Dear Dish on Elevator Etiquette
Dear Dish:
I have a pet peeve. It drives me crazy when someone walks into an elevator, presses the button, and then stands right in front of the buttons thereby preventing future passengers from adequately reaching said buttons when they walk into the elevator.
Is this normal? Am I being unreasonable?
Sincerely,
Someone Envisioning a Sparkling Calm Blue Ocean
Dear Imaginative:
When boarding an elevator: Enter, push the button for your floor and then move as far back into the elevator as you can. Stand near a wall if you can and be sure to avoid invading the personal space of others as much as possible.
If you are getting off at one of the lower floors, it is better to stand near the front of the elevator than to inconvenience a lot of people by pushing them or using other techniques to force them to move out of your way when you have to get off. Stand to the side of the elevator near the front and try not to block the buttons.
Get your lazy arse off the elevator and take the stairs if you are going up only one or two floors and you do not meet one of the following exceptions:
1) You have a disability.If you meet exception #2 and the cart-like vehicle you are pushing is large, you should seriously consider using the freight elevator if one is available. That's what it is there for.
2) You are pushing a cart of some sort or a stroller.
3) You are carrying something heavy or awkward.
Although people who block the elevator buttons can be as irritating as Joanie Mitchell singing Big Yellow Taxi, all is not lost. It is perfectly acceptable elevator etiquette to politely ask said button blocker to push the button for your floor. This is far more polite than entering the button blocker's personal space to try to push the button yourself. Just because some people do not have any manners, does not mean that you should join their ranks. Besides, if enough people start asking these button blockers to push the button for their floor, maybe they will get the hint and start to be more polite about their elevator usage.
If you have a particular elevator-etiquette offender in mind, perhaps giving them a copy of this column will both help them to understand how their behaviour affects others and to alleviate your stress.
Good luck.
Dish
posted by Dish @ 8:10 PM
4 Comments:
i think these button blockers were the children who were never allowed to push buttons and now they want to keep that thrill all for themselves
Hmm. This is obviously a complex issue. I'm going to print this and bring it with me not to show to other people, but to have a reference point for what to do it I ever find myself in an elevator.
Gus Johnson also wants to point out that certain etiquette should also be observed when entering an elevator. Not obvious to all, the person entering should always wait for any persons wishing to exit to do so first. For some reason many individuals become so excited to board the elevator that they forget the common sense logic behind this etiquette. Several of such individuals have learned their lesson the hard way because Gus Johnson and his posse do not budge.
Definitely a key point. Dish would like to meet this posse. It sounds like they know what's what. Dish has been in the market for a body guard entourage and wonders how GJ and co. would feel about taking on such a responsibility?
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