what would you do?!

[mrsflibble]

I fell over in primark earlier. i know, my fault for being in there in the first place... i was on the escalator, stumbled slightly, sophie fell too and i leaned to catch her, and fell onto my knee on the sharp edge of the escalator. sophie was unharmed but i have a large, deep, puncture wound in my knee and my fave corduroy trousers either need paching or binning

their first aider was lovely, made me sit, wanted me to have sweet tea but was happy to give me a glass of water instead (aparently i went grey). she cleaned me up, put a dressing on my knee and sent me on my way. i have a really painful left knee, and my right hip has misaligned again slightly so unless i treat it with respect for the next couple of days i am in line for another full on dislocation. but again, at least sophie was spared!!!!!

why i am telling all this is i am thinking of writing to their head office because i'm not the only person i know to have fallen on that escalator and dont want anyone else to get hurt. i couldnt care less about compensation, i cut my knee for frick's sake but if i had had longer hair or dangly clothes it could have been a different story also if i had not caught sophie it could have been worse for her too.

so, what would you do? forget about it? speak to the manager? write to head office? complain to the owners of the building they lease?

[Graye]

I suppose there are a couple of questions to ask first.

Any idea why you stumbled and fell?
Is there something wrong with the escalator?

Escalators need those sharp edges to make them work so I don't suppose you would get over far with complaining just about hurting your knee because you stumbled but if there is something wrong with the set up then I suppose it would be a different matter. As to who to write to? I suppose the easiest thing to do is phone them and ask whose responsibility the escalator is.

Glad it wasn't any worse than it mighthave been. Perhaps they will give you a new pair of trousers as a gesture.

[mrsflibble]

dont know whether i stumbled cos of someting i did, or cos the angle of the escalator is a bit crap.

i shall go in in person next week sometime i think.

[Rosendula]

You say you're not the only person who has fallen on that escalator - do you personally know other people who have fallen? Would it be possible to write a letter and request that the escalator is checked for health and safety reasons, giving names and contact numbers of the people you know who have fallen on it? If there is something wrong with the escalator, something needs to be done about it before anything too serious happens. If you do nothing, and someone is badly injured on it, how will you feel? If you try to do something and get ignored, then someone gets injured, at least you tried. If you write and something does get done about it, you might have saved someone a terrible injury (although you will never know about it). I would say, write to someone about it and don't use that escalator (or that ba-a-ad shop, you naughty lady ) again.

[anarchistinslippers]

Gosh, how awful!

Sue the sweat-shop using SOBs and buy a farm with the winnings, uh, damages!

Actually, the losses they make on that they'll end up making the kids work harder.

Goes back to drawing board..

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was second hand. Most assets (such as travellators, drinks fridges, etc.) are coz they're cheaper to fix with a contracted engineering firm than buy from new. I know this is certainly the case with all of my (past and present) employers stuff. Retail isn't about making money, it's about saving money. You've only got to look at the 150% polyester uniforms they make their people wear. At the end of the day, they'll probably try and shut you up with a voucher/store credit. That certainly seemed to be the policy with general complaints when I worked in Sainsbury's.

Customer: "I won't shop here again!"
Me: (Following briefing from manager) "Well, have this £10 gift voucher you can only use when you shop here"

At the end of the day, they get credited back for the voucher and you get a free coat. Everyone's happy. Apart from the people who work in the sweat-shops who have to work that little bit harder to make up for the "loss" of the voucher's value.

Sorry, not trying to be negative/depressing/unconstructive, I'm just a very seasoned retail veteran, with several wounds, inside and out.

[Brij]

If the store manager cared, he or she would have already done something (if The Public is falling over, the staff are - trust me!). Same goes for head office I'm afraid, I would write to your local council health and safety bods.

Glad it wasn't worse, looking forward to seeing your post about the funky patch you put on your trousers!

[Martina]

My two Cents.

I would write to the owner of the building as they are usually responsible for structural elements/features of the building (usually including escalators, elevators and shafts) more so than their tenant.

Make two copies of this letter. One for your records and one to go to the health and safety people in your area.
Of course, indicate to the owner that you are sending a copy of the letter to the safety body so that they are aware that you take the issue seriously.

(Just a note, call health and safety to get a contact person who is responsible for Safety of Conveyance systems. Elevators and escalators typically have their own department and, sometimes, associations which certify them at regular intervels for their safety. [ If you were to go back to this escalator it should have a serial number and association certificate with another number clearly displayed at either the top or bottom] Just like fire safety equipment. Bottom line here is, if they have a passenger conveyance system in their building it must be maintained and kept operational in accordance with safety standards for that particular vehicle).

If, after all that, you get ignored and someone gets hurt again, then at least you will know that you have tried.

Sorry my two cents is more like four, but I work in the construction industry and have an appreciation for the need to maintain high standards of operational safety in all conveyance vehicles. And that is what an escalator is: a vehicle. And it needs to be safe to use, just like other public vehicles such as taxis, buses, trains etc.

Good luck,
Martina

[mrsflibble]

thanks for the answeres peeps, i had to wash the trousers in order to get the stiffened blood out so i could get a needle through, and the fabric just frayed so much it's impossible to mend them i am sad about that, but they were second hand when i bought them so it's not too much bother to the environment.

my knee is still hurting, very very bruised and i still have a hole in it which has scabbed over. it hurts to kneel, so i don't. it hurts to put too much weight on it so james had taken some days off this week so i dont have to do the school run. i am using a stick outside the house and i am sooooo peeved at the loss of independance lol!!

[Graye]

If you think you have a reasonable case to pursue I think you would probably be very wise to take some photos of your injuries just so you have some proof.

[MuddyWitch]

Talking as one who is loosing the full use of her knees to arthritis, your knees are VERY important...I'd sue!

MW