The sink faucet in our motel room worked the way you’d expect:
It pivots left-right to adjust the temperature and lifts to control the flow, which is Off when the handle is parallel to the sink countertop.
Evidently, everybody assumes that’s the way the identical faucet handle works in the shower, despite the helpful label:
Did you notice the minuscule red dot below-and-left of the handle or the corresponding blue dot just to its right? Absent the label, those provide all the hints you’ll get as to how the handle operates.
The faucet body & plumbing were loose in the wall, as though many previous people had given it a firm yank to get water out of it.
I’m 3.5 diopters nearsighted and can’t see those little dots. Mary is 2 diopters farsighted and can’t see the label or the dots.
What did they think would happen with different valves having identical affordance?
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
Comments
3 responses to “Bathroom Faucets: User Interface FAIL”
I have to admit I still don’t get it. Okay, so you turn it left for warm and right for cold, but what does that mean for water flow and temperature mixture?
On second thought, I presume it mixes in progressively more hot water, but the flow control remains an area of concern.
AFAICT, the valve opens fully as soon as it comes off the stop, with no flow control whatsoever.
I’m the Designated Shower Tester and, assuming I survive first contact, report the position that neither freezes nor scalds. This one got an additional caution about not pulling the handle, no matter how loose it felt.