I have a confession to make. I poached a seat yesterday.
And I did it in exactly the manner being discussed here - I just sat in the seat I wanted, rather than my assigned seat. When the rightful owner showed up, I showed him my boarding pass and hoped he would just take my seat instead. He didn't speak much English (if any), and he did, in fact, just accept my seat, so it all worked out.
Now, for
the rest of the story...
I got a last minute undesired op-up that separated me from my traveling companion. I figured I would just take my original seat and offer the first class seat to whoever got my old seat.
As it turns out, the new occupant was a member of the Italian Olympic volleyball team. As I was explaining how he could have either his assigned seat or my spot in the front of the bus, he didn't understand a word, but could plainly see that the seat I was gesturing to would fit his 6'10" frame quite a bit better than where I was.
His teammates congratulated him on his luck. His coach went up front to (unsuccessfully) try to sell him on the concept that the coach should be the one in first class. Finally, I saw him enjoying free beers on multiple occasions. So, it really DID all work out.
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I gotta say, though, if "rightful owner" had opened up with
Originally Posted by
tbau
""Hey Stupid, beat it."
or
Originally Posted by
pinworm
A curt "out" usually does it...Always claim what is rightfully yours. Never let anyone walk over you for their selfish benefit.
That free first class seat would be immediately off the table. I would have silently "slunk off" to my seat in the front of the bus, and let you have your precious coach seat. My interest in sitting with my companion would have been trumped by my need to make sure someone being a d!ck is not rewarded in any way. Belligerence is NOT always the best policy.