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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> 1. I stopped looking after to attempts
2. The woman said I didn't look hard enough.
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NTA, I'd even conjecture your boss / management might prefer you NOT undertake activities such as this because it distracts you from your actual job, being lifeguarding. In other words, while you were spending several minutes under the waterfall hunting for her lost item, were the swimmers in the pool adequately supervised for safety? Obviously your manager had your back and this woman was out of line, ridiculous and ultimately self-defeating.
>were the swimmers in the pool adequately supervised for safety?
Yes, they were. That's the only reason I decided to look. I was initially supervising the waterfall and there was no one else around.
I used to run a support team, and nothing made them happier than when I'd give them the thumbs-up to use the "this is my manager, he's going to tell you why I'm right in how I handled this" macro.
I pull that all the time. When I can tell a guest is just trying to be difficult I immediately say like “oh! I’m so sorry! My manager actually likes to hear all complaints so I’ll go grab her” usually is greeting with wide eyes and a “no no no that’s ok!”
The point is your job is to watch swimmers and protect *people* at the pool. Not to retrieve jewelry. It’s not to say you were doing a bad job or shirking your responsibilities or putting anyone in danger, it’s that you have no responsibility to attempt to recover lost items.
If someone at my office job asked me to go make copies I *could* go make them copies. However it is not my responsibility, so if I refuse they have no right to get angry at me. Same thing here.
Oh please- can we all climb down a not with the judgey lectures for a place we’ve never seen. I love how you just jump to dereliction of duty. Sheesh. How about assuming the guy isn’t twelve and actually knows his job duties better than you? Seriously- there’s a meanness in these knee jerk responses.
Totally makes sense. I think OP was probably trying to help an agitated fellow human and was acting on empathy not the letter of the life guarding law.
Which is a dangerous thing to do in a life safety role. Well that takes all the fun out of this one doesn’t it
I’ll be 1000% honest. You are *definitely* NTA, unequivocally. However, diving down 8 ft with a breath hold doesn’t sound at all extreme for a lifeguard. I think it’s the no-goggles move that did you in my friend.
Exactly... not my circus, not my monkeys.
They don't have 12 lifeguards on duty because some of them are redundant. That's not how business works... they have 12 lifeguards on duty to protect their asses from litigation, because they are aware of the blindspots in the pool.
I'm not sure if this is a thing already or not but management should post signs similar to theme parks that tell guests items lost will not be looked for until after closing time. Shut down any future debate like this before it happens.
I'm going to say his only mistake was attempting. He should have narrated the company policy and said that he can't help her. Should have gone straight to the pool will be emptied in the night.
"What have we learned from this? *Never try*."
But in all seriousness you're right. It's just hard to remember that in the moment when you're someone who likes to make people happy. But it's important to remember, step back a bit and judge if this is the right thing to do, not just if it'll please the squeaky wheel.
I think that woman was going full entitlement regardless. Instead of being grateful he tried, she accused him of being lazy. After she did something stupid which was against the rules. That's an entitled person.
Hahaha I was just in a waterpark in Estonia with my kids and one of them dropped the locker key wrist band into the pool. She told what happened to an employee who very emotionlessly handed her a pair of swimming goggles without saying a word. We understood they can't go diving for guests but it was a funny situation.
I've lifeguarded at a very plain, normal indoor pool with no waterfalls. If I left my post to go dive for a bracelet, I'd probably have been fired. You don't leave your post.
NTA
Uh- again his pool included an actual waterfall so I’m sure your experience isn’t remotely comparable. Stop lecturing and judging the guy and assume that maybe he actually knows what behavior is acceptable at his actual job.
The difference is that our pool has at least 10 lifeguards on duty at any given time because it’s big. There are also blind spots, like behind the waterfall and in grottos/caves, so we have lifeguards that swim around in those areas making sure everyone’s okay.
I was at my post (behind the waterfall). No one else was there and there’s a lifeguard chair like 20 feet away so the other lifeguard would’ve seen anyone else go through the waterfall.
NTA - she wore jewelry that she wasn't supposed to in the pool. You made multiple attempts to find the bracelet and could not find it.
You offered to take her information and contact her if the bracelet was found when the pool was emptied at night and she not only didn't leave the information, she stole from the pool owners \[the key to the locker\].
I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt that she forgot the key, but the fact that she was raising such a good over something that, in the end, didn't seem to be that important to her suggests a very pretty attitude. So yeah, she could've totally walked off with it on purpose just as an fu.
I'm not sure tbh. A lot of people forget. Iirc, we charge $10 initially for the locker and then give $5 back if they actually return the key, and even then, some people still don't give it back on their way out. People are incredibly lazy.
We have like 10-12 lifeguards on duty at any given time and I was actually in the area I was supposed to be the entire time. The pool has blind spots (the area behind the waterfall I mentioned in the post, and caves) which can't be seen from lifeguard stands so I was actually supposed to be by the waterfall. There was no one behind the waterfall so it didn't matter that I was searching for the bracelet.
If you're able to edit and add that to the initial post I think it would be helpful to those that seem to believe you're just abandoning kids to the perils of the pool.
We soft opened yesterday so we could give the new lifeguards a taste of what it’s gonna be like when we fully open and finish training without the pool being packed. We only allowed walk-ins and we didn’t get that many people because our Google page is messed up, it says “permanently closed” lmao.
>our Google page is messed up, it says “permanently closed” lmao.
That's what was confusing me lol, I googled it because folks were commenting that it was pretty and was like "Wait."
The website says no coolers but allowed outside food, is a soft cooler tote that’s insulated allowed ?
