In visiting one of my favorite restaurants with my family, I proceeded to go in the side door, because that is the door you go in. Especially if you park in the side parking lot. It just makes sense. Side door. Side parking lot.
As we got to the door I saw a sign, not small but not large, that said, "Please enter through the front door to be seated." It was chilly outside and as my mother and brother rushed up behind me I informed them that we, very inconveniently in the cold, had to walk around to the front.
Once inside, the waitress seated us in the back room. We were a few feet from the door we had wanted to come in. We always go in and out that way, but now it is tightly shut and bolted, and with that sign...there should be no confusion. Well, there was. A lot , actually. And we witnessed it throughout the course of our meal (pun not intended). I guess old habits really do die hard.
As we sat there we saw several groups of people approach. The first was an old woman who walked up. Twisted the doorknob. Pushed. Pulled. Repeat. Leaned over and looked in the window, where we motioned to her that she needed to go to the front. Mind you: She could have simply read the sign. The second was a mom with two teenage children. They walked up. Twisted the doorknob. Pushed. Finally read the sign. Walked to the front. The third was a group of ladies. Sadly, even collectively, it took them about 20 seconds to read the words right in front of them. This 20 seconds was filled with the same actions listed above. Then, two big guys walked up. They jiggled the handle. They pushed. My brother and I sat there and mumbled about their inability to, again, simply read. And, moments later, the door blew open. They had, in their frustrations, broken down the door. This startled me, obviously. But, it also made me think.
How is it possible that so many people can be given signs...words right in front of their faces...and continuously ignore them? The words were placed there in order to simplify things for customers, but instead it just caused them frustration and, seemingly, mental anguish because they tried to do things their own way and, caught up in a habit, could not stop to take a second to read...to assess the situation.
Maybe that's how things are though. Not just with doors (I know I am not the only one that has unsuccessfully tried to push the "pull"), but with bigger things. How many times is the sign right in front of us, whether delivered verbally or through gut intuition or by any other sensory manner, and we ignore it? Maybe if we go about business as usual we can force it. I swear we just went through this door the other day, so it shouldn't be a problem. It must just be stuck...maybe if we push it hard enough. All the while, the sign is right there...telling us what we need to do. But we are stubborn. We don't see it. We don't hear it. Or maybe we don't truly see...or listen. We don't want to rely on outside help. We don't want to accept answers we don't come up with ourselves. But why? Why do we spend time time trying to break down the door, when maybe it's easier to accept the sign at face value and walk?
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2 comments:
It has been my experience that people rarely read signs. Good post!
True dat... I think part of the confusion lies in having something commonly used in one way (in this case a door) and simply labeling it and assuming that after years of seeing doors, opening them and walking through them that people would be able to recondition themselves in an instant... especially since we rarely look for signs on a concept we feel we have mastered. They should just make a wall right there and avoid all the confusion... Just a random thought! :) I like all the new blog updates.
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