Why don't people use ALL the doors?

[empirestate]

Anybody else notice this? It's most prevalent with pairs of doors I think, but also happens with whole banks of doors across an entryway. People will cram together and all go through the same single door (usually the one at the end), both entering and exiting alike. They will try to crowd through, or will stand back and wait for someone going the other way, even hold the door for each other, etc., but nobody at all will just go up to one of the other, completely unused doors and open it, even though they'd have it all to themselves.

I always head for any of the doors that nobody is using, and once in a while I'm thwarted because it turns out that one of each pair of doors is locked closed. (I don't understand who these people are that sign off on buildings' door budgets in the knowledge that fully half of the ones they buy will go completely unused.) But the majority of the time, I just get to enjoy being a unique human being for that brief instant.

[Roadrunner75]

I use the one door that everyone else is using due to my concern that one of the others might lead to Narnia, and I just don't have the time to deal with that right now.

[jakeroot]

Sometimes I'll go for a door that's being "avoided" as long as I know it's unlocked. If I'm unsure, I'll follow the crowd for fear of walking up to a locked door and looking like a moron.

[cjk374]

I always head for any of the doors that nobody is using, and once in a while I'm thwarted because it turns out that one of each pair of doors is locked closed. (I don't understand who these people are that sign off on buildings' door budgets in the knowledge that fully half of the ones they buy will go completely unused.)

This chaps my ass to no end!  I hate, and criticize out loud, when a business establishment has 2 doors side-by-side and they leave one of them locked.  As big as I am and as quickly as I want to leave some places **cough scary Quickie Mart cough** I may accidentally break the locked door.

[NE2]

I always pee in the center urinal of three.

Oops, wrong thread.

[US81]

In the post-9/11 world, I have also had the experience of walking up to a bank of doors and walking into an unmarked, undifferentiated door and then getting pounced on by security for not obeying the unwritten rule of knowing which unmarked door in which to walk.

[roadman]

My pet peeve is people who, when entering a building, walk up to a set of double doors and wait for somebody exiting the building to open the left door rather than opening the right one themselves.

[Pete from Boston]

My pet peeve is people who, when entering a building, walk up to a set of double doors and wait for somebody exiting the building to open the left door rather than opening the right one themselves.

Quite often double doors don't really offer a comfortable clearance for two people moving at typical speed (i.e. not doing a delicate dance around one another) in a typical vestibule to pass.  A little patience can create a smoother entry/exit for everyone.

I don't care about what doors people  use.  I just have little use for the self-absorbed people who can't be bothered to hold the door for the person two steps behind them.

[empirestate]

Quite often double doors don't really offer a comfortable clearance for two people moving at typical speed (i.e. not doing a delicate dance around one another) in a typical vestibule to pass.  A little patience can create a smoother entry/exit for everyone.

Sometimes that's true, yes. But that wouldn't be the type of instance I'm talking about; in fact, one building I visit often has two revolving doors at its front entrance, about six feet apart. People will still line up to go through just one of the revolving doors, leaving the other unused except by one or two intrepid stragglers.

(This building also has a couple of conventional doors, and quite often people will dart over to those because they prefer not to use a revolving door at all, if it can be avoided.)

Another example might be your typical shopping mall entrance, where there are maybe four pairs of doors or more. I think that when exiting, people are more likely to choose any of the doors, because they can just smack the crash bar and proceed along through the door. It seems that it's more common for people to file up when entering, I guess because they find it more convenient to wait a bit for an already-open door than to make the effort of pulling open a closed one.

[jeffandnicole]

"Follow the Leader"

Technically, I think all these front doors are supposed to be unlocked in the case of an emergency.  If they only allow people to exit, that's one thing.  But generally, they are completely locked.

Another example of this following occurs at sporting events.  Many people like to go thru the turnstyles at the midpoint of the entry area.  So while those lines are many people deep, I'll just head to one of the outside lanes, which have few if any people waiting.

This stuff occurs at toll plazas as well.  One lane may have a half-dozen vehicles in it, the next lane has no one.  I'll watch motorists with EZ Pass on some of the NJ Turnpike exit ramps use the shoulder as permitted, but frequently, you'll get the one person without a tag that followed everyone and ignored the signs.  That motorists suddenly realizes they are going into an EZ Pass lane and stops at the last moment, now blocking the lane that they shouldn't have been in in the first place.

