27 October 2008

In the interest of annoying our customers...

| deye
Join the conversation
70

[First filed: October 26, 2008 @ 13:51]

we will repeat this annoying and inane message every 10 seconds as we think you are all idiots.

Does the Canberra Centre really have to play the “In the interest of safety of all customers, please do not walk on the travelators. Stand between the yellow lines and hold the handrails at all times” message every 10 seconds ? It was bad enough when they had half a dozen signs (only a slight exaggeration) at each entrance to the travelators stating that you shouldn’t go on them with plastic soled shoes. Are we really that much of a nanny state ? are they just scared of being sued, or do they view their customer base with contempt ?

Personally all the message does is piss me off and ensure I walk faster. If I fall that’s my tough luck.

I feel sorry for the staff that have to work in the shops close enough to hear that message, they must be driven nuts by it.

</rant>

UPDATED: AG Canberra posted a comment on this story I thought deserved a wider reading:

    As the husband of a person who did go A over T on the travellators there I can say the Canberra Centre Management are hopeless. My wife managed to rip her pants and take a couple of large chunks of skin from her foot that required stitches.

    The rock ape security guard asked if we’d like free parking to compensate – “no thanks I’d like to speak to the manager”, I said. He arrived and said – “well yeah – people fall down these things all the time….”

    After getting the wife sewn up at casualty and on the road to recovery we sent in the receipt for the cost of replacement pants. I then got a letter from the QIC lawyers stating that we had to absolve QIC of all liability relating to this incident if they were to pay out the $100. Get f’[;ed I said. The manager said he’d be happy to pay – all we had to do was send in the receipt….nothing about liability. I pointed out to the Brissy lawyer that if the Manager didn’t have the authority to authorise a payment of a hundred bucks then tell him to keep his gob shut!

    Eventaully the hunderd bucks arrived, my wife has a couple of scars to tell a story about and we always avoid those travellators…

Join the conversation

70
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

The steps serving the Canberra Centre carpark are much worse, I reckon. Tiny little fire-escape-style steps to service that whole giant carpark full of people. It’s quite weird.

Gradient too high! The escalators in Belconnen Mall are steeper than the ones in the Canberra Centre and they have no warnings and you can walk on them.

I checked out the repeating announcement the other day, the walkway next to the fruit and veg shop.

I found it hard to tell what it was saying with all the other noise.

Something about a purple monkey dishwasher.

TarquinRex said :

as well as serious
injuries, car accidents, and roof jumpers.

Roof jumpers would have to be the worst.

I remember they used to employ a guy to stand at the bottim and say “Please do not run or walk on the travelator”. What a joke! This is the only place I have ever been which has had such restrictions. If it is such a problem for them, install stairs.

Pommy bastard11:09 am 22 Dec 08

farnarkler said :

I would really love to see what the victims were doing at the moment they fell.

Filling in claim forms…

farnarkler said :

How does one put it lightly that it’s a user error? I think the manufacturers would have tested their travellator with the odd one or two types of shoe sole materials.

I would really love to see what the victims were doing at the moment they fell.

juggling chainsaws.

How does one put it lightly that it’s a user error? I think the manufacturers would have tested their travellator with the odd one or two types of shoe sole materials.

I would really love to see what the victims were doing at the moment they fell.

Pommy bastard7:30 am 22 Dec 08

I blame the parasitic lawyers and their; “Hey you clumsy oaf, have you fallen over like an idiot somewhere? Don’t worry, we’ll sue the innocent owners of the building, and make you money out of it!” adverts.

We’re not bloody Americans here yet.

As a university student who worked at the Centre as security part-time, I resented
standing by the travelators repeating the same innane line over and over again on
the occasions I was requested to. A recording is a far more cost-effective means
of getting the same message across, without demeaning myself or appearing to
patronise customers. However I do agree that the recording is beyond infuriating!

I do not blame Canberra Centre or the contractors who build the site, I blame the
whingeing, victim culture that has been permitted to prosper in contemporary public
life. What has happened to the western man, where compensation and victimhood have
replaced self-reliance and personal responsibility?

