern Europe a lot for work. More than once, I've asked someone sitting near me if they would mind watching my bag whilst I ran to the toilet. Everyone I've ever asked has agreed. I've never had an issue, and never had anyone treat me some type of way over it.