When your in the bathroom and someone knocks on the door, what the proper response?
Asked by
El_Cadejo (
34610
)
October 30th, 2008
Im always confused what to say when someone knocks. I mean the obvious is “occupied” but that sounds retarded after you say it because they hear a voice, so no shit its occupied. Some people say “im in here” but thats just like occupied except it leaves the person knocking with more of a “no shit” feeling IMO. Other people say “hello” but then you feel obliged to have a conversation with someone whos taking a crap. What are you supposed to say? What do you say?
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39 Answers
“Would you like to join me?”
“There’s someone in here” is what I usually use. Of course, the more awkward situation is when there is no lock and someone comes in. In that instance I usually end up saying something like “whoa.”
”...Just a minute…”
or
“I’ll be out in a minute/be right out…”
@bkburbo that is why it is a good practice to strategically press your foot on the closed door, while seated, to delay entry from outsiders….a skill worth acquiring
@Snoopy – but what if the door is like 7ft away?
—eh, now that is a problem! Look for another bathroom.
My boss does that to me all the time…she’ll talk to me thru the door when I’m taking a pee. I take no breaks, no lunch and can’t even pee in private! I tell her to get the f*ck away from the door. She laughs and keeps on talking.
Some ppl are just ignorant.
Tell them to go away. Or better yet…make moaning noises. They’ll leave.
I usually grunt loudly and say, “Oooh! This could take a while.”
I just yell or grunt incoherent sounds. It gets the point across.
I take a couple of approaches to this.
As soon as you hear footsteps start coughing. They won’t knock if they can hear you (unless they are an idiot).
If I’m at a bar or the like and it’s the evening crowd and not the lunch crowd, press your face into the crook of your arm (opposite your elbow) and blow (making awful loud fart noises). Follow this up with a woo or oh yea! and it should get the point across nicely. Then instead of, “Is anyone in there?” you might be asked, “Is everything ok in there?”
If they do it on purpose say give me a break and add nasty words like F*** off if it is being done every now and then
Or just ignore and pretend you are not listening and if you meet them later, just say that you didnt hear a thing.
At work we have one unisex bathroom on the office. Most people see the door closed and are smart emotgh to know spmeone’s in there. So they’ll either wait patiently or come back later.
SOMEONE, however will knock on the door (I respond), they wait outside the door for 30 seconds, and knock again. This continues 3 or 4 times.
But every time I finish and open the door to see who it is (intent on strangling them)...they’re gone.
Drives me apeshit.
“Occupied!”
It doesn’t really matter what you say, because the whole purpose is that they hear a vocal response to let them know someone’s in there. So you could potentially say whatever the heck you like, to amuse yourself. “Circus freaks!” “Trepidation!” “G’day, matey!”
@AlenaD ok well that solves that, i am now answering every knock with “Circus freaks!”
Knocker: “Knock Knock”
Me: “Hang on! Ya absolutely gotta see this!”
Sound of feet beating a hasty retreat.
Scream. As loudly as possible.
Wow. there are such charming responses here to the knocking that I feel rather boring with mine. I usually just say “What?” or “Yes?”. I will say I absolutely hate it when people try to talk to me while I am in there or when they are in there. Noooo I don’t want to talk. Go away! My first year of college, my lab partner used to talk to me about the lab report while I was showering sigh…public bathrooms in dorms . That got annoying real fast, and to her I did respond with my favorite string of curses.
“THIS IS THE MOST FUN I’VE EVER HAD!”
I clicked on this question with every intention of crafting a one word answer: “occupied.” Then I read the question and realized I have a lot to learn about bathroom responses! I’m thinking I might start going with Astro Chuck’s answer. Thanks AC.
At home: “What do you want?”
Elsewhere: “Occupied!”
Post a sign on the door – NO SOLICITORS.
Any of AlenaD’s responses will do!
“Come on in. The water’s fine.”
I think I usually jump…and then say something like “Yes?”
I say “One Minute” .......
I guess I’m a one-word conversationalist. At home I respond with an annoyed “WHAT!!” and elsewhere I respond with “YES??”
Someone knocked on the bathroom door today and I didn’t have the nerve to use Astro Chuck’s response, I guess it’s back to the drawing board.
I say nothing. I kind of like the idea of mentally frustrating them. I’ve got them thinking, “Well, there can’t be anyone in there because there was no answer, but the door’s locked so, WTF?” Then they try the knob again, and maybe knock again, but still no answer. i’m evil
Then when I leave, and they realize someone was in there and they’ve just spent two minutes harassing the person inside with “Hello?s” and knocking and door handle jiggling, I hope they realize that a locked door should have been enough to clue them in.
In my new bar we installed the airplane style, “occupied” door latch on the restrooms to avoid this very thing.
i love the people who still knock on the doors even though it says “OCCUPIED” right there in bright red.
@Awesome: There are people who trust the world they see around them, and there are people who don’t.
@breedmich: Where’s your new bar?
@cprevite: 35,000 feet in the air. Just kidding, Brooklyn.
@breedmich: Cool. When next I go visiting my niece, I’ll look ya up.
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