Additionally, those ‘rock-ape’ security guards put up with a lot of grief in what
is ultimately a thankless job. The majority of guys employed in my time were 20-
somethings going somewhere. Many are now in the AFP, or have gained their degrees
and moved onto better things. Remember the Centre borders the hive of inequity
collectively regarded as ‘the flats’. On a regular basis CC security deal with
drug addicts, petty criminals and the general underbelly, as well as serious
injuries, car accidents, and roof jumpers. The image of the fat plastic cop amblingabout is not always true (there are obvious exceptions).

Anyway, that’s my rant, Merry Christmas all.

“I’ve never slipped so there’s obviously no problem with them.”

I’ve never been attacked by a terrorist, I’ve never been in a plane crash, and my office building has never collapsed, therefore 9/11 must never have happened.

My wife has stood on, walk up and down escalator and travelators for her entire life and she has never slipped on one… until she encountered the CC’s new travelators.

And just for the record, nobody in this thread ASKED for compensation – it was offered by the CC management.

Again, the issue is the slipperiness of the treads and the landings – take a close look and you’ll see the CC have had some of the treads modified in an attempt to alleviate this very real problem.

PsydFX said :

MWF said :

s owhat’s so dangerous about the one at Canberra Centre?

The gradient.

BS, I’ve walked, ran, stumbled up and down all of the escalators there and have never fallen over, maybe people should just pay attention to what they are doing and less attention to all the shops and other people around them.

Pretty much, as well as wearing some sensible shoes. But unfortunately we live in a society where looking for someone else to blame and demanding compensation instead of looking at our own actions then is now the norm.

Walking on the moving escalator is obviously going to increase the danger of you falling over, people just need to take responsibility for their own actions. But because people don’t do this and people want a wholehearted apology from the shopping centre staff for their own stupidity ans the end result is having a recording playing and I believe they have also added something sticky to the steps to improve traction.

The CC ones are also not the only travelators to have the same problem, the ones heading down from the carpark at the Hyperdome, outside the Hot Dollar exit have had the same “problem”, though I think that was more to do when it was wet though.

Oh if you don’t want to listen to the announcement playing while riding them, do what I do, walk down! There’s not actually anything wrong with them as long as you’re sensible, and I’m not going to sue anybody if I fall.

MWF said :

s owhat’s so dangerous about the one at Canberra Centre?

The gradient.

BS, I’ve walked, ran, stumbled up and down all of the escalators there and have never fallen over, maybe people should just pay attention to what they are doing and less attention to all the shops and other people around them.

LlamaFrog said :

have never heard the message, I so hate people not walking on escalators or travelators. It is not a ride.

if it isnt a ride then why does it move – otherwise why evolve past steps or in this case, a gentle slope?

Do we run on the spot in the aisle of a bus? no you sit quietly and let it take you.

s owhat’s so dangerous about the one at Canberra Centre?

The gradient.

Felix the Cat8:38 pm 27 Oct 08

There’s a travelator at ‘The G’ in Gungahlin and I regularly walk up and down there, often with a shopping trolley and at no time have I ever come close to falling over or having any other type of incident (except for wanting to punch the people that won’t stand to the left), s owhat’s so dangerous about the one at Canberra Centre?

GottaLoveCanberra8:12 pm 27 Oct 08

“If people can’t handle the dreaded “moving stairs”, don’t warn them about it, who are we to interfere with natural selection.”

Yes, yes yes yes yes yes yes.

Take the labels off and let the problem solve itself!

The trouble with these travelators is when they ARE NOT moving. And to get to the Canberra centre from the top floor car park one HAS TO move i.e walk down the broken and not moving travelator to get to the Canberra Centre. I’ve ended up A over T myself only a few weeks ago. They are very slippery and very dangerous. A chunk out of my hand and a bruised backside was about all the damage. Scared the ice cream out of me.

ant said :

Well while the rest of you are getting angry about the signs and the announcement and the security guards and the compensation and pooh in the ice cream, I am going to take a deck chair and an esky and set up at the bottom of these travelators. Sound slike there’s some comedy gold happening there.

