Why "Entrance" and "Exit" doors?

[Jamie Buxton]

Some retail stores have doors marked "Entrance", and others marked "Exit". Many other stores don't make a distinction; you can go in or out any door. Why is this?

(And just to increase the confusion, many of the Entrance/Exit stores have automatic door openers which open regardless of the direction of the pedestrian. That is, the doors are both in and out doors, regardless of the signs.)

[Mike Henderson]

I can't answer all of your question, but I'm sure they don't want to do anything to keep customers out. If you want to enter via the exit door, that's fine with them.

Mike

[Brian Elfert]

Having marked entrance and exit doors makes it less likely customers will run into each other. I hate it when a whole group of customers decides to walk in the exit door thereby blocking my exit. They are usually just too lazy to walk the extra 10 feet to the entrance door.

[Mark Engel]

On a related subject, what is up with one way streets?

[Jim Koepke]

Some people are overly fixated on their business' traffic pattern.

I one time experienced a person becoming apoplectic over people walking around a barrier instead of going outside and walking around a building. There was no reason for there to be a barrier other than in the mind of the man that was getting all upset because people weren't doing things the way he wanted.

That is one reason I do not like stores like Ikea with the flow pretty much directed to go one way. Let me go get what I want without having to take a circuitous route through every department in the store.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

On a related subject, what is up with one way streets?

Depends on where they are used. In some cases I have found they are great at moving traffic with timed lights. Timing lights is difficult at best on two way streets.

jtk

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Sometimes it's related to the ADA rules, sometimes fire marshal codes, sometimes because of no good reason at all. I walked into Walmart an hour ago, and went in the exit because it made me feel like I was a rebel. Us old people need kept in line, I think that's actually why they do it. We can rebel at the door and get it out of our system. Cuts down on the riots inside.

[John Coloccia]

I pretty much ignore signs like that. I'm not trying to be difficult, and I'm not impatient or lazy, but one thing I can NOT stand is frivolous waste of time. I'll spend weeks getting a tiny detail right, but I won't spend 20 seconds doing some ridiculous task that has no purpose. No one's ever said anything, and why would they? I'm a customer walking into their store.

I don't follow the little arrows at Ikea either. I'm really surprised so many people do.

[Brian Elfert]

I pretty much ignore signs like that. I'm not trying to be difficult, and I'm not impatient or lazy, but one thing I can NOT stand is frivolous waste of time. I'll spend weeks getting a tiny detail right, but I won't spend 20 seconds doing some ridiculous task that has no purpose. No one's ever said anything, and why would they? I'm a customer walking into their store.

You're lazy, just plain LAZY. You would rather block someone's exit from the store rather than walk an extra 10 steps. I bet you probably take the shortest route in the store too no matter how many others it inconveniences too. I see it all the time in stores where folks walk right of other shoppers just because they are too lazy to walk an extra step or too hurried to wait an extra second or two. You're probably the guy who drives the wrong way down a one way parking lane because you're too lazy to drive around the long way.

I'm not perfect at following rules, but at least I'm considerate of others. If the exit and entrance doors are right next to each other I will use the proper door, but I have been known to go in the exit door if it it is on the other end of the building and the item I need is just inside the exit door. There is an unwritten rule in society that people should walk on the right sides of hallways. I can't tell you how many times I have been run into on a hallway corner because people are too lazy to actually walk on the far side of a corner and just take the shortest path around the corner.

[Phil Thien]

You're lazy, just plain LAZY. You would rather block someone's exit from the store rather than walk an extra 10 steps. I bet you probably take the shortest route in the store too no matter how many others it inconveniences too. I see it all the time in stores where folks walk right of other shoppers just because they are too lazy to walk an extra step or too hurried to wait an extra second or two. You're probably the guy who drives the wrong way down a one way parking lane because you're too lazy to drive around the long way.

I have it on good authority that he doesn't always replace the twist-tie on the loaf of bread, either, and just twists the bag a few times and folds the end under.

There is probably no helping him.

[Jeff Erbele]

Some retail stores have doors marked "Entrance", and others marked "Exit". Many other stores don't make a distinction; you can go in or out any door. Why is this?

(And just to increase the confusion, many of the Entrance/Exit stores have automatic door openers which open regardless of the direction of the pedestrian. That is, the doors are both in and out doors, regardless of the signs.)

The reason or reasons why may vary but the obvious one is ease of traffic flow, preventing people from getting in each others way trying to get around each other.

Sam's Club also uses it as a means to check your club ID at the entrance and screen your receipt against your cart at the exit.

Several stores come to mind, Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, Target, military base commissaries, Bed Bath & Beyond and Office Depot where they direct returns to the Customer Service Counter first and/or control theft. Once you select and pay for your merchandise there is only one place to go, out through the exit. With some there is no option of entering via the exit or exiting via the entrance.

[Jeff Erbele]

On a related subject, what is up with one way streets?

They move more traffic faster. There is no head-on traffic to wait for in left turn lanes; one does not have to take turns.
They are safer. Like the interstate or a divided highway all traffic is moving in the same direction. Head on collisions are virtually nill in comparison. You have no headlights shining at you, diminishing visibility, blinding or blind areas.

[John Coloccia]

I have it on good authority that he doesn't always replace the twist-tie on the loaf of bread, either, and just twists the bag a few times and folds the end under.

There is probably no helping him.

Actually, I do exactly that.

Brian, I can't tell if you're being serious or kidding around with me, but I've heard this before from other people who are being serious. I'd simply suggest for anyone who thinks this way that if you can't negotiate using a door at the same time as other people without causing all sorts of inconvenience and trouble for everyone around you, then absolutely, YES, be sure to follow all of the signs so as not to make a pest of yourself. I'm not sure what they're going to do at the other 99% of stores that have a single door for entry and exit, but at some point they're going to have to hike up those big boy pants and just figure it out, I guess.

[Jerome Stanek]

I worked on a lot of retail stores and some had doors that only swung one way you push to open them

[Lee Schierer]

Everyone is missing the obvious. Many stores have their cash registers located in front of the exit doors, making it easy for customers to leave with their purchases. There is no rule against going in the out, but it can earn you dirty looks from people that think that you are breaking the rules and you can look pretty dumb trying to find a way through the blocked of lanes of the checkout area to get into a store to shop. Also some stores turn off the sensors that will open the exit doors from the out side. Fire codes require all doors to become exits during emergencies.