LufthansaFlyer posts the following image:
So, has anyone tried it? This could be really useful at some hotels.
The greatest elevator discovery ever?
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lucky
OMAAT
@ Evan -- Not sure what there is to defend. I of course wouldn't use this a lot, but we've all been in scenarios where the elevator is full and it continues to stop at every floor. This would be useful in those instances, and actually help to speed up elevator service for everyone.
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Evan
Guest
Glad to see Lucky chiming in on all the comments here and/or either clarifying or defending his comments........ Hmmm I guess it's just easier to let this post get buried and forgotten with time.
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tassojunior
Guest
Photo not American because of floor "13" and not European because of 1st floor.
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@ Evan -- Not sure what there is to defend. I of course wouldn't use this a lot, but we've all been in scenarios where the elevator is full and it continues to stop at every floor. This would be useful in those instances, and actually help to speed up elevator service for everyone.
Glad to see Lucky chiming in on all the comments here and/or either clarifying or defending his comments........ Hmmm I guess it's just easier to let this post get buried and forgotten with time.
Photo not American because of floor "13" and not European because of 1st floor.
Paul S and Tom: The "close door" button does function in most if not all elevators, but not necessarily in normal operation. It's a vital part of "fire mode" operation, in which the door is opened and closed manually, by holding down the "open door" or "close door" button.
I agree with others that if it does work, it is impolite (at best) to use it. How would you feel if you had to wait at the elevator for a long time because everyone else was using it and your floor kept being skipped over?
OK, here's a variant: Some elevators in Asia (the JW Marriott in BKK is an example) allows you to "deselect" a floor. Let's say you are staying on 21 but push 22 by mistake. Just push 22 rapidly in succession twice, and it will deselect. Great if you make a mistake. Potentially has other uses too :)
Wohaa wow....looks like Frank is back.
The close button most certainly works to get you up to club level without having to use your room key at a hotel I frequent. Older Otis elevator, probably 1980s. I use the trick to avoid fumbling for my room key when my hands are full. Easier to press the two keys than try to get the key in the reader.
Works for me every day I go up to the 2nd floor of my 2 story office building!
It does work on older elevators. I did it at popular hotel in Chicago. Vogue had sponsored a party in the bar located on the 33rd floor and there was a massive line in the lobby with bouncers who were regulating the amount of people that were allowed in via a dedicated elevator to the bar. I summoned another elevator from a different floor to go to the level the bar is located at but...
It does work on older elevators. I did it at popular hotel in Chicago. Vogue had sponsored a party in the bar located on the 33rd floor and there was a massive line in the lobby with bouncers who were regulating the amount of people that were allowed in via a dedicated elevator to the bar. I summoned another elevator from a different floor to go to the level the bar is located at but the button would not stay lit nor would the elevator move so I tried this trick and it worked. I walked out of that elevator and passed the bouncer waiting outside the bar on the 33rd floor like I owned the place. He didn't stop me and my friend and we partied it up.
When I worked in the US Senate, all elevators could go straight to a floor by holding down the floor number. Our Senators are usually not on the Senate floor at any given moment, but instead are working in their offices (often in meetings) with C-SPAN2 on to monitor what's happening on the floor. But if a vote is called, they have like 8 minutes to get from their office, down 8 floors, through the...
When I worked in the US Senate, all elevators could go straight to a floor by holding down the floor number. Our Senators are usually not on the Senate floor at any given moment, but instead are working in their offices (often in meetings) with C-SPAN2 on to monitor what's happening on the floor. But if a vote is called, they have like 8 minutes to get from their office, down 8 floors, through the tunnels to the Subway, through the Capitol Subway to the Capitol, and to the Senate floor at the farthest end of the Capitol Building to vote. Needless to say, its tight in the best of situations. So the button is there to get the Senators (or, rarely, their staff) to the basement floor where the Subway is ASAP.
As you might expect, the Senators abuse the crap out of it.
There was an article about an employee from Otis elevator in the New Yorker a few years ago. The dirty little secret about elevators is that the door close button actually has no function other than to make impatient people feel like they're in control. Often it's not even connected to anything.
So no, I don't think that works.
@Lark - I'll take that off the list!! We'll see about sofitel, marriott and westin (ORD's michigan mile area)
@ LufthansaFlyer:
Don't bother trying at the Swissotel...
Here you enter the floor you want to go to on a keypad, and then the display tells you which of the 6 elevators will be taking you there.