You should make the most of this kind of comedy whilst it lasts.

It’s hard to imagine what’s going to be on those “Funny Home Video” shows once Australia becomes sterilized. I guess we will have to outsource the content to 3rd world countries that don’t have such uptight (or any) safety regulations.

Well while the rest of you are getting angry about the signs and the announcement and the security guards and the compensation and pooh in the ice cream, I am going to take a deck chair and an esky and set up at the bottom of these travelators. Sound slike there’s some comedy gold happening there.

If people can’t handle the dreaded “moving stairs”, don’t warn them about it, who are we to interfere with natural selection.

But it didn’t back in 06 – there were no warnings, no signs and no announcements, no nothing.

Clearly the number of accidents has finally forced the CC mamagement to do something about the issue.

I reckon you can walk down (or up) any other travellator in Canberra quite safely. For some reason these ones are more dangerous – hence the all out campaign to advise people of what to do.

AG Canberra said :

My wife was walking down the travellator.

It says DON’T WALK.

derr

AG Canberra said :

Why are they hopeless?

Because as I was standing next to my wife and her bleeding foot – to have him say “well yeah – people fall down these things all the time” wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

I wanted to hear “yes sir, I am sorry for this accident (and the part our crappy installation played in it) and we will be doing everything in our power to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Also – this happened in Dec 06 – and clearly nothing has been done. (until now perhaps)

Okay no worries, I was having trouble reconciling it with the ‘payment’ part of the story as it came just after that part.

Not having been there I will refrain from judging the merits of your case.

My wife was walking down the travellator. She was wearing flat shoes with leather soles.

and yep – poo in icecream is pretty bad – but it seems to be the compo story of the week….

I reckon a thread titled “What I have seen Chefs do to customes food…” would have some cracking stories.

Why are they hopeless?

Because as I was standing next to my wife and her bleeding foot – to have him say “well yeah – people fall down these things all the time” wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

I wanted to hear “yes sir, I am sorry for this accident (and the part our crappy installation played in it) and we will be doing everything in our power to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Also – this happened in Dec 06 – and clearly nothing has been done. (until now perhaps)

Loose Brown said :

“I am not a poo in my icecream cash chaser”

What is cash chasing about seeking compensation from someone who has served you an icecream with poo in it?! You’d be annoyed!!

I missed this reference initially.

Jesus Christ, their was poo in the icecream. POO IN THE ICECREAM! If not entitled to restitution for that, then when are we?

justbands said :

> Niftydog you are a knob – We didn’t get or ask for compensation – we asked for a reimbursement of costs for a torn pair of trousers.

Errr…I think you meant to address that to jakez?

The only issue I’ve ever had with those things is when they are not switched on. Ever tried to push a shopping trolley up them when they are off? (they are designed so that the wheels lock in & you can’t move the trolley!!!)

that is the best mechanism idea ever. ever try to take 20 of the things down a travelator using only a nylon rope for a brake?

I love the trolley locks!

what I hate about the travellators in the canberra centre is the fact that the security guards turn you away when you try to go down to the toilet with a child, in a stroller.

There is no way you will make it to another toilet. making me take my daughter out of the stroller and hold her hand, the rail and the stroller – using my 3rd hand, makes no sense. strollers have brakes.

Also, I don’t understand from your original post what your complaint with management is. Why are they ‘hopeless’.

And wheelchairs

Then you cna’t take strollers and shopping trolleys on them – and when you have supermarkets on the ground floor you need to let shoppers get those trolleys to their cars…..

I don’t know why you would call me a knob for that AG Canberra. I think you should be compensated. Your definition of compensation is also too narrow. You received compensation for the trousers (a clarification only now provided). If you received reimbursement for medical expenses, that too would be compensation.

Personally, I quite like the word restitution.

You and I are in agreement here AG, not disagreement. Remember that the original crux of this thread was that the signs and audio were ‘annoying’ or ‘patronising’. I think from your post, we both agree that they are necessary (perhaps for different reasons though).

