Hacker News Reader

Comment by the-dude | Hacker News Reader

I wonder in which country this would have ended well.

edit: what do you think is the intended function of the turnstile?

I do my normal shopping at a large and busy grocery store near the centre of Auckland. There are no turnstiles or even those flappy "gates" that let you pass in just one direction; the entrance is completely open. Quite often I walk in before realising I need to get a basket from outside, so I go back and get one. On several occasions I've changed my mind and left before venturing too far into the store. Nobody cares.

That said, if I had spent any significant time in the store without getting anything, I'd probably leave by the self serve checkouts.

Having a turnstile is the thing that would confuse a lot of us, and cause us to look at a reasonable way of getting back out without waiting in the queue.

There was no path to exit other than waiting in line behind shoppers waiting to pay for their items.

Then you have to ask these people to let you pass. Doesn't happen often, but sometimes. Usually one would enter such shop only if you actually knew what to buy. But if you don't find what you were looking for, then one would leave it without buying anything. Happened to me too. Some people are too shy to ask people to let them pass, others not.

It's hard to explain, but assume I'm not an idiot. The lines were very long and the lane was very narrow. The potential chaos of asking all those people to move not just left or right, but all the way back out is what prompted me to jump the turnstyle.

>Then you have to ask these people to let you pass.

Which is not obvious. And is not the case in most other places in the world I've known.

Haha, what would you do in a room with only one exit, where people are standing in the exit?

I would ask those people.

Obviously.

Trying to find some other exit in a shop will mean trouble. I would expect that in most places of the world.

In San Francisco, I regularly watch people jump the turnstile in front of crowds and usually an apathetic BART operator and no one cares.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com