I just don't understand how some people overlook a good flashlight

so i got a tour today of a server room that was pretty robust. they had around a million in computers and a million in phone equipment. (so they say, whatever it was they had some serious gear).

anyway, so they have like 4 t1 lines coming into this little building. they have not only battery backup for the whole building, but also a natural gas generator. they had two fiber lines for the phones. one from one company one from another in case one became compromised etc. the point is everything was really intense and well thought out then i look around at their flashlight in the server room, what do i find. 2 rayovac plastic 2c magnet mount lights. LOL. i guess they really did trust those backups. just do me a favor and keep something a little more robust around with decent shelf life. oh well.

but then i was put at ease when i got a tour of the boiler room and found a hand held HID.

Server room lights are also powered by UPS so the need for good flashlights is not as critical. Having said that, my server room gets an Inova T4, MagLEDs and a couple of headlamps by the work area.

yes, i was really thinking a headlamp would be my preferred light for a server room...

Our server room has one of those two-headlamp emergency light things like you'd see on the wall in a movie theater or something. I don't think I trust it.

Needless to say, I always have a couple of lights on me anyway, so if it should it go dark in there I'm fine. I don't store any of my personal lights here at work, but I have them with me and in my messenger bag that I bring each day.

I think the other folks who share the space in there have a couple of nasty hardware store plastic flashlights. Pass.

There really isn't a normal ceiling in there, so there is no nice white drop ceiling panels to properly reflect a tailstanding light.

Well as a general response to the title:
I understand your angst when you see cheap plastic incan lights which are supposedly there for when the s#!t hits the fan. I have similar feelings when I see ugly plastic lights at my workplace behind the front desk. (ya know those ones that have a 6V square-ish lantern battery... AKA 4D cells... in them).
I remember last winter when the lights went out, the backup lights didn't go on and the cheap POS plastic lights that they had for emergencies didn't work. So most people were crawling their way through the building using cell phones... at least any place that I was not or the 3 others who I had handed my backup lights out to.
And yet this year they go out and buy replacements that are just as cheap and crappy. Every couple months when I do a supervisor shift I always check the lights and find that at least 1 of the 3 has been screwed with and doesn't work, and so I re-align them... blah bla blah. :sigh:
Now, why haven't I bought them good lights? Well simply because anything nicer than those POS plastics will likely grow legs walk out of the building. I work at a decent sized YMCA. Even behind the front desk or back in the admin offices too many people go thru to be accountable. IN the end I just do my best to make sure the POS's function, and I'm sure to have 5+ lights on my person whenever I'm at work.

I can't believe I'm saying this, considering what lights I own, but the plastic POS lights are ok for basic use as long as they are checked, tested and maintained just like any other piece of emergency equipment. A good condition Eveready, Energizer, Dorcy, Garrity, or any decent light from Wally world, Target, True-Value or Ace that has good Energizer or Duracell batteries will hold it's own in a crisis as long as the aforementioned periodic maintenance is done on them. I have a few of these POS lights as well (granted they are in MUCH better working condition than some lights at businesses) and they are stationed around the house in various places (along with my HDS, Surefires, Mag-charger, Inovas, Underwater Kinetics, Ike-lites, Brownings, bike-lites, headlamps, etc... of course!!!).