Sliding doors

[ladyofastolat]

Today's entirely-unimportant-in-the-scheme-of-things rant subject is automatic doors. More specifically, it's lazy automatic doors that perform their duty but slowly and too late. So there you are, brisk shopper, striding purposefully towards the door. (I always stride purposefully, even if my brain hasn't yet clarified what the purpose actually is

Comments

[leesa_perrie]

Then there's the ones that don't open unless you press the button (sometimes the button is on the wall a couple of feet before the door, just to confuse you further - well, there's at least one I can think of like that)!! I get the reason for them (so they're not opening everytime a person passes the store), but that doesn't mean I haven't been caught out by them!

Though interesting fact: if one of these doors is open and there's one or more ordinary you have to push/pull them doors next to them (like entering a shopping centre, for example), you can pretty much guarantee there are people waiting to use the open door, even though there's several someone's coming through it in the opposite direction! Often I've used the manual door and been out/inside before them!! :D

[king_pellinor]

I find a similar thing with double doors. A great crowd of people are trying to get through the open leaf, and you walk up, push the other one open, and get out straight away - leading a crowd of eager followers who hadn't realised what the word "Push" meant... :-)

[leesa_perrie]

Oh yes, double doors have the same effect! Still, it's one way to get followers, lol! :D

[ladyofastolat]

Getting out of primary schools can be sometimes feel more like breaking out a prison. They all have those "press button to open" doors, but they generally put the button somewhere high up, out of the children's reach, or miles away from the door - presumably so they can pounce on escapees before they reach the great outdoors. They're often near a very similar-looking emergency-override buttons, which must never be pressed except in case of fire. I tend to just stand there looking plaintive until someone (often a passing 7 year old) tells me how to escape.

[leesa_perrie]

LOL! That reminds me of the button at the nursing home that hubby's great aunt is in. The button looks very much like a normal doorbell button, but inside and high up. Fortunately it's next to the door, and once you realise what it is, is easy to reach. However, pressing the button doesn't open the door unless you keep your hand on the button as you open the door! Oh yes, that's confused quite a few people, myself included!! :D

Still, at least we don't have Hitchhiker's doors, that thank you for using them!! :D

Though we do have talking lifts. Not that any of them have said that 'down is very nice' - at least, not yet! :D :D

[songblaze]

As someone whose disability makes opening doors somewhere between a nuisance and a guaranteed injury, it annoys me ever so much when people do the pile-up at the only accessible door. Did they really not notice the 6 other, perfectly functional doors? Likewise for when apparently able-bodied women choose the only accessible stall instead of the dozen of normal ones. I do promise you that believe it or not, your ego will fit just fine! I also hate - really and truly hate - when the designer of the bathroom sticks the diaper change table in the one and only accessible stall. I mean, how's this for a great idea - let's take two groups that are going to take longer than the average most of the time, and let's make them compete for the same space. But wait, there's more - in addition to competing with each other, they'll also be dealing with random people who don't actually need that bigger stall, but just 'feel more comfortable' when they take up spaces other people need.

[leesa_perrie]

Must be incredibly frustrating! People can be very self-centred *hugs*

[songblaze]

Thank you. It certainly can be. I can sometimes manage without the grab bars, but it is virtually impossible to fit my service dog in a stall with me, except for the rare places where the doors swing out (and even then, it's unpleasant - he's a 65lb dog, and both relatively long and relatively tall for his weight). So my options, if I really have to go and someone is using the only accessible stall, are to either hope I don't pee myself waiting, or to leave my dog outside of the stall. I really, really hate doing the latter because of animal rights extremists. I know a fellow service dog partner who did that and midway through going to the bathroom, her leash clunked down onto the ground...because an animal rights extremist was taking all of her dog's gear off and trying to take the dog away. Since hearing about that, I have to be truly desperate to leave my dog outside of the stall