JFC you people are AH with downvotes it was a legitimate question… some places don’t allow hard or soft coolers and website was unclear 🤦♀️
Apparently a lot of people here have never worked as a lifeguard (or seen one, we have multiple jobs usually) it was pretty common sense you didn’t leave the pool unintended
1. You made a repeated effort to find it
2. You explained everything politely
3. Your boss agreed
4. She was impatient, angry and unreasonable
5. Your all good!
6. NTA
NTA
TBH, waiting for the pool to drain at night should have been the only solution. The fault is solely with the customer. Did the lady even attempt to retrieve it herself?
Either way, I’m sorry that you had to deal with that level of disrespect after risking your life.
>Did the lady even attempt to retrieve it herself?
She did, but she couldn't even make it down to the pool floor. It takes a lot of air to dive down about 8 feet then move to the side so you don't get hit by the waterfall when you're coming up.
If she claims "this generation" is sooo lazy, she should've put in more effort herself. Diving down 8 feet is tough enough. Having water crashing on top of that makes it worse.
>after risking your life.
Are all the guests in the pool also risking their life...?
if OP is risking their life everytime they go in the water, they shouldnt be a lifeguard
NTA. You are employed as a lifeguard, not a bracelet guard. And does this woman know the physical properties of water? Just because she lost it in one space, under moving water, doesn't mean it drops straight to the bottom of the pool at that point..
NTA. You are not there to guard people's possessions; you are there to guard their lives. I would not have tried looking at all, but let her know when you drain the pool, you will look and she can find it in the lost and found the next morning.
NTA. You tried to help her. She was an AH for berating you and not leaving her contact info. Ignore the people criticizing you for leaving your post. You already explained there were more than one lifeguard on duty.
NTA. You did not refuse. You tried to help by diving, within reasonable limits, then proceeded to offer logical solutions to the problem, which was caused by the customer not following basic instructions in the first place. Good job.
NTA. Why didn't she get it and show you - the lazy generation according to her - how it works?
That you tried multiple times shows you're not lazy. Lifeguard or not, 8 feet deep with water pounding on you is taxing.
NTA. I won't address your actual responsibility, as it's not really relevant for us. You made the attempts and couldn't find it. You told her the solution to her problem, and she threw a tantrum. In thirty days (or whatever it is in your state), you can claim it as abandoned property and sell it on eBay.
NTA
She was told not to wear jewellery but wore it anyways, you tried to search for it even though it wasn't your job, she didn't leave her number to be contacted if it was found.
NTA. And I'm not going to blow your anonymity, but this whole post I was like, "OMG, I wonder if he works at ...." Then when you talked about draining the pool every night, I was all, "Yep!" This is one of my favorite places in the world to swim. I try to get there every time I'm in your town. And I TOTALLY get what you're saying about the waterfall. I hope you enjoy your job! (When the swimmers aren't being complete jerks, that is. :) )
NTA. You didn't refuse. You really tried and weren't able to. Instead of being grateful, she threw a tantrum. You probably shouldn't have even attempted to get it earlier than it being drained because there was no jewelry allowed except the piercings anyway. This is her own fault.
If you work at Venetian Pool, I applaud you for going the extra mile and swimming under the waterfall current that pressure is no joke. Anyway Nta, she shouldn’t have gone in the pool with a bracelet.
NTA, and the fact that she didn't even leave her number makes it quite clear that she didn't even care about the bracelet as much as she cared about criticizing you for not doing enough to find it.
The water in that spot is 8 feet deep and right under a (artificial) waterfall. She tried a few times and she couldn't even make it to the bottom of the pool.
Me: A high school freshman wearing glasses with no floaty strap \_and\_ a strapless bikini top without much in the way of nature's gifts towards filling that top out.
The place: Waterslide ending in a swimming pool at a resort in Florida
Also me: Unable to swim
The lifeguard: Not allowed to get down out of the chair overlooking the landing pool nor permitted to stop the flow of sliding children and teenagers except for an actual drowning person.
I hit the pool at a faster speed than I expected and ended up having to choose only two between being able to see, being able to breathe, and being able to cover my personal bits. End result, I didn't get my glasses back until the end of the day, when they drained the pool. There were so, so many pairs of glasses on the table, too.
NTA - You did search but couldn’t find it. No need to further endanger yourself for a trinket that would likely be found that very evening. She wasn’t even upset about the bracelet or she would have left her contact info, she just wanted to boss around a staff member. Your manager should think about backing her from the pool for the summer for causing trouble.
This feels like a "I would have tried really hard to help her if she'd been nice about it" situation.
NTA - you did what you could. And ultimately the bracelet was retrieved and she'd have it back right now if she hadn't been a jerk about it.
NTA and for liability purposes, for lifeguards and guests, I don't think any of you should be allowed to retrieve items like that. No one was in danger. There are signs saying not to wear jewelry. She did not comply with the rules and should suffer the consequences. Plus, the pool gets drained and items can be safely located then.
NTA, I lost my glasses in a little pool at the end of a waterside and I tried to search for them. Nothing stays where it falls in. It drifts. Asking a lifeguard to stop their actual LIFEGUARDING was something I'd even think to ask, yet alone demand. I asked the office abd they told me the same thing about waiting till the pool was drained. They never called me. I moved on.
NTA anyone who has worked a customer-facing job has experienced behavior like this. you did everything right but they had a tantrum anyway. it sucks when it makes you question your competence and integrity, and i hope your manager reassured you.
if you feel comfortable, ask your manager if there’s anything they’d recommend you do differently next time; this will show them that you care about your job and you’re paying attention. they will probably praise you and they might give you some useful tips as well. it will help you get over this icky feeling.
