FlyerTalk Forums - Design pet peeves

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- - Design pet peeves (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/830955-design-pet-peeves.html)

- Footrests in C class on TG A330's, which were apparently designed for people no taller than 5 ft.

- and kill the person who designed touch-screen tv's for the back of seats, so you can constantly have your seat banged by the ADD passenger behind you!

I always wondered if my poking at the screen was bothering anyone..

That said, it's funny to note that many of the airport complaints aren't problems at my home airport. It even has water fountains and observation decks outside the secure area. Go Tampa!

My pet peeves:

That strange amoeba-like pattern that ends up beings on nearly everything that will get heavy use. From carpet to cushions to wallpaper. Barely visible little blob patterns in a blue on a grey - you know you've seen it. It's meant to hide stains and such not being a flat color but really is just ugly.

"Floating" door stops that are meant to keep the door from hitting the wall. More often then not i step on it or stub my toe.

Mirrors on closet doors that the room door opens toward (hence the door stop). Whose bright idea was that?

Tiny trashcans. Not just small, but weird shapes too. We all only throw away 8.5x11 paper in our hotel room right?

Bad paintings of children - creepy. Bad paintings of seascapes and boats - just ugly.

At the airport - individual seats with no armrest-less seats. Those airports are wonderful (sarcasm) if you are stranded.

poor lighting in a hotel room; it's hard to iron a shirt if you can't SEE the wrinkles
cafeterias, hotel/airline lounges, bouffets-style food places: NEVER put the most popular things in a corner. I stayed at a Marriott RI for some 400 nights in total where they placed the coffee and juice machines in a corner in the breakfast room. Very, VERY annoying!!
hotel lounges: a HUGE couch that thakes up an entier room but only sits 2 people. 3 could sit there comfortably but nobody sits that close to strangers. When 2 people are seated they are at either end and nobody is going to go for the middle!
hotel/airline lounges: coffee tables that are too low. If the table only gets up to my ankle (or slightly above), why not just get rid of it altogether, since I have to bend down to pick up my drink anyway?
hotel rooms: placing a wall-mounted hair dryer right before the light switch, so that you have "go past" or "reach behind" it to turn the lights on. Very impractical for going to the bathroom during the night.
The entire CDG airport is an example (if not the epitome) of stupid design.
Cars that lock the doors when you put them in drive, but only unlock the driver's door when returning to park. I usually leave my bag in the back seat right behind me and don't like having to go through the extra step, especially since I forget half the time and then have to either open the front door again or take out the keys.
Why not have jetways that operate automatically (using sensors)? It's such a waste of time to have to wait for a GA to do that and some of them are really bad at it (never a problem in Europe though).
Runways very far away from the terminals. Long taxis times wastes more time and fuel for taxiing, which is counterproductive. I bet some aren't even in the same zip code!
CRJ's (100 and 200)
Positive note (cars): audio controls on the steering wheels, sunglass compartments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloudship (Post 9829191)

... Windows are ... often too far ahead of or behind the seat...

This one has a reason. Window locations are part of the aircraft design. Interior accommodations, including seat pitch, are chosen by each airline. Seat positions along the fuselage therefore vary - and may change a few times over the years that an aircraft is in service. It is impossible for the windows to line up with the seats in every case.

My #1 pet peeve on non-US airlines: lack of individual air vents. :mad:

Quote:

Originally Posted by florin;9830187[*

Runways very far away from the terminals. Long taxis times wastes more time and fuel for taxiing, which is counterproductive. I bet some aren't even in the same zip code!

Are you referring to that runway at AMS? ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by phedre (Post 9827949)

Additionally, why must hotels only provide a three foot ethernet cable? I've taken to packing my own 25' cable for those times when they don't have wi-fi access so I'm not chained to the desk while I work.

You desperately need the Linksys WTR54GS Wireless-G Travel Router with SpeedBooster. I absolutely LOVE mine! As a bonus, if you have more than one "trusted" computer (i.e. a spouse or colleage) within a few rooms of you, you can pay once and all of you can share the hotel's internet connection. It even does a wireless <-> wireless connection so that if the hotel only offers wireless, you can still use it for protection and connection sharing.

I HATE shower heads that are too low. Nothing worse than knocking my shoulder or head on the shower head when I'm taking that early morning shower. I'm only 5'10" - there are lots of people taller than me so I know I can't be the only one but this happens more often than not. An easy resolution are the adjustable ones that I often see in Europe.

I also want more plugs in hotel rooms. I want to be able to work on my laptop and have my mobile phone plugged in at the same time. I want a plug near the bed so I can charge the phone over night and use the alarm clock function - I don't want to have to jump across the room to turn off the alarm.

Hair dryers that are attached to the wall but the cord is too short to see yourself in the mirror as you dry. You know that was designed by a man ;)

I also don't want the hairdryer than you have to keep your finger pressed on the button to keep it drying. Makes it hard to style your hair, and my finger gets really tired as I dry my hair.

I don't like hotel doors that don't have chains or other type of deadbolt - it's a safety thing

i want a visible "departures" monitor mounted in every bar and restaurant in every airport in the world. i want to know if my flight is delayed so that maybe i can order that second beer or perhaps desert. is this too much to ask. please... PRETTY PLEASE...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efrem (Post 9826690)

Not a pet peeve exactly, but a give-away: if a hotel bathroom has a full wall mirror right behind the toilet, I know it was designed by a woman. :)

(I mentioned this once on a comment card to a Minneapolis hotel - as an observation, not a problem. I got a personal reply from the manager. It read in part "Yes, our bathrooms were designed by a woman - but I don't think I'll tell her how you figured that out!"

Dare I ask you to explain this correlation? :confused:

Someone sticking their chewed up gum in the seat pockets

Just use a watch to set up alarm 20 minutes before departure thats what I always do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelark (Post 9832004)

Dare I ask you to explain this correlation? :confused:

Very few men want to watch themselves urinate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJC1K (Post 9832341)

Very few men want to watch themselves urinate.

Beat me to it! Almost exactly the words I would have chosen, too. (The last one is the same.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewC75 (Post 9831457)

You desperately need the Linksys WTR54GS Wireless-G Travel Router with SpeedBooster.

... I love you and want to have your FT babies. I had no idea such a product exists! I'm buying one this weekend.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pistu (Post 9832169)

Someone sticking their chewed up gum in the seat pockets

That is SO disgusting.

Agreed on the departures clocks all over the place. I hate having to leave the restaurant/bar to find one.

Additionally: why are so many air terminals completely separate? If I go into terminal A, why can't I have drinks in the lounge I like in terminal B?