You didn't elaborate that <Esc> is a modifier key. So if they've hit <Esc> and are still within the timeout window, it'll think they've hit <Esc>-Whatever, not

You didn't elaborate that <Esc> is a modifier key. So if they've hit <Esc> and are still within the timeout window, it'll think they've hit <Esc>-Whatever, not <Esc> alone. Best hit it twice, or three times to be sure.