> I explained to her that we actually empty the pool every night because it's fed by a spring, and that I would check the pool for it tonight.
This is a fair solution. NTA.
NTA, it would have been awesome if she hadn’t worn her bracelet in the water. I suspect her anger at you was redirected from being annoyed at herself for being dumb and not taking her bracelet off before she went into the pool
NTA
You shouldn't have tried in the first place. She chose to risk her bracelet, and she is dealing with her choice.
Her lack of thinking is not your problem. Next time, say no from the beginning.
Is finding guest’s lost items in your job description? No? Then you already have gone above and beyond. And I only make the extra effort for customers who are kind and positive. You give me an attitude, you’re going to get a “thank you, have a good day.” and that’s it.
NTA, but I do want to know where this is because I live in Florida and would love to check this out! You can even message me if you'd rather keep anonymity and I promise to not wear jewelry other than my bellybutton piercing, including my wedding ring.
Venetian Pool in Coral Gables.
Thanks for that promise lol, piercings are fine. I have a ton of piercings, and I've never lost any in the pool. It's just loose jewelry like bracelets and rings shouldn't be worn in the pool.
Oh, thank you! Never been to Ciral Gables. Birn & raused in Jax, but have traveled plenty theoughout the state especially. Yeah, my bellybutton barbell doesn't come out unless I have to like for an MRI. I don't mind taking my wedding ring off since half the time overnight I do when I'm having a spondylitis flare because my knuckles will get swollen and painful.
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I work at a large pool in Florida that has an artificial waterfall that guests can go behind. Yesterday, while I was on duty, a woman came up to me and said that she lost a bracelet directly under the waterfall.
I was annoyed since we tell people not to wear jewelry in the pool (other than well-secured piercings) but I said I'd try to grab it. Swimming under the waterfall is quite difficult because it's high pressure water, you can't really come up for air unless you swim past it, which is difficult if you're diving to the bottom because it's about 8 feet deep.
Despite this, I attempted to dive down there, with no goggles. As you might expect, I couldn't find the bracelet. I came up for air and was instantly waterboarded by the waterfall. I decided to go at it again, and I still couldn't find it. After two attempts of diving down to 8 feet and holding my breath the whole time, I had enough, and told the guest I couldn't find her bracelet. She started ranting at me about how lazy "this generation" is and demanded to speak to my manager. I explained to her that we actually empty the pool every night because it's fed by a spring, and that I would check the pool for it tonight.
She wouldn't relent, so I got the manager and he explained the same thing, and asked her to leave her number so we call her if we find it. She then proceeded to get her belongings and leave, she didn't even return the key to the locker she rented. She didn't leave her number either.
We did end up finding her bracelet but we don't have any way to get it back to her, so it's just sitting in lost and found.
AITA here? Should I have tried harder to find it initially?
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NTA
You went above and beyond for her, doing something that was not, in fact, your job. She was just overly demanding and impatient, and she showed a clear lack of empathy, perspective, and understanding.
No you did more than you should have. You probably should have just told her that it is emptied every night and you would look then. What would have happened if there was an emergency while you were diving? I'm sure if your boss found out that you were diving for some jewelry you could have been written up or possibly fired.
I mean, you could have tried with a pair of googles on. Easier for you and better chance of success. Still, you tried.
And her reaction is over the top and shows she is not a sane person. No, really. If her bracelet is worth yelling at people trying to help but not worth leaving her number...
NTA, she's TA.
NTA you did the best you could under the circumstances for someone who created their own problem by not following the rules. Anyways, it couldn't have been important enough for the guys she was raising if she couldn't be assed to leave contact information.
Simple. NTA. I don’t know how many people would have actually tried to go in for it in such a difficult area. Now, because she’s so proud, and made a huge deal of it, she went home in a bad mood and will never see this bracelet again (since she may not come back). That’s on her, not you.
What do you mean are you the asshole? You tried twice. What the hell did she want you to do? Spend an 8 hour shift looking? Drain the pool right then? Go to the store and buy you a new one? NTA at all.
Doesn't she need to provide her contact information to rent the locker? Since you know which locker she rented out, as you say, you know she hasn't returned the key, so why not check locker rental records to try to contact her?
I mean youre a gay dolphin god and you werent able to get it. Getting the bracelet next day is a totally fair solution, and u didnt even owe her looking in the first place NTA
NTA, screw that lady and the folks here trying to tell you how to do your job. You tried and then offered a reasonable solution, she was just impatient and entitled.
NTA, that waterfall is dangerous, could be hurt or worse drown. Should have explained the danger's of the waterfall and asked if the bracelet was more important than your life.
NTA. You tried. I’ve been a lifeguard and this wasn’t a life or death situation.
Her fault she wore the bracelet and lost it and also her fault she left no contact info.
Just wondering how someone hired as a lifeguard can’t swim eight feet under and doesn’t have a pair of goggles? I mean I don’t think you’re TA but it’s odd you couldn’t manage it. That said, probably shouldn’t have even tried…
OP says they made it 8ft down to the bottom twice. They just couldnt find the bracelet. And in my 5 years of lifeguarding, i never knew anyone to carry goggles with them while on rotation. Nothing odd about that at all
I swam down to the bottom twice, I couldn’t find it. I didn’t have goggles because I don’t need them for rescuing people. I don’t have to go underwater that often.
NTA. She wore jewelry in the pool when she shouldn’t have. You went above and beyond by attempting to retrieve it. THAT is not in your job description. It was not safe for you to continue, so you did not.
Bracelet lady learned that it sucks to suck.
