Overly Egressive

I was just at Best Buy, where apparently the recent rain/wind storms damaged the outer exit door. Everyone entering used the entrance normally by walking through both sets of sliding doors. Those exiting had to use the inner sliding exit door, then shuffle over to the left and go through the outer entrance door. Got all that? Good.

On the inside of the outer exit door (the broken one), was one of those metal pull-down gate things. On it was a bumper sticker-sized sign that read “Not a means of egress.” I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this is one of the least useful signs ever.

For one, what’s with that wording? Yes, egress means exit – nothing wrong with it semantically. But consider the average person. What percent of people really know what egress means? Maybe 15? I think 5 might be closer to reality. So congratulations, sign writer guy, on finding a more sophisticated way of saying “not an exit”. There’s a reason your job is writing text for stickers and not teaching doctoral level English courses.

And secondly, exactly what part of not “egressing” wasn’t clear by the fact that there was a GIANT METAL GATE blocking everyone from doing so? Would anyone have walked up to it, looked unsuccessfully for instructions, and then attempted to raise, slide or pass through the gate when there was a fully operational door 8 feet to the left? No. The answer is no.

So, sticker writer guy and sticker placer guy, I hope you both read this and take it to heart. I don’t want to encounter your preposterous signage anymore.

---

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader.

Everything Important Ever | Email EIE: grandmaster@everythingimportantever.com