Karen demands lifeguard find her lost bracelet at bottom of the pool, calls 'this generation' lazy because he couldn't find it: 'We tell people not to wear jewelry in the pool'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Mar 3, 2024 9:00 PM EST

Lifeguarding is such a strange job when you really think about it. Water parks, beaches, and community pools around the world put the lives of their patrons in the hands of bored athletic teenagers, making $12 an hour if they're lucky. It's honestly a miracle that there aren't more drownings at pools, given how undertrained, underpaid, and overworked lifeguards are.  

Sometimes, lifeguards have to deal with problems that have nothing to do with the safety of the swimmers in their vicinity. They're often treated like customer service representatives for the pools, even though dealing with swimmers' personal problems is not in their job descriptions. A Karen recently criticized a long-suffering lifeguard for being unable to find her bracelet at the bottom of the 8-foot-deep swimming pool. It might've been a reasonable ask if the bracelet wasn't lost under an artificial waterfall. It is clear that her demands were totally unreasonable. 

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  • 01
    r/AmltheAsshole u/gaydolphingod. 21h AITA for refusing to retrieve a bracelet for a guest at the pool I'm a lifeguard at Not the
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 02
    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.
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 03
    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.
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 04
    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 h
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 05
    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.
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 06
    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?
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 07
    owls_and_cardinals • 21h ● Professor Emeritass [86] 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.
    via u/owls_and_cardinals
  • 08
    gaydolphingod OP • 20h 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. ... 42.2k
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 09
    dilletaunty 19h Aficionado [10] ● Next time ask your manager anyways to CYA 4565
    via u/dilletaunty
  • 10
    Comfortable-Sea-2454 21h Commander in Cheeks [224] ● 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]. Reply 41.4K ...
    via u/Comfortable-Sea-2454
  • 11
    Born-Eggplant8313 - 19h Partassipant [1] 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. 4290
    via u/Born-Eggplant8313
  • 12
    gaydolphingod OP 18h. I'm not sure tbh. A lot of people forget. lirc, 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. 256 +
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 13
    Dszquphsbnt. 21h Prime Ministurd [450] NTA but holy what if someone needed an actual lifeguard while you were blindly searching for her bracelet? Reply 4376 ...
    via u/Dszquphsbnt
  • 14
    gaydolphingod OP • 20h 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. 4485 ...
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 15
    ReviewOk929 - 21h Colo-rectal Surgeon [33] 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 ... Reply 4336
    via u/ReviewOk929
  • 16
    Coconutoilglow • 21h ΝΤΑ 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. Reply ... 196
    via u/Coconutoilglow
  • 17
    gaydolphingod OP • 20h 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. 4 119 +
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 18
    LeoZeri 19h 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. 143
    via u/LeoZeri
  • 19
    Tempting Penguin369 21h Craptain [158] 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.. Reply ... 134
    via u/TemptingPenguin369
  • 20
    Edit: since some people thought I put the other swimmers in danger by searching for the bracelet, I want to add: We have around 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 search
    via u/gaydolphingod
  • 21
    Edit 2: the waterfall is artificial and not nearly as strong as a real one. It's difficult and uncomfortable (you get pelted by a lot of cold water) to swim through, but not at all dangerous.
    via u/gaydolphingod

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karens bracelet lifeguard karen-customer bracelets waterfalls Jewelry pool swimming pool pools karens in the wild waterfall reddit thread karen story karen
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