[Zeffy]

I'll always use the door on the right in a double-door situation. Maybe it's because I'm right-handed, or maybe it's because in school they told us to stay the right. In most cases where there are multiple doors, I tend to always use the rightmost available door.

[briantroutman]

Part of it may be the innate "herd"  tendency in humans–everyone looks up; you look up.

But I think it's due primarily to two factors:
1. The assumption that there must be a reason everyone is going through that door
2. The fear of looking stupid when you find the other doors are locked

Regarding #1: We've all been in situations where traffic is at a crawl and suddenly everyone ahead of us in our lane is trying to move over. What would most people do in that case? Probably try to move over as well–not because they know why they should, but just because they're assuming that the people in front of them wouldn't be trying to move over if they didn't have a reason.

And on #2: A few times I've buzzed past a line of people queued at one open door to use one of the five or more other doors only to find that all of them are locked. I think it only takes being burned a time or two to make people gun-shy about gambling in the future.

[Pete from Boston]

Because people are busy, tired, distracted, and yes, conditioned.  People don't devote a lot of their mental energy to choosing which door to open.  Should they?

[jeffandnicole]

Because people are busy, tired, distracted, and yes, conditioned.  People don't devote a lot of their mental energy to choosing which door to open.  Should they?

Maybe.  Who said the person in front of them is going thru the correct door?

[empirestate]

Because people are busy, tired, distracted, and yes, conditioned.  People don't devote a lot of their mental energy to choosing which door to open.  Should they?

A lot? No.

[Pete from Boston]

Moreover, everyone choosing one door means clear doors for the rest of you.

Planners talk about things called "desire lines"–people go the way they want to go, and this is what you have to work with.  People apparently don't want to choose between eight doors, and one or more of them is going to become the popular choice. 

Like I said, most folks don't care that much, but this just leaves a clear path around for the opportunists.

[empirestate]

Moreover, everyone choosing one door means clear doors for the rest of you.

Yes indeed, it can work out to be favorable; please don't mistake my curiosity for intolerance.


iPhone

[jeffandnicole]

Moreover, everyone choosing one door means clear doors for the rest of you.

Planners talk about things called "desire lines"—people go the way they want to go, and this is what you have to work with.  People apparently don't want to choose between eight doors, and one or more of them is going to become the popular choice. 

Like I said, most folks don't care that much, but this just leaves a clear path around for the opportunists.

During a short stint working at Wawa, the manager showed me the 2 rows, 4 columns each of 2% milk.  He said people will more often pick from the top row, 2nd from right. 

And sure enough, people would rather reach back to get milk from that spot, rather than take the same milk from one of the other 7 spots.  Amazing.  (Me - I look around at the expiration dates first!)

[Brian556]

At Target it's because one set is automatic, and the other set is manual. This setup causes everybody to cram into the automatic doors, while the manual doors basically never get used.

This setup is annoying, especially since some people, especially woman, walk really slow.

In restrooms with three stalls, the majority of people use the middle stall. I've noticed this pattern, and later, Mythbusters did testing and proved it.

[kphoger]

I always pee in the center urinal of three.

Oops, wrong thread.

I secretly enjoy peeing in the urinal next to another bathroom-goer, avoiding open urinals farther away. . . just to freak him out. BWAHAHAHA!!

As for the topic at hand, I have neither noticed the phenomenon, nor do I have any opinion at all on the matter.

[jwolfer]

I always pee in the center urinal of three.

Oops, wrong thread.

I secretly enjoy peeing in the urinal next to another bathroom-goer, avoiding open urinals farther away. . . just to freak him out. BWAHAHAHA!!

As for the topic at hand, I have neither noticed the phenomenon, nor do I have any opinion at all on the matter.

Maybe you are an exhibitionist

[jwolfer]

In the post-9/11 world, I have also had the experience of walking up to a bank of doors and walking into an unmarked, undifferentiated door and then getting pounced on by security for not obeying the unwritten rule of knowing which unmarked door in which to walk.

I think security is the reason for limited access.  Architects design grand wide open entrances and concourses.. Only to be shunted to one.. Last me courthouses, schools and airports

[1995hoo]

I've always assumed door behavior is "monkey see, monkey do."

[Pete from Boston]

I would definitely use whatever door the monkey used.

[Brian556]

quote from Pete From Boston:

I would definitely use whatever door the monkey used.

If the monkey threw his feces, would you throw yours too?