I agree with the issue flying to Canada after a Mel-lax flight where you have a carry on for the long flight

i usually take row 3or 4just to avoid to OP problem. It is bad for folks that don’t know and book row 1amd board late, they are in a bad way and usually end up gate checked after grabbing a few things out

small airplane, big problem

I usually ask the FAs if they can cram my bag in the closet. As an added benefit, they even hand you your bag after the plane lands ^

Well United can first of all start with what Swiss and many other airlines do and put a sign up saying that the bins are for First Class. Second, but far less likely to happen is for the FA's to not let coach passengers put their bags up in the premium cabin bins, again like they do on Swiss. On my flight to Copenhagen, the FA made the coach passenger remove his bag and take it to the back. He tried to insist that there may be no room and the FA told him that they will cross that bridge when they come to it and made him remove it.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4226/...6e395bc9_c.jpg by B H, on Flickr

I don't carry on a roller if I've selected row 1.

I remember a decade ago, the US Air Shuttle FA's were actually very good about policing the F bins and making sure that only F passengers used them. Usually, a male FA would stand in the space between the two cabins, and he would be vocal as needed. One of the good things about the US Air Shuttle that was lost in the merger. So it goes...

I don't understand...if you book row 3 and board late, there is room overhead? If so, then if you book row 1 and board at the same time, you could put your bag above row 3. I understand that is still "swimming upstream" at landing time, but two rows is usually no big deal.

Or is the problem personal items that would go under the seat with row 3?

The issue was swimming upstream to get my bag from the back of row 4 - fortunately a kind gentleman got my bag down for me but now I am standing in the middle of the first class cabin and blocking the people trying to get out to get their overhead items. The reason I commented is that happened twice in three days. I know it is a first world problem.

I "hid" my purse behind my legs - not a good safety issue I know but what can you do when there is no room in the overhead above you. *shrugs

You'd think they could do that. Or maybe they could educate their own employees: tonight on an AS flight, a 'civilian' with UA badge boards, shoves his rollaboard with crew tags into an F overhead bin and proceeds towards the back of the plane. There were still empty bins in the back.

Row 1 is a bulkhead. Row 3 is not.

Had a late connection one time and I was 1F. No space available. Flight attendant ask 1E what bag was his. Then ask rest of front cabin who the other bag above was. No one claimed it so she gate checked it.

I don't think signs will do anything as Americans seem to take particular pleasure in defying signs. In fact, I rather suspect the problem would be worse as some people would take it as a victim-less challenge to defy "the man" and put their coach carry-ons in the Business class overheads just to show they could.
I like the idea of closing the overheads until the business class section is filling/filled but it will work until they open one overhead for business class to put their things away then it will become chaos.
I think people would start responding if they started making announcements that coach class carry-ons placed in business class overheads would automatically be gate-checked unless claimed and then carried through on the threat but that's about what it would take and you'll still have problems with the F or J neighbor who decided to unload absolutely everything into the overheads and to heck with you.
Honestly, this is why I avoid bulkhead seats and have even turned down CPUs when they put me in row 1.

Won't do much since First/Business usually boards first, and it's the pax that miss their boarding group that usually suffer.

One possible solution would be to have a flight attendant accessible locker/storage space towards the front of the plane that is reserved for bulkhead and first class pax that can't find any overhead space.

Sounds to me like an unattended bag that should have been left behind.;)

While I sympathize with the OP and can see this as an inconvenience, in my experiences I really don't see this as a big problem for first class. In my experiences first class passengers tend to be a bit more accommodating to their fellow first class passengers so I have never had a problem with either dashing back a few rows (the aisle is typically wider so it's easier to "squeeze" past) when the plane parks at the gate or asking someone to pass my bag up to me. Depending on size and weight of bag, I've done both with good success.

Now in coach, its a whole different ballgame, but I will save my thoughts so as not to stray off topic.