Stuck in an elevator

I’m always interested in people with odd jobs. You know, balloon artists, breath mint testers, port-a-potty servicers, etc. Last week I was personally confronted with another odd job…answering phone calls from people stuck in elevators. This occurred, of course, while I was stuck in an elevator.

The scene went this way: After the doors didn’t open on the 5th floor of my office building, another woman on the elevator with me picked up the phone that you hope you never have to use (while I rang the little alarm bell for the whole building to hear). We were connected to what I assume was the elevator company call center, where we were promptly put on hold (apparently it was a busy day to be stuck in an elevator). A nice woman eventually answered and called us some local help. We were freed about 15 min. later when the doors opened enough for us to squeeze through.

I tried to quickly move on, but I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to have a job where people call you all day long to tell you they are stuck in one of your company’s elevators. I imagine the lady we spoke with has some interesting stories of panic-stricken callers. Even though we all appeared calm, I admit I started to feel very uncomfortable as the temperature seemed to instantly rise about 15 degrees and we all shed our coats while we waited in this small, dim cube.

Anyway, I hope all your elevator rides are safe and uneventful, but if not, I hope you get to talk to the calm lady at the elevator call center.

But now let's free ourselves from elevator woes for a moment and end on a fun note. There are a lot of funny things to do in an elevator. Allow me to share a few:

1. Drop a pen and wait until someone goes to pick it up, then scream, "That's mine!"
2. Leave a box in the corner, and when someone gets on, ask them if they can hear ticking.
3. When the doors close, announce to the others, "It's okay, don't panic, they open again!"
4. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside, ask, "Got enough air in there?"
5. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.

Go ahead and try one on your next day of office boredom.