i often wonder what the rules for proper elevator etiquette are. I’m sure I’m not the first one to think about this and I’m sure there is a blog, article or even book out there about this. But here are my thoughts on the matter. 

  • It goes without saying that if the doors are closing and you see someone rushing towards the elevator, you probably shouldn’t keep pushing the close button. 
  • it’s ok to hold the elevator door open when you are waiting for the rest of your party to come, but that doesn’t mean you should hold it open for 5 minutes while the other person fumbles with the keys while locking the apartment door. 
  • I never know whether people should always greet each other or make small talk. I do know however, that a small hi or thank you can’t always be bad. 
  • It’s nice to stand aside and let out people with children, old people and even ladies. Yes, I know we all shout about equal rights, but we do like men giving us the way. 
  • If you can’t reach the buttons because the elevator is too full, I am guessing the decent thing to do should be either ask the person next to the buttons to press the right floor or to at least say excuse me when reaching out. Some people would just rather shove their way through.

For some this may be common sense, for others not so much. I often see people behaving in the silliest ways when it comes to riding in an elevator. It could be that people just change their behaviour when they are cooped up. 

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