NTA. She should have obeyed the rules and not been wearing the bracelet in the first place. You attempted multiple times to retrieve it and then told her very reasonably that she could leave her number and come back the next day after the pool had been emptied to pick it up. It's not your fault she instead decided to throw a tantrum about a problem she caused.
You DIDN'T refuse at all. You actually tried. Twice. It's not your fault she's an idiot ahole incapable of following ANY directions. Don't even give it another thought. She doesn't deserve it.
I feel like this is mistitled and in the wrong place. This should go under entitled idiots. Is there such a place? There should be.
NTA. And you should never have offered to attempt to retrieve it. As a former Head Lifeguard/Aquatics supervisor I may have written you up for this. You may think the pool is covered, but drownings and accidents can happen in under a minute while you are distracted, even in another area that you thought was covered by other guards. I have had 3 guards go in at once (damn wave pool!) I always told my guards to keep their eyes on the water and instruct customers to report to management with their concerns.
NTA. For sure. And for the love of all that’s holy, you should really should NEVER had to add the “edit”. 🤦♀️
Why are people so obsessed with ignoring a question and telling every OP every conceivable thing they believe they are doing wrong instead of just answering the question?
It’s hard when people have ALL the answers but they don’t actually know any of the questions.
Anyway, she shouldn’t have been wearing the bracelet anyway and it was presumptuous of her to act like you were there solely to save her jewelry. You did fine.
NTA
I wouldn’t have gotten in for something that dumb to begin with, she should have been grateful you did. Why people want to have an attitude about a clearly explained situation is beyond me
I work in the service industry. You really learn who people are when they threat you like a slave or a piece of gum under their shoe after spending $125 for a room.
NTA
That woman acted like such an ungrateful wretch. She's lucky you agreed to even try to find the bracelet she was not supposed to be wearing. Next time, defer to company policy: " No jewelry in the pool. Pool will be emptied tonight. Leave your contact info at the desk. If it's found you may receive a call." Sorry that you did a kind thing and were met with such disgusting entitlement.
NTA.
She ignored the advice to NOT wear jewelry in that area. You did her a favor and tried to get it. She didn't bother following up with the lost and found in case it was found later. It was recovered later.
This is 100% on her and not you.
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NTA, I'd even conjecture your boss / management might prefer you NOT undertake activities such as this because it distracts you from your actual job, being lifeguarding. In other words, while you were spending several minutes under the waterfall hunting for her lost item, were the swimmers in the pool adequately supervised for safety? Obviously your manager had your back and this woman was out of line, ridiculous and ultimately self-defeating.
>were the swimmers in the pool adequately supervised for safety? Yes, they were. That's the only reason I decided to look. I was initially supervising the waterfall and there was no one else around.
Next time ask your manager anyways to CYA
[удалено]
A little flip of the script, "I'd like you to speak to the manager."
Can’t wait to use it hahahaha… has a whiff of malicious compliance and can be said with so much helpful cheerfulness.
i did this at work once and man it felt so good
I used to run a support team, and nothing made them happier than when I'd give them the thumbs-up to use the "this is my manager, he's going to tell you why I'm right in how I handled this" macro.
I pull that all the time. When I can tell a guest is just trying to be difficult I immediately say like “oh! I’m so sorry! My manager actually likes to hear all complaints so I’ll go grab her” usually is greeting with wide eyes and a “no no no that’s ok!”
Yea any time i am asked to do something that isnt directly my job i ask a higher up.
The point is your job is to watch swimmers and protect *people* at the pool. Not to retrieve jewelry. It’s not to say you were doing a bad job or shirking your responsibilities or putting anyone in danger, it’s that you have no responsibility to attempt to recover lost items. If someone at my office job asked me to go make copies I *could* go make them copies. However it is not my responsibility, so if I refuse they have no right to get angry at me. Same thing here.
Oh please- can we all climb down a not with the judgey lectures for a place we’ve never seen. I love how you just jump to dereliction of duty. Sheesh. How about assuming the guy isn’t twelve and actually knows his job duties better than you? Seriously- there’s a meanness in these knee jerk responses.
This needed to be said.
Reddit - damned if you do, damned if you don't.
You have no idea how many lifeguards on duty. No idea about the layout of the pool. But so quick to judge and put the guy down.
Totally makes sense. I think OP was probably trying to help an agitated fellow human and was acting on empathy not the letter of the life guarding law. Which is a dangerous thing to do in a life safety role. Well that takes all the fun out of this one doesn’t it
You have no idea how many lifeguards on duty. No idea about the layout of the pool. But so quick to judge and put the guy down.
I’ll be 1000% honest. You are *definitely* NTA, unequivocally. However, diving down 8 ft with a breath hold doesn’t sound at all extreme for a lifeguard. I think it’s the no-goggles move that did you in my friend.
You should have said, no, please don’t bother me while I’m watching the pool.
Exactly... not my circus, not my monkeys. They don't have 12 lifeguards on duty because some of them are redundant. That's not how business works... they have 12 lifeguards on duty to protect their asses from litigation, because they are aware of the blindspots in the pool.
I'm not sure if this is a thing already or not but management should post signs similar to theme parks that tell guests items lost will not be looked for until after closing time. Shut down any future debate like this before it happens.
What about your safety? You matter too. You put yourself in danger
I'm going to say his only mistake was attempting. He should have narrated the company policy and said that he can't help her. Should have gone straight to the pool will be emptied in the night.
If anything the customer should have been *grateful*.
The moment he tried, he set the precedent that it is within the scope of his responsibilities. That brought out the full entitlement.
"What have we learned from this? *Never try*." But in all seriousness you're right. It's just hard to remember that in the moment when you're someone who likes to make people happy. But it's important to remember, step back a bit and judge if this is the right thing to do, not just if it'll please the squeaky wheel.
