I had a temp job in a posh department store a few years ago. The escalator going down from floor 2 to floor 1 had to be taken out to be replaced which took a month. Despite the many, many notices and the signs directing people to the lifts & stairs, a member of staff had to stand at the top of the closed escalator just to direct the public to the lifts and stairs. It broke peoples' brains and it was worrying to see how many tried to get past the barriers, or got pissed and shouty because there was no escalator. Like holy shit how did people cope before moving stairs were invented.