I'm glad the sign exists. Vending machines are faceless unaccountable things that are designed not to be fixable by the people using them. Having the information available right where people are using the machine on how to call in a specialist to fix it is a good thing. It is good for self-policing in addition to being helpful for resolving problems with the machine.
Some people might feel more comfortable taking an educational approach to self-policing. They can say "Stop doing that! If you have a problem with the machine, call the phone number," and point to the sign. The existence of the sign can provide a sort of back up, bolster what they are saying, even if there's no other person there to back them up. It is also slightly less confrontational than insisting that the other person leave, so for some people it might be easier to work up the chutzpah to say it. (Obviously not a problem for you. :-) )
Still, it's sad that with an alternate, more effective, less disruptive way of resolving the problem right there in front of his face, the boy elected to throw a physical tantrum.
I haven't seen that sort of thing happen at the nearby university. I wonder why. A different culture? A different demographic of students? Just lucky?
Things that tend to get damaged around here are ones that students might see while walking home drunk late at night, things that they think are funny to do things to when they are drunk and no one is watching. Making a scene in public, in a library no less, is just Not Done. And I am very grateful for that. How irksome that the situation that prompted you to intervene existed at all.
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mmmag
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 10:14 pm (UTC)I'm glad the sign exists. Vending machines are faceless unaccountable things that are designed not to be fixable by the people using them. Having the information available right where people are using the machine on how to call in a specialist to fix it is a good thing. It is good for self-policing in addition to being helpful for resolving problems with the machine.
Some people might feel more comfortable taking an educational approach to self-policing. They can say "Stop doing that! If you have a problem with the machine, call the phone number," and point to the sign. The existence of the sign can provide a sort of back up, bolster what they are saying, even if there's no other person there to back them up. It is also slightly less confrontational than insisting that the other person leave, so for some people it might be easier to work up the chutzpah to say it. (Obviously not a problem for you. :-) )
Still, it's sad that with an alternate, more effective, less disruptive way of resolving the problem right there in front of his face, the boy elected to throw a physical tantrum.
I haven't seen that sort of thing happen at the nearby university. I wonder why. A different culture? A different demographic of students? Just lucky?
Things that tend to get damaged around here are ones that students might see while walking home drunk late at night, things that they think are funny to do things to when they are drunk and no one is watching. Making a scene in public, in a library no less, is just Not Done. And I am very grateful for that. How irksome that the situation that prompted you to intervene existed at all.