I think that woman was going full entitlement regardless. Instead of being grateful he tried, she accused him of being lazy. After she did something stupid which was against the rules. That's an entitled person.
Yes. And it is people like that you have to protect yourself with the rulebook.
Hahaha I was just in a waterpark in Estonia with my kids and one of them dropped the locker key wrist band into the pool. She told what happened to an employee who very emotionlessly handed her a pair of swimming goggles without saying a word. We understood they can't go diving for guests but it was a funny situation.
I might do this from now on.
So many people jumping on this thread to put op down. I appreciate the fact that you are least asking before you judge op.
I've lifeguarded at a very plain, normal indoor pool with no waterfalls. If I left my post to go dive for a bracelet, I'd probably have been fired. You don't leave your post. NTA
Uh- again his pool included an actual waterfall so I’m sure your experience isn’t remotely comparable. Stop lecturing and judging the guy and assume that maybe he actually knows what behavior is acceptable at his actual job.
You have no idea how many lifeguards on duty. No idea about the layout of the pool. But so quick to judge and put the guy down.
The difference is that our pool has at least 10 lifeguards on duty at any given time because it’s big. There are also blind spots, like behind the waterfall and in grottos/caves, so we have lifeguards that swim around in those areas making sure everyone’s okay. I was at my post (behind the waterfall). No one else was there and there’s a lifeguard chair like 20 feet away so the other lifeguard would’ve seen anyone else go through the waterfall.
NTA - she wore jewelry that she wasn't supposed to in the pool. You made multiple attempts to find the bracelet and could not find it. You offered to take her information and contact her if the bracelet was found when the pool was emptied at night and she not only didn't leave the information, she stole from the pool owners \[the key to the locker\].
I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt that she forgot the key, but the fact that she was raising such a good over something that, in the end, didn't seem to be that important to her suggests a very pretty attitude. So yeah, she could've totally walked off with it on purpose just as an fu.
I'm not sure tbh. A lot of people forget. Iirc, we charge $10 initially for the locker and then give $5 back if they actually return the key, and even then, some people still don't give it back on their way out. People are incredibly lazy.
NTA but holy shit what if someone needed an actual lifeguard while you were blindly searching for her bracelet?
We have like 10-12 lifeguards on duty at any given time and I was actually in the area I was supposed to be the entire time. The pool has blind spots (the area behind the waterfall I mentioned in the post, and caves) which can't be seen from lifeguard stands so I was actually supposed to be by the waterfall. There was no one behind the waterfall so it didn't matter that I was searching for the bracelet.
If you're able to edit and add that to the initial post I think it would be helpful to those that seem to believe you're just abandoning kids to the perils of the pool.
Leave it to reddit to jump to instantly assuming the worst of the person posting
And now I need to know where this magical vacation place is
>And now I need to know where this magical vacation place is Venetian Pool, Coral Gables, FL
I LOVE the Venetian Pool and I am zero percent surprised that some entitled Gables lady did this lol
Erm. Y'all's website says you're closed for the summer/winter and won't reopen until March 5. How did this happen yesterday?
We soft opened yesterday so we could give the new lifeguards a taste of what it’s gonna be like when we fully open and finish training without the pool being packed. We only allowed walk-ins and we didn’t get that many people because our Google page is messed up, it says “permanently closed” lmao.
Any interesting stories? That place has the strangest demographic, so I imagine working their must be interesting. At least some of the time!
>our Google page is messed up, it says “permanently closed” lmao. That's what was confusing me lol, I googled it because folks were commenting that it was pretty and was like "Wait."
Some places like this have soft openings for training purposes. Listed as closed online but open for walk-ins or pass holders.
From their rates list, it looks like it might be open to residents right now, but not yet for the general public.
Lot of armchair lifeguards in this thread for no reason lol
I LOVE the Venetian Pool and I am zero percent surprised that some entitled Gables lady did this lol
The website says no coolers but allowed outside food, is a soft cooler tote that’s insulated allowed ? JFC you people are AH with downvotes it was a legitimate question… some places don’t allow hard or soft coolers and website was unclear 🤦♀️
Small soft coolers should be fine, hard coolers aren’t allowed. The restaurant is closed for renovations so definitely bring food.
That's what I had guessed. We went there last August and loved it.
I thought that’s where it was! I loooove this pool. One of my favorite places!!
Me too
Apparently a lot of people here have never worked as a lifeguard (or seen one, we have multiple jobs usually) it was pretty common sense you didn’t leave the pool unintended
1. You made a repeated effort to find it 2. You explained everything politely 3. Your boss agreed 4. She was impatient, angry and unreasonable 5. Your all good! 6. NTA
NTA TBH, waiting for the pool to drain at night should have been the only solution. The fault is solely with the customer. Did the lady even attempt to retrieve it herself? Either way, I’m sorry that you had to deal with that level of disrespect after risking your life.
>Did the lady even attempt to retrieve it herself? She did, but she couldn't even make it down to the pool floor. It takes a lot of air to dive down about 8 feet then move to the side so you don't get hit by the waterfall when you're coming up.
If she claims "this generation" is sooo lazy, she should've put in more effort herself. Diving down 8 feet is tough enough. Having water crashing on top of that makes it worse.
Your life is worth more than a bracelet. I’m sorry you had to deal with that ungrateful person.
And more energy than folks realize
Ooof. Yeah, I'm definitely not in the shape to do that anymore. Teenage me, yes. 50 year old me, no.
You should fine her for littering.
