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Everytime

Beach Fanatic
Jul 9, 2005
439
113
Shelby County, Alabama
I am 65 and my husband is 63, so it used to be easier to haul stuff to the beach. My husband has had a complete shoulder replacement and a knee replacement, hauling stuff and even simply traversing the sand is more of a challenge than it used to be. I feel as though some of you are not understanding this issue at all. We want to be respectful visitors, but we also want to be respected as tourists.

You can be respectful visitors and be respected as tourists. I completely understand your needs for renting chairs that a vendor sets up for you. I am not calling for beach chair vendors to be shut down, just asking that they not take up so much of the beachfront with unoccupied “ghost” rentals.

But many of us can also be respectful visitors and respected as tourists even if we bring our own chairs. How is it not respectful for people to bring their own chairs?
 

Wuchie

Beach Lover
Apr 10, 2012
98
10
You can be respectful visitors and be respected as tourists. I completely understand your needs for renting chairs that a vendor sets up for you. I am not calling for beach chair vendors to be shut down, just asking that they not take up so much of the beachfront with unoccupied “ghost” rentals.

But many of us can also be respectful visitors and respected as tourists even if we bring our own chairs. How is it not respectful for people to bring their own chairs?
I did not mean to imply that you were being disrespectful ... my apologies. It just seems from many of the posts that those of us who rent chairs are part of the problem. I agree rules and regulations for the vendors need to be put in place and enforced. There must be some way to compromise.
 

Everytime

Beach Fanatic
Jul 9, 2005
439
113
Shelby County, Alabama
I did not mean to imply that you were being disrespectful ... my apologies. It just seems from many of the posts that those of us who rent chairs are part of the problem. I agree rules and regulations for the vendors need to be put in place and enforced. There must be some way to compromise.

No, and I didn’t meant to imply that y’all are part of the problem, because if you’re renting them and sitting in them, then you're putting the chairs and the space they’re on to good use. It’s more of the ghost chair setups that some of the vendors place to claim unneeded space with some type of wall or fortification or those who try to push rightful users (with their own chairs but wh were there first) out of the way.
 

bob bob

Beach Fanatic
Mar 29, 2017
723
422
SRB
What is the problem with bringing a towel to the beach? Seems a bit much to need all the stuff. There are vendors who sets up living rooms for people - sofas, big screen TVs, blenders .... ridiculous.
 

Everytime

Beach Fanatic
Jul 9, 2005
439
113
Shelby County, Alabama
What is the problem with bringing a towel to the beach? Seems a bit much to need all the stuff. There are vendors who sets up living rooms for people - sofas, big screen TVs, blenders .... ridiculous.

Nothing at all, but if someone wants to take a chair and sit in it, and an umbrella, that’s fine too, as long as they take it all when they leave and leave the area as it was before they arrived.
 

beachma

Beach Lover
Apr 22, 2005
151
31
The very simplest soulution that does not exclude anyone who needs a chair set up is not to set up the chairs and umbrella’s until those patron’s come down to the beach and rent them on the spot. If there are rentals that span the week, set up the chairs only after they bring down a card or voucher each day. This simple system puts everyone on an even playing field, if you get down to the beach at
7 AM, you get a front row seat...if later in the day, you pick a spot that is available. My husband and I arrived at a very popular restaurant that would not seat us until everyone in our party arrived...it’s an accepted practice and they are definitely not losing business because of it!
 

steel1man

Beach Fanatic
Jan 10, 2013
2,291
659
The very simplest soulution that does not exclude anyone who needs a chair set up is not to set up the chairs and umbrella’s until those patron’s come down to the beach and rent them on the spot. If there are rentals that span the week, set up the chairs only after they bring down a card or voucher each day. This simple system puts everyone on an even playing field, if you get down to the beach at
7 AM, you get a front row seat...if later in the day, you pick a spot that is available. My husband and I arrived at a very popular restaurant that would not seat us until everyone in our party arrived...it’s an accepted practice and they are definitely not losing business because of it!
I agree, but this would cause the Mafia to hire more people...someone would have to be there ALL day to setup your chairs when you arrive and remove when you leave...most of these kids ( who also fight amongst themselves over sand) just setup and then leave the area and troll all their setups ALL day seeing if someone has decided to sit in an empty chair and then they ask you to PAY up.....
I actually was talking to a code enforcement officer two years ago who said some kid wanted to start a vendor business but didn’t have any money for required insurance. The kids said if the officer would allow him to work the beach for two weeks he could make enough money to pay for the insurance that is required. The officer told me that he allowed The kid to operate for a couple weeks without insurance until he could become qualified. Also I’ve had and Enforcement officers tell me that if He writes a Vendor a violation and issues a ticket the vendor will probably fight it and the officer would be forced to spend a whole day in a court room which he didn’t want to do so he was in issuing FINES.....
 

Poppaj

SoWal Insider
Oct 9, 2015
8,149
19,906
Maybe fifty locals should band together every morning and set up their personal chairs and umbrellas in a straight line then leave before the vendors arrive.
 

beachma

Beach Lover
Apr 22, 2005
151
31
What we saw throughout the week at the Ramsgate access was the vendors worked an hour or so starting at 5:45 AM doing their set up...between 2 and 4 guys. They set up a white folding table and made a shelter at the edge of the dunes with umbrellas at the access when they were finished and sat there the rest of the day...ALL day. At 5:00 PM or so, they would take down the set ups, store their chairs, umbrellas and table at the dune edge and call it a day.
 
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