Is it only me? Am I the only one that misses the regular, old fashioned paper towel dispensers in restrooms?
Now, they seem to have all been replaced by newer, more expensive, sleeker-looking motion sensor paper towel dispensers.
Here's the problem....
...now, just to dry my hands, I have to do this strange dance in front of the motion detector sensor on the cover of the paper towel dispenser. I'm waving my hands in front of that little red dot, gyrating wildly just to get a little piece of paper towel to present itself to me - a piece that's too small to do the job, so I have to start my bathroom dance again.
So, what is the source of this hand-drying conspiracy? A salesperson.
That's right, a salesman is to blame for this epidemic. Why? Because a salesman for the paper towel dispenser company went to my favorite restaurants and sold the owner on the idea of a "touchless bathroom". The owner was sold on the story that his or her customers (me and you) actually want these systems. And, the owner bought it.
This is one of those cases, in my opinion, where a company or industry invents something simply for the purpose of having something to sell. Was there anything wrong with this machine?... 
...or this one?...
Of course not. They worked fine, for the customer. But the salesperson told the owner that paper towels were being wasted, and that the owner could save a lot of money in the long run by making it more difficult for their pesky customers to grab a bunch of paper towels (how dare the customer, after spending $40 on a dinner for two, want to use an adequate amount of paper towels to dry our hands!)
This is an example of an industry re-inventing a product just to have something new to sell. It's not necessary, but its been invented...so, why not sell it?
I give credit to the sales force for doing their job and making money. But is this something that was really needed? That's the question I'll be asking myself every time I do my "paper towel dance" in the restroom.
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