Literacy rate up, comprehension rate down

[seeress_83]

To all customers:

Yes, the restroom is really out of order. That's why there's a sign on the door of the restroom that says 'OUT OF ORDER' in big red letters. You know it's there, you just READ IT and turned around and asked me "Is your restroom out of order?" And there's also one on the entrance to the store that says "Public restroom is OUT OF ORDER." I didn't put them up just because I thought they were pretty. If you bother to take the time to read it past the 'out of order' bit, you'd see that there is an explanation on BOTH signs as to WHY our restroom does not work. No, I don't have another restroom somewhere...well okay, so I do, but it doesn't work either. I don't care if you have to 'go really bad' or if you have 'bladder problems,' I'm not letting you use the bathroom because the toilets will not flush. Where do I go to the bathroom? Well, I try my best NOT to. Because the employee toilet won't flush either. Standing in my parking lot for fifteen minutes yelling at everyone and telling them that we are 'stupid' because we won't 'let' people use our restrooms is going to get you nowhere. THEY. DON'T. BLOODY. WORK. Now STFU.

(Just so you know, the sign that's on the front door? Says "PUBLIC RESTROOM OUT OF ORDER" in big letters, then in parentheses below it, it says 'No really. It is. Promise.' )

[MissVendetta]

I think all the dummies seem to think that "restroom is out of order"-sign is just a piece of information that hasn't any other meaning than "x is y". They don't read between the lines and thus cannot understand that "restroom is out of order" = "you may not use it".
This said, I don't think any additional information helps. Some weeks ago, one of our doors was broken (it didn't close properly) and I made signs stating that the door was broken (duh) and couldn't used (double duh) and that there were other doors people could use. I scotch-taped the signs to the door the way they covered the lock and the push button so that you just had look at them while attempting to open the door. The result: everyone ignored the sign except for the few who asked me did the sign really mean that the door couldn't be used.

[seeress_83]

That's as bad as the sign I have taped over the credit card reader on pump #2.

Card reader is offline. We have been through FIVE bloody signs. The first two were just stuck out there beside the card slot. People ignored it. The last three have been full sheets of card stock taped COMPLETELY OVER the card slot AND keypad. Two of the last three have mysteriously vanished. So the one that is there now has an additional line: "Please do NOT remove this sign!!!" It has actually stayed up a good while now.

[Gurndigarn]

Heaven help me, but I've wanted to make a sign that said "Out of order. Really. Removing this sign will not make the game work."

I think I've told this one here, but it's one of my favorites. We had a video game with a blown monitor board. This game was a driving game where you would sit in the seat, then the seat would swing under a cowl, so when you were playing it, you could not see anything else beyond the monitor in front of you.

I watched a kid (somewhere in the 10-to-12 range) swing the seat into this completely black game, peel black electrical tape off the coin slots, stick some tokens in, then come up to me and say "Mister? This thing took my money."

[BookstoreEscapee]

I didn't put them up just because I thought they were pretty.

you should put them in a nice frame... if they're not going to pay attention anyway, then you can tell them it's art

[SCSlave]

I get just the opposite at my job.

People come in "I just want to pay my bill"
Me: "Would you like to use the payment kiosk? It takes cash, checks and credit cards"

Them: (At least 95% of them) "Does it work?"




I really want to tell them "No..it doesn't. I'm taking a poll is all"

[Becks]

(Just so you know, the sign that's on the front door? Says "PUBLIC RESTROOM OUT OF ORDER" in big letters, then in parentheses below it, it says 'No really. It is. Promise.' )

Is the public restroom REALLY out of order, or are you being mean and not letting the paying customers use it?

*ducking*

[AFpheonix]

They replaced our little In-Window Closed sign with a giant freak red one.


People still come up to that window and push it aside, waiting for someone to walk clear down there to help them.

Hello, there's not enough of me to run 3 windows! Hence the giant freak sign telling you to come down to the out window!

[SuperB]

"But I'm buying something!"

Sorry sweetheart but that won't magically make the toilet flush, unless you know something I don't.

(had that convo often enough)

[GayleShy]

To all customers:
I don't care if you have to 'go really bad' or if you have 'bladder problems,' I'm not letting you use the bathroom because the toilets will not flush. Standing in my parking lot for fifteen minutes yelling at everyone and telling them that we are 'stupid' because we won't 'let' people use our restrooms is going to get you nowhere.

Have they ever thought that in the time it takes to tell everyone how stupid you are they could have found a working bathroom somewhere around there and be on their way? When I worked customer service we used to get to hear people whine all the time about how they can't walk all the way back to Layaway and they were going to pee their pants. They would stand there and wait for a good ten minutes or so and lecture the poor janitor about how rude he was for not letting him in there and how they didn't care about why he was cleaning it, they needed to go now.

On a side note, these are also the same people who would come up to the desk and complain if the restrooms weren't sparkling clean. How do they think they get that way?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Now that I'm working for corporate (no customers! whee!!), my office is up at the far end of the warehouse. We have a bathroom with 3 stalls and the handicapped one has a sign on it, in English and Spanish, "Out of Order, Please Don't Use It". Don't think anyone has. Best part is it's only employees in a fairly small area that use it so it doesn't get too messy to begin with, and it's cleaned at least twice a day (I seem to have a knack for needing to go when she's got it closed for cleaning )

[seeress_83]

Have they ever thought that in the time it takes to tell everyone how stupid you are they could have found a working bathroom somewhere around there and be on their way?

Actually, no. Because, when it's working, ours is the ONLY (yes, ONLY) public restroom in town. It takes about fifteen minutes in either direction to get to one. I also have to listen to people bitch about the little restaurant next door not having a public restroom...but that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

[protege]

Heaven help me, but I've wanted to make a sign that said "Out of order. Really. Removing this sign will not make the game work."

When I worked in a student computer lab, I sooooo wanted a sign like that. Whenever a computer was having "issues" we were supposed to put a little sign on it, telling the (l)user it was out of service. After having several signs "disappear" and listening to too many (l)users complaining, I had enough. We ended up killing power to the offending machines, and duct-taping signs across the monitors. That didn't stop people whining about not being able to chat

[powerboy]

I want to make a sign so badly, that says restrooms are for employees only, but atlas, they would probably just stare at it

[SnapAddict218]

Where do I go to the bathroom?

I worked at a small shop that did not have a public restroom. It's amazing how many people seem to think that every place has to have a public toilet. No. They aren't obligated to, it's nice, but not something the buissness has to do. Our pee-pee room was in the back room where all the back stock was kept. The rest room also served as a stockroom since we were in such a little building. We kept very exspensive hair extentions, hair color, bleach and other chemicals in the restroom, among other things. The boss didn't want customers in the back room/restroom due to obvious reasons like theft. How easy would it be to stick a packet of $40 hair in your coat and leave? Or dig around in my purse sitting under the desk? Also, we didn't want them back there poking around in the chemicals. We know where they are, what they are, and what they will do to your skin if you touch them. They don't, and you can bet they're gonna go nosin' around and get injured and try to sue us. People with little kids would freak out but sorry, I am NOT letting your kid back there to A) Pee/poop all over the place (happend more than once, when we *did* give in)
B) get into the developer and sustane a chemical burn
c) plug the toilet or make some other kind of mess.
And I'm not letting you go back with him. Shrinkage people. I don't care if you "would never steal anything". I can't take that chance.

But people would ask about restrooms and I would tell them no, we don't have a public restroom. They would then ask where I go (as if that's any of their gross buissness) and I'd tell them, "In the employee restroom".
SC: So you DO have a restroom! Let me use it!


Employee.......not public........