Saturday, July 26, 2008

And now for something completely different

I went on a trip to San Francisco for a 1/2 day business meeting yesterday (I really need to start taking a digital camera with me). I traveled late and got to my hotel room at 1AM. After waiting for another family to check in I was given a room on the "Club Level". It was 1AM and I wasn't thinking about my good fortune.

I walk into the room and here is what I see. First the flat screen TV (large and can be positioned for viewing anywhere in the room. Second the King size bed that is actually comfortable. Believe me I needed that as I was tired.

Since I was only staying the one night (OK really about 6 hours total), I grabbed my toiletries (remember it's 1AM) and went to brush my teeth before bed. What do I find in the bathroom? Well the mirror had a strange rectangular area (diagonal about 9 inches) and a remote control on the countertop. I thought "No Way!" and sure enough it was an electronic mirror screen that would show TV while I got ready.

Finally, the soda I drank on the plane got to me and I had to use the toilet. I go about my business and am ready to flush when I notice there are two buttons. On one side it says .9GPF and the other says 1.6GPF. It's 1AM remember and I thought to myself "How am I suppose to know which button to push?" I mean I'm not in the habit of looking at what I just deposited and determining how many gallons at a minimum would be required to flush. I chose .9 figuring I'd save water. Good thing that handled it.

Now why the graphic story? Well think about it, how many of us really would know how many gallons of water are needed to flush our waste away? Moreover, who came up with the requirements and design that said "We need a toilet that gives the user a choice of flushing options"? I also wonder if my .9GPF choice wouldn't have done the job and I did a second .9GPF flush, would the hotel charge me for the .2 gallons of water I wasted when I should have pressed the 1.6GPF button?

Oh yeah, while I'm thinking of it, where was the sign warning me that "Chemicals in this room are known to the State of California to cause cancer."?

1 comment:

Open Grove Claudia said...

God, I love that. I've had hotel experiences like that. My husband says I think all hotels are nirvana because in the middle of the night they are safe, cool and luxurious in the oddest ways.

Did you eat chocolate? Go out to an amazing lunch?