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Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

johndcook.com

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Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#3
clearly they aren't using "destination dispatch" where the elevator tells you where to wait after you tell it where you want to go.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destination_dispatch

I've only seen this in one building. It was a little weird, but it supposedly is coming soon to more and more elevators.

Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#4
post #3

clearly they aren't using "destination dispatch" where the elevator tells you where to wait after you tell it where you want to go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destination_dispatch I've only seen this in one building. It was a little weird, but it supposedly is coming soon to more and more elevators.

I worked in a building at NYC that did this. It was confusing at first as I just immediately jumped into the first elevator door that opened since it was my first day and didn't realize there were no buttons inside. After the initial and very short learning curve due to all the stairs I had to climb that day I would say it was much more efficient than any other building I had been in.

Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#5
post #4
post #3

clearly they aren't using "destination dispatch" where the elevator tells you where to wait after you tell it where you want to go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destination_dispatch I've only seen this in one building. It was a little weird, but it supposedly is coming soon to more and more elevators.

I worked in a building at NYC that did this. It was confusing at first as I just immediately jumped into the first elevator door that opened since it was my first day and didn't realize there were no buttons inside. After the initial and very short learning curve due to all the stairs I had to climb that day I would say it was much more efficient than any other building I had been in.

I encountered one that did this, but the screen for selecting your floor was a temperamental touch screen, so trying to type "13" would often select "1" and "11" before 13, consigning you to riding and stopping at those floors, also.

Then I found the secret wheel-chair button assortment, which was genuine buttons.

Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#6
post #3

clearly they aren't using "destination dispatch" where the elevator tells you where to wait after you tell it where you want to go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destination_dispatch I've only seen this in one building. It was a little weird, but it supposedly is coming soon to more and more elevators.

At the end of the workday, not having several full elevators stop on their way down to the lobby to try (and fail) to take you down from the second floor is a godsend to everyone involved.

Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#7
post #3

clearly they aren't using "destination dispatch" where the elevator tells you where to wait after you tell it where you want to go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destination_dispatch I've only seen this in one building. It was a little weird, but it supposedly is coming soon to more and more elevators.

I live in a building that has this. As a resident - it works.

Whoever made this building made a whole lot of mistakes though:

- They put this into a building with public spaces (e.g. a doctor's office).

- When standing in front of the elevators, nowhere does it say which office is on which floor (it says so in the lobby which you walked by to get to the elevators)

- The screens where riders have to select floors automatically turn off after not being used for a few minutes. At that point, to people who have never used them before, they do not look like they have anything to do with the elevators at all.

- When these screens do turn on, they list the floors in reverse order (i.e. highest first). That makes sense because the people on the highest floors are the most likely to use the elevators, right? Well, all the offices are on floors 1 through 4. They're on page two of the screen. The button for "next page" is not labelled as such. You have to know it's there.

- The screens are resistive touch screens and not well calibrated. The buttons to select a floor are approximately the same height as the tip of your index finger. A first time user won't hit the correct floor the first time, guaranteed.

- At the point where you are standing in front of the elevators, you are so deep into the building that you have 0 cell reception. I have randomly encountered food delivery people be stranded there because they could not call their customers to figure out how to use the elevator.

Every single week I have to rescue a poor 80 year old person who needs to go to the doctor and is horribly lost and confused, and it just breaks my heart how the building's owner (which I've contacted about this to no avail) chose "oh the salesperson said this was more efficient and trendy" and now a large percentage of users are so much worse off for that choice.

Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#8
Might be a bit off-topic…

But: The one big question I have with elevator UX is this: why isn’t it possible to deselect a choice? So pressed 10th floor but wanted 11th. There is no way to press button 10 and then button 11 to correct that mistake.

Will I ever solve this mystery?

Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#9
post #8

Might be a bit off-topic… But: The one big question I have with elevator UX is this: why isn’t it possible to deselect a choice? So pressed 10th floor but wanted 11th. There is no way to press button 10 and then button 11 to correct that mistake. Will I ever solve this mystery?

I imagine that's by design. Otherwise you could unselect other people's choices.

Re: Where to wait for an elevator (2010)

#10
post #8

Might be a bit off-topic… But: The one big question I have with elevator UX is this: why isn’t it possible to deselect a choice? So pressed 10th floor but wanted 11th. There is no way to press button 10 and then button 11 to correct that mistake. Will I ever solve this mystery?

I imagine that's by design. Otherwise you could unselect other people's choices.

Yes of course it’s by design. I just wonder why.
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