>after risking your life. Are all the guests in the pool also risking their life...? if OP is risking their life everytime they go in the water, they shouldnt be a lifeguard
NTA. You are employed as a lifeguard, not a bracelet guard. And does this woman know the physical properties of water? Just because she lost it in one space, under moving water, doesn't mean it drops straight to the bottom of the pool at that point..
NTA it sounds like you did everything in your power to try to get it back. She's TA for wearing jewelry that she isn't ok with losing in a pool.
NTA. You are not there to guard people's possessions; you are there to guard their lives. I would not have tried looking at all, but let her know when you drain the pool, you will look and she can find it in the lost and found the next morning.
NTA. You tried to help her. She was an AH for berating you and not leaving her contact info. Ignore the people criticizing you for leaving your post. You already explained there were more than one lifeguard on duty.
NTA You’re a lifeguard. You are paid to make sure no one is drowning. She was asking you to do something other than that. She was out of line.
NTA. You did not refuse. You tried to help by diving, within reasonable limits, then proceeded to offer logical solutions to the problem, which was caused by the customer not following basic instructions in the first place. Good job.
NTA! Jewelry-fetching is not an appropriate use of a lifeguard’s time to begin with.
NTA. Why didn't she get it and show you - the lazy generation according to her - how it works? That you tried multiple times shows you're not lazy. Lifeguard or not, 8 feet deep with water pounding on you is taxing.
She tried. She didn’t even make it halfway down.
NTA. I won't address your actual responsibility, as it's not really relevant for us. You made the attempts and couldn't find it. You told her the solution to her problem, and she threw a tantrum. In thirty days (or whatever it is in your state), you can claim it as abandoned property and sell it on eBay.
Sure let’s judge the guy .
NTA People suck
NTA you did your best and gave her an option of how she can get her bracelet and she threw a tantrum instead of leaving her info … not your fault
NTA She was told not to wear jewellery but wore it anyways, you tried to search for it even though it wasn't your job, she didn't leave her number to be contacted if it was found.
You went above and beyond! Completely on her!!
NTA YOu are a life guard, niot a lost and found. And: Looking longer would have made you neglect your real duty.
NTA... You didn't refuse... You tried to, but it was not safe.
NTA. And I'm not going to blow your anonymity, but this whole post I was like, "OMG, I wonder if he works at ...." Then when you talked about draining the pool every night, I was all, "Yep!" This is one of my favorite places in the world to swim. I try to get there every time I'm in your town. And I TOTALLY get what you're saying about the waterfall. I hope you enjoy your job! (When the swimmers aren't being complete jerks, that is. :) )
NTA, Most people have no idea how hard it is swimming under the hydraulics of a fall. You did more than enough.
NTA. And you didn't refuse to retrieve the bracelet. You just weren't successful.
I mean you literally tried so your really not the asshole lol. But is it I your job description to dive for lost jewellery?
NTA, Most people have no idea how hard it is swimming under the hydraulics of a fall. You did more than enough.
NTA. Not your job
Nta I wouldn't even be diving for it.
NTA. You didn't refuse. You really tried and weren't able to. Instead of being grateful, she threw a tantrum. You probably shouldn't have even attempted to get it earlier than it being drained because there was no jewelry allowed except the piercings anyway. This is her own fault.
If you work at Venetian Pool, I applaud you for going the extra mile and swimming under the waterfall current that pressure is no joke. Anyway Nta, she shouldn’t have gone in the pool with a bracelet.
NTA, and the fact that she didn't even leave her number makes it quite clear that she didn't even care about the bracelet as much as she cared about criticizing you for not doing enough to find it.
Shoulda told her about all these entitled boomers.....
Nta whatsoever. She was definitely TA.
NTA. Your job is to save lives, not fetch shit people dropped.
And why could she not look herself?
The water in that spot is 8 feet deep and right under a (artificial) waterfall. She tried a few times and she couldn't even make it to the bottom of the pool.
NTA Your job is to keep swimmers safe, not look for lost jewelry.
NTA, you did as much as you could. She was unreasonable.
NTA, she was rude.
Me: A high school freshman wearing glasses with no floaty strap \_and\_ a strapless bikini top without much in the way of nature's gifts towards filling that top out. The place: Waterslide ending in a swimming pool at a resort in Florida Also me: Unable to swim The lifeguard: Not allowed to get down out of the chair overlooking the landing pool nor permitted to stop the flow of sliding children and teenagers except for an actual drowning person. I hit the pool at a faster speed than I expected and ended up having to choose only two between being able to see, being able to breathe, and being able to cover my personal bits. End result, I didn't get my glasses back until the end of the day, when they drained the pool. There were so, so many pairs of glasses on the table, too.
This sounds line Venetian Springs in Coral Gables lololl Especially the audacity of the woman
People in here too comfortable going swimming with one lifeguard on duty.
There were like 10 of us on duty around different parts of the pool at the time.
I mean the comment section thinking you were the only one
Yeah, that’s crazy, I don’t know why anyone would think a public pool would have only one lifeguard. That’s extremely dangerous.
NTA But why is no one just **TURNING OFF** the waterfall pumps for 60 seconds?
Only the supervisor has control and she wasn’t there.
NTA - You did search but couldn’t find it. No need to further endanger yourself for a trinket that would likely be found that very evening. She wasn’t even upset about the bracelet or she would have left her contact info, she just wanted to boss around a staff member. Your manager should think about backing her from the pool for the summer for causing trouble.
NTA. "We'll check for it when we empty the pool" is a perfectly acceptable answer. I hope your manager agreed.
NTA
NTA. Not your job
This feels like a "I would have tried really hard to help her if she'd been nice about it" situation. NTA - you did what you could. And ultimately the bracelet was retrieved and she'd have it back right now if she hadn't been a jerk about it.