Why did your wife fall over? What was she doing/holding at the time?

Can’t they just convert them to run as a moving staircase a’la David Jones, or Old Canberra Centre

“I am not a poo in my icecream cash chaser”

What is cash chasing about seeking compensation from someone who has served you an icecream with poo in it?! You’d be annoyed!!

And what about the frail – or the heavily pregnant.
They aren’t incompetant, just a bit ungainly.

A thousand apologies Niftydog

yep I meant jakez

I am not an “poo in my icecream” cash chaser.

But I do believe that if they do know they have a problem with the surface of the travellators they should do everything in their power to solve it. letting people crash daily down them is crap.

> Niftydog you are a knob – We didn’t get or ask for compensation – we asked for a reimbursement of costs for a torn pair of trousers.

Errr…I think you meant to address that to jakez?

The only issue I’ve ever had with those things is when they are not switched on. Ever tried to push a shopping trolley up them when they are off? (they are designed so that the wheels lock in & you can’t move the trolley!!!)

My point is that the travellators are the problem. Does anyone know of similar issues at any other shopping centre in Canb,. These ones were (and still are) slippery – which when combined with a moving sloping mechanism are receipe for disaster.

Niftydog you are a knob – We didn’t get or ask for compensation – we asked for a reimbursement of costs for a torn pair of trousers.

The nanny state sometimes, just sometimes works in the favour of a normal citizen going about their daily business. Now that we know the travellators there are useless we avoid them. For those without that knowledge the Canberra Centre has obviously been told by their insurers and lawyers to let everyone know about it….

And announcements are far cheaper than replacing all the travellators.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just blame the nanny state. I blame peoples incompetence also.

And surely over time it would be cheaper to actually fix them, than to have guards standing around telling people to hold on.

– and on walking down the travellators – it is actually really hard to do in any kind of heels. Walking up is easy though.

AG Canberra said :

…my wife has a couple of scars to tell a story about and we always avoid those travellators…

You got off lucky – my wife still visits the physio two years later for injuries that resulted from her encounter with those travelators!

jakez said :

…don’t blame the Canberra Centre, blame the nanny state

Perhaps it’s just easier to install travelators that don’t have this problem? Like the ones that have been in the Belco Mall since the dawn of time and have never been embroiled in such controversy?

I could understand the “nanny state” argument if there was only one or two incidents, but this is most definitely not the case.

AG Canberra said :

As the husband of a person who did go A over T on the travellators there I can say the Canberra Centre Management are hopeless. My wife managed to rip her pants and take a couple of large chunks of skin from her foot that required stitches.

The rock ape security guard asked if we’d like free parking to compensate – “no thanks I’d like to speak to the manager”, I said. He arrived and said – “well yeah – people fall down these things all the time….”

After getting the wife sewn up at casualty and on the road to recovery we sent in the receipt for the cost of replacement pants. I then got a letter from the QIC lawyers stating that we had to absolve QIC of all liability relating to this incident if they were to pay out the $100. Get f'[;ed I said. The manager said he’d be happy to pay – all we had to do was send in the receipt….nothing about liability. I pointed out to the Brissy lawyer that if the Manager didn’t have the authority to authorise a payment of a hundred bucks then tell him to keep his gob shut!

Eventaully the hunderd bucks arrived, my wife has a couple of scars to tell a story about and we always avoid those travellators…

Received compensation, didn’t have to sign a liability waiver (which blows my mind), and still has a complaint.

Gee, I wonder why they have signs and audio.

Yes the Canberra Centre hates its customers and wants to annoy them at every opportunity.

OR

Workcover went nuts about the travelators and made the Canberra Centre post security guards at every single one.

If you don’t like the signs and the audio, don’t blame the Canberra Centre, blame the nanny state. Also, ask yourself whether your beliefs on the role of Government have contributed to the complete removal of personal responsibility in our lives.

…oh but it’s just easier to blame the Canberra Centre for everything.

