Press to Open

So I was accompanying my cousin shopping, our hands were filled with shopping bags, and as we walked towards the glass door of Dorothy Perkins, we were taken a back because it didn’t open automatically. At our eye level there was this PRESS TO OPEN rectangular black button.(Just an off topic: My mind has 2 people talking. One is the questioner and the other one thinks and answers.) Going back to the current situation. My mind started rambling and here what happens in my head every time:

Question: What happened to the automatic doors?! Isn’t it a hassle now that I have to press to open?!

Think, Answers: I think they decided not to put automatic doors, because the pathway outside is pretty cramp as you can see in the picture above. I stay near town area and I frequent Bugis, I’ve to say, this walkway is always cramped with a lot of people especially on peak hours and weekends. So due to the human traffic in front of the shop, an automatic door, will be bad because, it will keep sliding open (due to the sensors). So that could be one of the reason why they decided not to use auto doors.

Question: But don’t they expect shoppers to have their hands filled with shopping bags and make it a hassle as they have to raise their hands with the bags to enter the shop? Making them uncomfortable is not a good thing.

Think, Answers: Yes, it’s never a good thing to make someone feel uncomfortable, when shopping should be an enjoyable and comforting experience! There could be other ways that the door can be opened, like having a normal push/pull door where, the users with hands filled, can use their shoulder to enter/exit the store.

Question: But if they have a push/pull door, wouldn’t it takes up space inside of the shop, or even worse, obstructing the human traffic outside the cramped walkway?

Think, Answers: True true. That could be another problem, though it did try to solve the problem of  making it easier to enter/exit. What about having a Step to Open instead of Press to Open ?! It should work right, it engages the legs rather thatn the hand. Well maybe it will.

Or why not go back to the start and engage on the idea of having an automatic door but adjust the sensitivity of the sensors so that it’ll only open when you are like say 5-10cm away from the glass door! Now wouldn’t that be better.

I’m not a fan of the Press to Open, because I feel that the user have to like go through an additional step to enter. It feels like you’re asking permission to get in, and you have to wait for the door to respond. Even through my observations, some people stood in front of the door thinking it’d open by itself! I don’t know maybe I don’t have a strong case here. But I still strongly believe that, the experience can definitely be improved because the experience I had was a negative one.

(Photo Credits Nicola Ng)