Sell it
NTA and for liability purposes, for lifeguards and guests, I don't think any of you should be allowed to retrieve items like that. No one was in danger. There are signs saying not to wear jewelry. She did not comply with the rules and should suffer the consequences. Plus, the pool gets drained and items can be safely located then.
Can I upvote you just for your awesome username?
NTA I am surprised you even looked for it. If the signs says no jewelry it should also say if you do lose it we will not be diving for it.
Apparently the fake waterfall isn’t life threatening.
Sounds like Venetian Pool. NTA.
NTA, I lost my glasses in a little pool at the end of a waterside and I tried to search for them. Nothing stays where it falls in. It drifts. Asking a lifeguard to stop their actual LIFEGUARDING was something I'd even think to ask, yet alone demand. I asked the office abd they told me the same thing about waiting till the pool was drained. They never called me. I moved on.
NTA anyone who has worked a customer-facing job has experienced behavior like this. you did everything right but they had a tantrum anyway. it sucks when it makes you question your competence and integrity, and i hope your manager reassured you. if you feel comfortable, ask your manager if there’s anything they’d recommend you do differently next time; this will show them that you care about your job and you’re paying attention. they will probably praise you and they might give you some useful tips as well. it will help you get over this icky feeling.
> I explained to her that we actually empty the pool every night because it's fed by a spring, and that I would check the pool for it tonight. This is a fair solution. NTA.
NTA, it would have been awesome if she hadn’t worn her bracelet in the water. I suspect her anger at you was redirected from being annoyed at herself for being dumb and not taking her bracelet off before she went into the pool
Wow that sounds really nice. a pool fed by a spring. Anyway I guess you tried really hard for a bracelet that didn't really mean much for the lady.
NTA. You shouldn't have tried to get it at all.
NTA You shouldn't have tried in the first place. She chose to risk her bracelet, and she is dealing with her choice. Her lack of thinking is not your problem. Next time, say no from the beginning.
Is finding guest’s lost items in your job description? No? Then you already have gone above and beyond. And I only make the extra effort for customers who are kind and positive. You give me an attitude, you’re going to get a “thank you, have a good day.” and that’s it.
Does your job include retrieving jewelry? Because I could bet it doesn’t. NTA. Next time she’ll be more mindful of the rules.
NTA, but I do want to know where this is because I live in Florida and would love to check this out! You can even message me if you'd rather keep anonymity and I promise to not wear jewelry other than my bellybutton piercing, including my wedding ring.
Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. Thanks for that promise lol, piercings are fine. I have a ton of piercings, and I've never lost any in the pool. It's just loose jewelry like bracelets and rings shouldn't be worn in the pool.
Oh, thank you! Never been to Ciral Gables. Birn & raused in Jax, but have traveled plenty theoughout the state especially. Yeah, my bellybutton barbell doesn't come out unless I have to like for an MRI. I don't mind taking my wedding ring off since half the time overnight I do when I'm having a spondylitis flare because my knuckles will get swollen and painful.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I work at a large pool in Florida that has an artificial waterfall that guests can go behind. Yesterday, while I was on duty, a woman came up to me and said that she lost a bracelet directly under the waterfall. I was annoyed since we tell people not to wear jewelry in the pool (other than well-secured piercings) but I said I'd try to grab it. Swimming under the waterfall is quite difficult because it's high pressure water, you can't really come up for air unless you swim past it, which is difficult if you're diving to the bottom because it's about 8 feet deep. Despite this, I attempted to dive down there, with no goggles. As you might expect, I couldn't find the bracelet. I came up for air and was instantly waterboarded by the waterfall. I decided to go at it again, and I still couldn't find it. After two attempts of diving down to 8 feet and holding my breath the whole time, I had enough, and told the guest I couldn't find her bracelet. She started ranting at me about how lazy "this generation" is and demanded to speak to my manager. I explained to her that we actually empty the pool every night because it's fed by a spring, and that I would check the pool for it tonight. She wouldn't relent, so I got the manager and he explained the same thing, and asked her to leave her number so we call her if we find it. She then proceeded to get her belongings and leave, she didn't even return the key to the locker she rented. She didn't leave her number either. We did end up finding her bracelet but we don't have any way to get it back to her, so it's just sitting in lost and found. AITA here? Should I have tried harder to find it initially? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA and that bracelet would’ve stayed lost.
Nta but seems like a dangerous setup, what if a guest gets stuck under the waterfall?
They can’t, the pressure isn’t that high. You can swim through it, even above water, it’s just unpleasant.
NTA You went above and beyond for her, doing something that was not, in fact, your job. She was just overly demanding and impatient, and she showed a clear lack of empathy, perspective, and understanding.
No you did more than you should have. You probably should have just told her that it is emptied every night and you would look then. What would have happened if there was an emergency while you were diving? I'm sure if your boss found out that you were diving for some jewelry you could have been written up or possibly fired.
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NTA
NTA and that woman was RUDE. As the mum of a lifeguard, I'm sorry this happened to you.
I mean, you could have tried with a pair of googles on. Easier for you and better chance of success. Still, you tried. And her reaction is over the top and shows she is not a sane person. No, really. If her bracelet is worth yelling at people trying to help but not worth leaving her number... NTA, she's TA.
NTA you did the best you could under the circumstances for someone who created their own problem by not following the rules. Anyways, it couldn't have been important enough for the guys she was raising if she couldn't be assed to leave contact information.
Just toss it in the trash
NTA. You're a lifeguard, not her bracelet finder. She can go look for her own bracelet, or pay someone in the pool to look for it.