As the husband of a person who did go A over T on the travellators there I can say the Canberra Centre Management are hopeless. My wife managed to rip her pants and take a couple of large chunks of skin from her foot that required stitches.

The rock ape security guard asked if we’d like free parking to compensate – “no thanks I’d like to speak to the manager”, I said. He arrived and said – “well yeah – people fall down these things all the time….”

After getting the wife sewn up at casualty and on the road to recovery we sent in the receipt for the cost of replacement pants. I then got a letter from the QIC lawyers stating that we had to absolve QIC of all liability relating to this incident if they were to pay out the $100. Get f'[;ed I said. The manager said he’d be happy to pay – all we had to do was send in the receipt….nothing about liability. I pointed out to the Brissy lawyer that if the Manager didn’t have the authority to authorise a payment of a hundred bucks then tell him to keep his gob shut!

Eventaully the hunderd bucks arrived, my wife has a couple of scars to tell a story about and we always avoid those travellators…

I second that Niftydog!

The only people worse than that are groups of fat people who walk in extended line formation at the mall so you cannot possibly pass them without some sort of verbal or physical contact.

Coming in third are people who drive 500 metres behind the car in front of them without any regard to those behind them during the public service grand prix at 0815am around Black Mountain.

I know of several incidents on the new travelators – by extrapolation they must have five people go A over T on those things every week! Just ask the pharmacist on the bottom level how many people come in looking for 1st aid!

From what I know of the problem it’s all to do with the surface of the treads being very slippery. Keen eyed observers will have noticed that they made a half-assed attempt at roughening up the surface of the treads several months back, but for some reason they didn’t do all of the new travelators. Note the top level treads are the originals, and the others have been modified.

For a while during last Xmas they actually had staff stationed at each landing watching peoples footware and telling you to hold the hand rail!

Riddle me this – the company that makes those travelators has been in existence for over 100 years, and yet they still can’t manage to make a travelator that is safe?!?! Get real! Aside from the treads, the steel landings at the top and bottom are not only at a very awkward angle, but they are also very slippery.

LlamaFrog said :

…I so hate people not walking on escalators or travelators. It is not a ride.

Oh God don’t get me started! And they ALWAYS stand side by side so you can’t get past! Even people who are power-walking through the centre will STOP DEAD on the travelator! GAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy9:10 am 27 Oct 08

While on the subject, I’d just like to ask this city a favour- treat escalators like you would the road, stay left unless overtaking.

As if anyone in this town keeps left unless overtaking. It’s technically not against the law to drive at 70km/h in the right lane of an 80km/h road, and Canberrans seem to do it to enjoy the irritation it causes others.

Back to travelators, it’s fairly obvious that if you let a kid run up and down in loose shoes you’re asking for trouble. I generally implement a ‘hold my hand’ policy with young master berlina when we use escalators or travelators. He stays settled, and I can yank him up out of the way if trouble looks likely.

How utterly stupid. Some idiot gets legal and we end up with this stupidity. It never ends.

A search of the workcover website shows nothing apart from a standard audit that was carried out.

If I remember correctly, some time ago (maybe a year) a complaint was made to workcover after a customer had an fall on those travelators. I believe there is an issue with the gradient of these travelators (especially when wet) and these messages & signage must be result of an agreement between work cover and the centre. Obviously cheaper than having the staff stand there like they did for a while or having to replace the travelators. I am pretty sure this was reported in the Times when this first happened.

Thank you. LOL.

Jonathon Reynolds8:22 pm 26 Oct 08

I noticed these messages too this afternoon.The announced message was somewhat unintelligible unless you concentrate, either that or I was suffering aural side effects having watched the FA/18 out at the airport only a half hour or so earlier.

