You're going out to eat, running to the store, stopping at the local ghetto corner mart...whatever the case may be. You drive up, park, get out of the car and approach the doors (assuming said destination has two doors to choose from, of course). You go to pull open the door and...WTF? The door is locked. It's 4pm on a Tuesday and they have cut off access to the building you would like to go into by way of this one door. So there you are, pulling at the door and looking like a jackass in public because some buffoon was too lazy to open both doors. Awesome.
Avoid this technique...it could end tragically.
In this scenario, the logically sound individuals will proceed immediately to the other door. That won't make them any less bitter that they were correct on their second guess, but for these people, life goes on. Better to have a 'bad short-term memory', so to speak. Then there are those individuals whose instincts are a little off. The ones that think, "maybe you push it open", then give that a shot. First thing to do in that situation...read what it says on the door. The majority of publicly used doors I've ever seen have 'push' or 'pull' labels or markings on it. If this takes you an extra second or two to discover prior to your door-opening attempt, it could save you from looking like an even bigger moron. Second thing...if you have failed to read the door, failed to pull it open, then failed to push it open...revert back to the instincts of those with (at least) half a brain: immediately try to open the other door. It will not help your case if you fail at opening the door, and then you spend the next few seconds looking around to see if anyone saw you. Then you just look guilty as hell, opening you up to all the ridicule any onlooker could dish out.
This guy is not likely to succeed in life.
As for the establishment's responsibility, I can not find anything through research that tells me it's a fire code violation to have one of those doors locked. Perhaps it varies based on what the conditions of the building are, current occupancy, maximum occupancy, whatever the case may be, I don't know. I feel that, hypothetically, if a fire suddenly broke out at a Chik-Fil-A (which is more likely than ever given their bad publicity recently) and a crowded dining area needed to evacuate, don't you think it would be more efficient and less likely to cause injury/harm to these good patrons to have an extra wide exit to plow through? I say 'plow through' because you know that herd of water buffalo we call the 'average fast food customers' would not be trying to get out in an orderly manner. There will be people knocked over, necks stepped on and groins viciously kicked in order for these people to escape. Gives a whole new meaning to 'survival of the fittest', don't you think?
Imagine this, except not grazing in a field but scarfing down a large #3 combo w/ a diet coke.
It's easy for me to say, but I know if I ran some business of my own, I understand the aggravation this could cause to a customer. I don't see the point in keeping a door locked unless it is damaged in some way. As I explained, you could save the lives of a few innocent people from being trampled, and you can avoid pissing someone off just before they walk into your building to spend money. Just a thought.
I'll leave you all with this funny story. A few guys I work with were out to lunch one day. They are minding their own business, eating their food, carrying on conversation as usual. A rather large (husky, not tall) woman goes to open the door, and as she struggles to open it enough to squeeze through, she asks her friend, "Wow, is this door heavy or is it just me?!"
No lie. How they composed themselves, I still don't know. They might not even know.
D.
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