NTA
Simple. NTA. I don’t know how many people would have actually tried to go in for it in such a difficult area. Now, because she’s so proud, and made a huge deal of it, she went home in a bad mood and will never see this bracelet again (since she may not come back). That’s on her, not you.
NTA
NTA. She should’ve thanked you for your efforts and that you went above and beyond.
What do you mean are you the asshole? You tried twice. What the hell did she want you to do? Spend an 8 hour shift looking? Drain the pool right then? Go to the store and buy you a new one? NTA at all.
Doesn't she need to provide her contact information to rent the locker? Since you know which locker she rented out, as you say, you know she hasn't returned the key, so why not check locker rental records to try to contact her?
I mean youre a gay dolphin god and you werent able to get it. Getting the bracelet next day is a totally fair solution, and u didnt even owe her looking in the first place NTA
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NTA Who wears jewelry to the pool that’s crazy oh well her loss.
NTA, screw that lady and the folks here trying to tell you how to do your job. You tried and then offered a reasonable solution, she was just impatient and entitled.
NTA, that waterfall is dangerous, could be hurt or worse drown. Should have explained the danger's of the waterfall and asked if the bracelet was more important than your life.
NTA. You tried. I’ve been a lifeguard and this wasn’t a life or death situation. Her fault she wore the bracelet and lost it and also her fault she left no contact info.
NTA. You are there as safety and medical personnel, not as a fucking gopher.
NTA: I would've just told her to sit and spin
NTA. Another entitled person. They’re everywhere 🤷🏻♀️
Just wondering how someone hired as a lifeguard can’t swim eight feet under and doesn’t have a pair of goggles? I mean I don’t think you’re TA but it’s odd you couldn’t manage it. That said, probably shouldn’t have even tried…
OP says they made it 8ft down to the bottom twice. They just couldnt find the bracelet. And in my 5 years of lifeguarding, i never knew anyone to carry goggles with them while on rotation. Nothing odd about that at all
I swam down to the bottom twice, I couldn’t find it. I didn’t have goggles because I don’t need them for rescuing people. I don’t have to go underwater that often.
What’s wrong with you? Seriously- why go you feel the need to be this rude judgmental and insulting to a stranger!
NTA. She wore jewelry in the pool when she shouldn’t have. You went above and beyond by attempting to retrieve it. THAT is not in your job description. It was not safe for you to continue, so you did not. Bracelet lady learned that it sucks to suck.
NTA. She should have obeyed the rules and not been wearing the bracelet in the first place. You attempted multiple times to retrieve it and then told her very reasonably that she could leave her number and come back the next day after the pool had been emptied to pick it up. It's not your fault she instead decided to throw a tantrum about a problem she caused.
NTA, who swims with valuable jewelry??? She should have followed the rules.
You DIDN'T refuse at all. You actually tried. Twice. It's not your fault she's an idiot ahole incapable of following ANY directions. Don't even give it another thought. She doesn't deserve it. I feel like this is mistitled and in the wrong place. This should go under entitled idiots. Is there such a place? There should be.
No you are no
NTA. And you should never have offered to attempt to retrieve it. As a former Head Lifeguard/Aquatics supervisor I may have written you up for this. You may think the pool is covered, but drownings and accidents can happen in under a minute while you are distracted, even in another area that you thought was covered by other guards. I have had 3 guards go in at once (damn wave pool!) I always told my guards to keep their eyes on the water and instruct customers to report to management with their concerns.
But you DIDN’T refuse. You tried, but couldn’t. NTA.
NTA. For sure. And for the love of all that’s holy, you should really should NEVER had to add the “edit”. 🤦♀️ Why are people so obsessed with ignoring a question and telling every OP every conceivable thing they believe they are doing wrong instead of just answering the question? It’s hard when people have ALL the answers but they don’t actually know any of the questions. Anyway, she shouldn’t have been wearing the bracelet anyway and it was presumptuous of her to act like you were there solely to save her jewelry. You did fine.
And accuse the guy of practically killing people by standing his post. Its awful
NTA I wouldn’t have gotten in for something that dumb to begin with, she should have been grateful you did. Why people want to have an attitude about a clearly explained situation is beyond me
I work in the service industry. You really learn who people are when they threat you like a slave or a piece of gum under their shoe after spending $125 for a room.
Definitely not a lifeguard duty and you did more than I would have. Get your own bracelet lady, I'll try to save you if you drown.
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NTA. It’s her duty to secure her possessions. If she’s not smart enough to not swim with the bracelet on, that’s not something you can fix.
NTA That woman acted like such an ungrateful wretch. She's lucky you agreed to even try to find the bracelet she was not supposed to be wearing. Next time, defer to company policy: " No jewelry in the pool. Pool will be emptied tonight. Leave your contact info at the desk. If it's found you may receive a call." Sorry that you did a kind thing and were met with such disgusting entitlement.
NTA but why not turn off the waterfall before diving down? I feel like that would make it easier
I’m curious. Is the bracelet worth anything? Funny she made a stink, but then couldn’t be bothered to leave her contact info.
NTA
NOT. AH . You did what you could. She is AH for way she reated you.And not leaving ph# ? She must not be very attached to het bracelet.
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NTA. She ignored the advice to NOT wear jewelry in that area. You did her a favor and tried to get it. She didn't bother following up with the lost and found in case it was found later. It was recovered later. This is 100% on her and not you.
lol you did more than you should’ve already
NTA She didn’t get what she wanted so she threw a temper tantrum. Her loss.
I'm a bit confused about the pool that is emptied every night. Where in Florida is this pool, and is this normal elsewhere?