Holding the door is complicated. There are moments of interaction with our surrounding, and others in the surroundings, that I would rather do without. Holding a door for someone is one of those moments.

The Problems:

• Some people are just rude. If one opens a door going forward the following person should take the batton. The follower should give thanks and take the wait of the door. Unfortunately, too many people do not say thanks, and worse, some don’t even receive the door. Rude people will just walk through with heads down. I hate that.
• The waiting game. Once in awhile you hold a door for someone who takes their sweet-ass time. If eye contact is established you better move on through quickly.
• The waiting game: overtime. Sometimes there is a person behind you at an odd distance. If you hold the door the previous situation may occur, and if you just let the door shut the door shuts just as they get to it and you look like a dick.
• Too close for comfort. Occasionally you are stuck holding the door open ahead of you and the walker-through has to squeeze by you because they are a heavy set person. I’ll allow very few bellies to touch mine, and I would like to keep it that way.

Self-propelled Solution

Every office building needs a rotating door. These are great for buildings with people blind spots. You never have to wait on people or be left in an awkward position deciding to hold a door or not. Occasionally one gets stuck with some idiot who gets in the same little nook with you (making for both of you to create short shuffle steps to push the door forward and not touch), but for the most part rotating doors clear up many door waiting dilemmas.