COLUMN: A courteous call for new elevator etiquette

From Alan Lowinger's, "The Rest of the Story," Fall '00 From Alan Lowinger's, "The Rest of the Story," Fall '00He pressed the button to the second floor, and I thought I was going to strangle him. As the door started to close, a man quickly stuck his hand in to get inside. He calmly found his way to an empty space and, even more calmly, pressed the button to the second floor. Start. And stop. As the man was leaving, the eyes of the normal elevator junkies found reason to lift their gaze from the floor and meet the eyes of their neighbor. We all shook our heads, gave a snide snicker and turned our gazes again to the floor. And start again. And the rest of the way up, those of us left on the elevator were united by our vocal annoyance, all directed toward this total stranger. Anyone who's lived on a higher floor of a high rise knows this elevator code of etiquette. No rides between the lobby and the first few floors. Just as important, never let there be two floor stops in a row. For example, if someone presses 8, and you have to go to 7, then get off at 8 and walk the single flight of stairs. Anyone who breaks the code will surely annoy the other passengers and slow down the elevator. It isn't asking too much of people to adhere to these social norms. A good number already do. The rest, on account of their freshman dorm experiences, should be used to taking a few flights of stairs. They should remember how automatic it became after just a few times. And that is the key. If more people adhered to the code of etiquette, elevators would on average come faster and, therefore, get to a person's destination faster. We see, then, that everyone would save elevator wait and travel time (on average) by creating an organized elevator system. For every stop on the elevator, about another 15 seconds are eaten up -- a lot, considering a straight ride from the 13th floor down to the lobby is only around 26 seconds. If we cut down on stops, we raise efficiency for everyone. Why then, is this unspoken rule broken so many times? There may be a few who have never heard of it. Maybe some never realized how much it bothered others. Most likely, even though it is well known, no one has yet bothered to try to enforce it. I propose that house deans take action. There should be a spoken and written code of etiquette -- no rides between the lobby and the lower floors, and no stopping on consecutive floors. In addition, signs near each elevator would clearly show where the stairs are and request the reader to adhere to the new policy. Eventually, once written and publicized, common social pressures would take over. If not, the new tangibility of the norm would give annoyed elevator riders a reason to state their dissatisfaction with a "cheater" of the system. Such cheaters would be the main threat to this new system based on reciprocal altruism. Here, everybody wins by adhering to the above-mentioned code of elevator ethics. To explain, I use the logic behind an accepted piece of etiquette at Penn, holding a door open for the person directly behind you. So simple. Everyone wins by making a negligible sacrifice. In reality, such vocal etiquette would only be as enforceable as having "don't throw boxes down the trash chute" signs or e-mails asking students to only use revolving doors in winter. And doubtless, there will be the few cheaters who will inevitably break the code of etiquette. But, like any social norm, it would be self-perpetuating over time. The more students see others adhering to the rules, the more will follow. To the house deans, and housing office, please help alleviate a problem that has plagued high rise residents for years. A single affirmation of a code of elevator etiquette would be a great start. To the students and high rise employees, solving the elevator problem is in your own hands. Modify your routine slightly, and your impact will be greater than that of thousands of dollars in elevator renovations. And besides, do you really want to be the one who is talked about when the elevator doors slam behind you?