You get in and there are no floor number buttons to push!
It probably does help ease congestion because software/logic can help manage the elevators.
Swissotel was quite nice by the way, upscale and classy and comfortable. Good location.
Regarding the etiquette question, I used to work in an office building in which this worked for the elevator. The general rule of thumb was that it was okay to use when the elevator was so crowded that no one else could get squeeze in. That said, the definition of full can be very subjective and folks were often bypassed when they still could have squeezed in. (Although there's no way to know for sure...
Regarding the etiquette question, I used to work in an office building in which this worked for the elevator. The general rule of thumb was that it was okay to use when the elevator was so crowded that no one else could get squeeze in. That said, the definition of full can be very subjective and folks were often bypassed when they still could have squeezed in. (Although there's no way to know for sure since you can't actually know if someone wants to get on.)
I'm also sure that it was abused by many solo riders. It was the reaction of a large group that generally kept people honest.
Good idea, until you realize what kind of world we would live in if everybody did this kind of thing to each other
I was watching some show on Discovery Channel where they had an elevator repairman who worked for Otis Elevator Company and he said that the door closed button doesn't even have wires connected to it, it's just there so people can feel better about pressing it. He wasn't clear if he was talking about all elevators or just Otis elevators.
@ vincentb89 - Yes, some hotels do have issues with congestion of the elevator system. But that's the exact reason why elevators do what they do. Stopping to let passengers on/off (going in the same direction) is the most efficient way of doing things.
Are you saying congestion wouldn't be a problem if everyone had an "express ride"?
Someone did this to me at the dorms back in college and it skipped over my floor even though I pushed my floor's button before they got on. Finally know how they did it.
@Vincentb89
Your insight is quite flawed and short sighted. Assuming that we are only talking about public/guest elevators and not private/cargo elevators the only reason an elevator will stop at a floor is because a guest or hotel employee has requested it to do so. It is absolutly about the other guest. You mean to tell me it's more important for to get from the lobby to your room than another guest to get from...
@Vincentb89
Your insight is quite flawed and short sighted. Assuming that we are only talking about public/guest elevators and not private/cargo elevators the only reason an elevator will stop at a floor is because a guest or hotel employee has requested it to do so. It is absolutly about the other guest. You mean to tell me it's more important for to get from the lobby to your room than another guest to get from their room to the lobby or any other floor for that matter??
@Evan.
He was just stating the fact that at some hotels, given the number of rooms, limited number of elevators, going from the lobby to your room can be a pain. It's not about the other guests, it's about the fact that some hotels did not think about the possible congestion (and yes, it should be a given in a hotel to be able to go from the lobby to your room in less than 10 min ...), an issue that some but not all uber large scale hotels are plagued with...
"This could be really useful at some hotels" ???
Are you kidding me? Are you that self important and so self absorbed that ohh forbid someone else has the audacity to use "your" elevator? I think elite status has gone to your head.
No 4s in most vegas elevators, bad luck for Asians. Similar to 13 in America
and in Korean and Vietnamese. And possibly other Asian cultures/languages as well.
Eric - actually it is unlucky in Japanese as well
For those who are viewing this a great "all about me" trick, please remember that there are many others, including handicapped and/or with mobility issues, who are the ones you'd be cheerfully leaving behind.
This would be an extremely selfish and insensitive thing to do, imho.
Mirta- the number 4 is only unlucky in Chinese language. Chinese is not = Japanese.
thank you.
To get to a secured floor such as club level, in some elevators, press and hold the close door button and then press the number of the secured floor while holding the close door button, and release.
It's probably a Japanese elevator, they consider #4 unlucky because the pronunciation of it sounds like the pronunciation of their word for death, it's like a 13 floor in the US.
Each elevator has a function built in like this. However, in most instances it can be disabled because of the hijinks people play.
I would think this is very easy to disprove, but challenging to actually prove. In some places you would know, but not others. Is an elevator not stopping an indication that the trick worked? Or an indication that nobody was waiting to get on at other floors?
I'm in Chicago next week, and can probably try it at a few different places and see if its legit or not! :)
in chinese, 4 sounds like "die" , 14 means to die , 24 means easy to die
and 14 and 24?
Don't know if this works or not, but where's "4?"
tried it in Vegas, did not work.
No, it doesn't work on the vast majority of elevators (if any at all). This and similar images have been spread around the internet for years.
It's a hoax. It does work on certain elevator models, but nowhere near all of them.