July 14, 2011
I wrote the first section of the first blog page for July 9, 2011 and published it at 12:34 p.m.. I wrote that things such as Wet Floor signs and Caution road cones have a specific purpose, which is to warn people of hazards such as wet floors and road problems. I wrote that since those signs and cones have been getting used in a way for which they weren’t intended, if their misuse contributes to people falling where they thought there was no wet floor because they were used to there being Wet Floor signs on completely dry floor used as harassment and not to indicate the presence of wet floor, or if people drive into ditches or buildings at night where they see Caution road cones warning them away because they are used to seeing that kind of cone misused as harassment where there is no need for caution while driving, it seemed to me that the business or city council which perpetuated or allowed the continual misuse of those signs ought to be liable for damages.
It was later that afternoon, when I walked back to Barre from Montpelier, that I stopped into the Price Chopper and found that the staff had poured water all over the floor and had made no attempt to mop any of it up until I’d seen it. Not only that, but they had only a couple of Wet Floor signs near the large swath of water, were pushing carts through it to and from the back of the store so that the wheels of the carts got wet and tracked water to other places, and there were Wet Floor signs in all kinds of other places where there was no wet floor at all.
It’s a walk of a few minutes from the road up to the Price Chopper, and it’s been my impression at other times that there are staff watching out the windows all day to see when I am on my way there.
I wrote about that particular incident on the blog page for July 11, 2011.
In addition to how offensive it is for the Price Chopper to treat anyone that way, and in addition to the fact that I think my thoughts about the ongoing misuse of Wet Floor signs, Caution cones and similar signs are valid, even if there is no specific law prohibiting their use that way because the situation that I'm in has never happened before, the behavior of those employees on that day endangered other customers in the short term. What about elderly people or anyone else who could have walked through that water, both the swath on the floor and the water that the carts were tracking out and away from the water as employees pushed the carts through the water on their way to other places in the store?
The person I spoke to who claimed to be the manager obviously knew what had happened and had authorized it in one way or another. I don't know that the person I spoke to really was a manager; I asked to speak to a manager, a young guy showed up and said "Im acting as manager now," and when I told him what happened, he grinned at me and said "I've taken care of it." What I'm wondering is if maybe the real manager knew that what had happened was really bad and didn't want me to find out that he or she was the manager that day, didn't want me to get his or her name to send a report on to his or boss, and so sent the other guy to talk to me and to claim to be the manager. That's just a theory; it was a feeling I got about what might have happened.
There is no doubt that what happened was a totally unnecessary safety hazard and a complete waste of paid time, in addition to being unspeakably vicious and offensive.
You're not supposed to misuse signs such as Wet Floor signs and Caution cones; it IS illegal to use specifically designated equipment for purposes for which itwas not intended, especially in situations in which that equipment is meant to protect people from injury.
Copyright L. Kochman July 14, 2011 @ 3:16 p.m./addition @ 3:18 p.m./addition @ 3:24 p.m.
I wrote the first section of the first blog page for July 9, 2011 and published it at 12:34 p.m.. I wrote that things such as Wet Floor signs and Caution road cones have a specific purpose, which is to warn people of hazards such as wet floors and road problems. I wrote that since those signs and cones have been getting used in a way for which they weren’t intended, if their misuse contributes to people falling where they thought there was no wet floor because they were used to there being Wet Floor signs on completely dry floor used as harassment and not to indicate the presence of wet floor, or if people drive into ditches or buildings at night where they see Caution road cones warning them away because they are used to seeing that kind of cone misused as harassment where there is no need for caution while driving, it seemed to me that the business or city council which perpetuated or allowed the continual misuse of those signs ought to be liable for damages.
It was later that afternoon, when I walked back to Barre from Montpelier, that I stopped into the Price Chopper and found that the staff had poured water all over the floor and had made no attempt to mop any of it up until I’d seen it. Not only that, but they had only a couple of Wet Floor signs near the large swath of water, were pushing carts through it to and from the back of the store so that the wheels of the carts got wet and tracked water to other places, and there were Wet Floor signs in all kinds of other places where there was no wet floor at all.
It’s a walk of a few minutes from the road up to the Price Chopper, and it’s been my impression at other times that there are staff watching out the windows all day to see when I am on my way there.
I wrote about that particular incident on the blog page for July 11, 2011.
In addition to how offensive it is for the Price Chopper to treat anyone that way, and in addition to the fact that I think my thoughts about the ongoing misuse of Wet Floor signs, Caution cones and similar signs are valid, even if there is no specific law prohibiting their use that way because the situation that I'm in has never happened before, the behavior of those employees on that day endangered other customers in the short term. What about elderly people or anyone else who could have walked through that water, both the swath on the floor and the water that the carts were tracking out and away from the water as employees pushed the carts through the water on their way to other places in the store?
The person I spoke to who claimed to be the manager obviously knew what had happened and had authorized it in one way or another. I don't know that the person I spoke to really was a manager; I asked to speak to a manager, a young guy showed up and said "Im acting as manager now," and when I told him what happened, he grinned at me and said "I've taken care of it." What I'm wondering is if maybe the real manager knew that what had happened was really bad and didn't want me to find out that he or she was the manager that day, didn't want me to get his or her name to send a report on to his or boss, and so sent the other guy to talk to me and to claim to be the manager. That's just a theory; it was a feeling I got about what might have happened.
There is no doubt that what happened was a totally unnecessary safety hazard and a complete waste of paid time, in addition to being unspeakably vicious and offensive.
You're not supposed to misuse signs such as Wet Floor signs and Caution cones; it IS illegal to use specifically designated equipment for purposes for which itwas not intended, especially in situations in which that equipment is meant to protect people from injury.
Copyright L. Kochman July 14, 2011 @ 3:16 p.m./addition @ 3:18 p.m./addition @ 3:24 p.m.