Miss Manners: Why don’t people knock before trying to open a single occupancy bathroom door?

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work in an office with around 30 people. There are several bathrooms available to the staff, and I have used all of them at one time or another.

When I am occupying any of them, I’ve noticed people never knock before trying to open the door. They will grab the handle and pull several times before they walk away. It is easy to see from the outside when the bathroom is occupied because of the type of door lock.

Is it not common courtesy to knock before attempting to open a single-occupancy bathroom? I do this even at home, and definitely when entering a public restroom.

GENTLE READER: Uh, you do realize that they are in a hurry, don’t you?

Not that Miss Manners would excuse bad manners on that account. But for your colleagues to assume that the stall is empty and that they can therefore go ahead and open the door does not strike her as callous. Merely expedient.

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(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)