Very much like the White Zone/Red Zone scene from Flying High…

Male announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a red zone.
Female announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a red zone.
Male announcer: The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: No, the white zone is for loading. Now, there is no stopping in a RED zone.
Male announcer: The red zone has always been for loading.
Female announcer: Don’t you tell me which zone is for loading, and which zone is for unloading.
Male announcer: Look Betty, don’t start up with your white zone $#!+ again. There’s just no stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: Oh really, Vernon? Why pretend, we both know perfectly well what this is about. You want me to have an abortion.
Male announcer: It’s really the only sensible thing to do, if its done safely. Therapeutically there’s no danger involved.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/

While on the subject, I’d just like to ask this city a favour- treat escalators like you would the road, stay left unless overtaking. That way, you can stand and look at the scenery or chat all you want, but people in a rush can get through without a fuss. It works beautifully in Japan; everyone stands on the left, walks on the right (except the other way around in Osaka). A polite but simple thing to do to make our lives a little bit easier.

If work cover has told them to play the messages etc then you cannot blame the Canberra Centre. Who we can blame is our silly society who no longer can accept responsibility for their own actions, when ever something happens it is someone elses fault. Warning etc are arse protection which is sadly needed.

They don’t seem any steeper than the ones at Woden. Odd.

I’ve heard about the Workcover incident as well. Apparently they were too steep to begin with, hence the reason why they got screwed over. Audio messages spewed out 24/7 won’t absolve them of any responsibility, either.

If you go to the Canberra Centre go to the intersection directly in front of Supabarn and face it, turn 90º right, walk until you get to just inside the doors, turn left 90º and there are the travelators. By now you should be hearing the message, unless they have come to their senses by the time you visit next.

have never heard the message, I so hate people not walking on escalators or travelators. It is not a ride.

The ‘travelator nazi’ approach really isn’t working for me. If anything it encourages me to do all the wrong things, and sets off my inner black sheep …. When are they going to figure out that Australians just don’t like to be told what to do?

Accidents happen, doesn’t mean you have to repeat audio messages and plaster signs everywhere. Accidents are a fact of life.

Besides which, how much impact do you think those messages and signs have on kids. I know when I was little a big red “stop” and “do not touch” sign was no impediment to me pushing the button and stopping the escalator much to my mother’s embarrassment.

oh yes i know the danger of escalators – going down the main escalator at the busiest time in pacific fair mall in queansland, my jeans got caught in the side of the escalator (back in the day when flares were in) and my jeans ripped right up to the top of my thighs! Sooooo embarrasing, but luckily i had just bought a new pair of pants so i put them on. 🙂

i think it is way overkill the way they hadall those signs and a few months ago they even had a security guard next to travelators telling people not to run or walk.. pffff,

The cat did it3:07 pm 26 Oct 08

Accidents can happen- a few weeks ago in the Canberra Centre, the down escalator near Cardeaux was stopped, with guards etc directing people away. There was a small shoe jammed in the grid at the bottom, where the escalator disappears into the floor. Round the side, a woman had a child sat on a seat, examining a foot- child had a matching shoe on the other foot. No apparent damage visible.

As far as I can tell an escalator has steps, the travelator is a flat surface.

Ah sorry it just clicked, ignore above post 🙂 Does the announcement say ‘don’t ride your skateboard down travelator’ ?

At what point did an escalator become a travelator???

It’s funny that no other shopping centre I have been in that has the same type of travelator has ever had a repeating audio message being played.

Arent they designed as such to allow you to walk up them? why else would we have the flat walking type?
PS who actually is going to hold the handrails.. The less contact with joe P hands the better.

Why can’t there be laws against stupidity too?

they need them so people can get shopping trolleys from level to level.

Pretty sure I saw Bob McMullan wheeling a flat screen TV in a shopping trolley down one yesterday.

Do not walk on the travelator?

You’ve got to be joking… I’ve heard that announcement dozens of times but never actually listened to what it was saying. They’ve had signs up saying don’t get on them if you’re wearing plastic soled shoes, but not walking on them?

If they’re that unsafe they should be replaced.

Woody Mann-Caruso1:57 pm 26 Oct 08

Spoke to a security guard about this while ago. Seems there was an incident on the travelator, somebody got hurt, Workcover (?) came down on them like a ton of bricks. Not sure whether the signs, guards and constant PA warnings are something required by the regulator or overkill from the centre if there’s a law suit.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.