Privacy while pumping - what should I do?

[alisong]

I work in an office, and generally pump right before I go home, so between 5 and 6. I always close and lock my office door, and put a large bright green sticky that says "please do not disturb!" in bold letters on the door.

On Friday afternoon I was pumping away, when I heard a key in the door. In walked the janitor. I turned away and spluttered "please come back later!" I'm not sure if he even realized what I was doing. It's entirely possible he doesn't read English.

What should I do to ensure this doesn't happen again? Would a sign to hang over the doorknob (i.e. right where he has to insert the key) be clearer than a sticky? Should I write "please do not disturb" in Spanish too? Do I need to follow this up with our facilities management?

What do you do to make sure you're not interrupted while pumping? It's not very pleasant!!

[Kristeen]

Wow. I never had to deal with this, but I have dealt with janitorial staff who didn't read English ignoring , albeit not intentionally, my signs. To fix it, I found out all the languages spoken by the staff, and translated my message into each, photocopied on bright yellow paper and laminated it. (incidentally, the message was: please do not erase the chalkboard--I was a teacher at the time)

Or you could get a door stopper and wedge it under from your side...

Or you could wait and see if the embarassment was mutual, it's entirely possible the person will have learned the hard way what the sign meant.

A big red X with a circle on it could do the trick, especially over the key hole...

Good luck!

[alisong]

Thanks Kristeen - I'd be more confident of the mutual embarrasment if I thought he realized what I was doing! I do have a door stop that I could put in from my side, that's a great idea.

According to dictionary.com's translator, "please do not disturb" is "no disturbe por favor" (anyone care to confirm?).

[NicoleWisconsin]

I know no is no and por favor is please.. So it sounds right to me...

Just what you needed to help your let down, eh? Sorry it happened, but I do hope it wasn't intentional. I would try the door wedge, too, because even if you do the sign, you will probbaly still be on edge for a little while while you pump and the wedge will give you a little extra security.

[shellbell516]

I'm worried about this too. I have a private office that I can close the door and the blinds on the window, but the door doesn't lock and it swings out. Will a sign be enough?

I've also thought about installing one of those hook lock things. The kind where the eye or round part goes on the door frame and the hook part goes on the door. No one can get in if you use on of those.