In general those standing nearest the door should be allowed to board first. Gentlemen should allow ladies to board first to the extent that this is practical.
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It was always my understanding that a gentleman should board first to ensure it is operating properly.
I prefer for whoever is closest to the elevator to board first – oftentimes the men will wait even if I’m far away and I have to hustle to catch the elevator before it closes! I’ve even gotten hit by the doors closing before and they don’t make any attempt to keep the doors open… It would be so much more courteous if whomever was closer would walk in and press the door open button.
My understanding has always been that a man should enter the elevator first so that he can hold the door open for the women by using the “door open” button, rather than hold it open with his arm and risk the doors closing on the woman as she enters.
I kind of disagree with this. I think that people should board the car in the order that they have approached the doors: the first to get there goes first, the second to get there goes second, etc. (with the exception being men before ladies, as mentioned before). I can’t count the number of times that I’ve waited outside with a crowd of people for some time, and some guy comes behind, butts in front of everybody else, and boards first without any regard for the length of time that we have been waiting there for.
FIRST COME FIRST SERVED INCLUDING A WOMEN/IF ITS AN SENIOR CITIZEN OR PREGNANT LADY THEN I WOULD DEFINITELY INSIST
bear in mind some blue tagger love to take advantage of us non previlege folks. Also I hate the blue tag tag along……grand Ma and her entrouage…..Usually when I am wheel chairing my dad around with all in tow….I usually take the next car cause we have a large group.
Ladies board first?
While I still instinctively do this (probably because it was instilled in me at a young age) with all the cries over sexual equality that women let out at every turn, I don’t feel that applies anymore. Equal is equal. I would let an elderly person or child board first though…
If you are boarding on the first floor and you plan on getting off at the top floor, don’t let everyone else board ahead of you because then they will all have to squeeze around you as the exit their respective floors.
To comment #7 I say ‘viva la diferance’! We are not the same. We were built differently and should act like it. Some well-intended feminists have gone too far in fighting to end the abuses on women and led good gentlemen like ramblog (and myself for a time) to the conclusion that “chivalry is dead because women killed it. But I say “go beyond the hairy armpits and be not discouraged, there ARE ladies out there, let’s show them we (gentlemen) are out there too.”
I believe you should always be courteous to both women and elderly people in regards to entering and exiting an elevator, however the situation will dictate action. Often it is more appropriate to enter the elevator first, and then hold the door or button to allow others to enter. It is not always proper to offer the lady the right of way. However if you are both standing within the same approximation to the door and it opens, a gentleman should pause as a silent offering for a lady to go in first, perhaps excentuated with an arm gesture or verbal invitation to go first. If she refuses your silent gesture, then a man should then move into the elevator and ask her for which floor she is heading, assuming she doesn’t immediately reach for a button.
What about exiting? At the end of a work day we all are headed down to the first floor to exit. Just get off! Men standing off to the side akwardly or moving around each other to let every single woman off first is just stupid. Everybody get out, it’s that simple.
A gentleman enters an empty elevator first (as far as practical) to check the “plummet factor”. However, if a herd of end-of-the-day employees is waiting it’s every person for his or herself.
I know that there’s a “gentlemen first” rule in a “canary in a coal mine” situation (such as when entering a dark theatre) but this is the first time I’ve seen anyone try to apply it to elevators! Frankly, in my entire life I can’t remember having boarded any elevator with a real “plummet factor”. But here’s an argument for the ladies boarding first, in the case where the elevator may stop on many floors and there are a fairly large number of people boarding: when the elevator stops at an intermediate floor, those standing near the doors who have not reached their destination should step out, wait for those behind them who want to leave to exit, then re-board. This is something of a burden (especially when there are many intermediate floors and/or more people boarding at them), so by the laws of etiquette this duty should fall on the gentlemen.
When there are relatively few people to get on the elevator so that nobody has to stand in the center, I think it is debatable whether it would actually be more gentlemanly to let the women board first or to enter first and hold the “door open” button and press floors for the others. One possibility would be for *one* man to get on first to be the “door manager” (and the “canary in a coal mine” if you really think it’s applicable here) and then “ladies first” after that. A “ladies first” rule only really makes sense to me if it benefits the ladies in some way, and it is not easy for me to identify a benefit for them in this case. Certainly no matter who gets on first, everyone on board will get to a given floor at the same time. Women would probably care more about *exiting* first!
Addendum:
Another situation where it is advantageous for ladies to board first is when there is not enough room in the elevator for everyone who wants to board — the ladies then get first choice of whether to board or to wait for a possibly less crowded elevator; if enough of them decide to wait then the gentlemen get their chance.
Oh stuff ladies first, we have no more or less priority than anyone else, and it’s sexist – not just because it discriminates against men, but because it suggests that women are somehow more fragile and to be treated with delicacy. Then again, I probably would be rather charmed by old-fashioned politeness, so it’s a fairly unimportant point. It just shouldn’t be required of anyone.
This is SO annoying! Men just start dithering about in the doorway, holding everyone up, making delays. If they are in front, they should get in first, not block the doorways and make a pest of themselves.
Same with exiting. I get fed up and snap at them ‘JUST GET OUT!’ It’s not polite, it’s just sexist and annoying.
I have nothing against women, but to be honest, what about first-come-first-served? Example – a group of people standing at the doors for, say, two minutes? Then a woman rushes round the corner and hops into the elevator just before everyone else does? This situation can apply to the ladies, too. It’s ever so slightly corrupt.
No no no no no! PLEASE don’t “Ladies first”
I was taught(in school)that a man ALWAYS enters an elevator before a lady.This goes back to the days when elevators were not as safe as they are now,and it was considered proper to face the danger 1st,much like when walking with a lady on the street,the man should walk on the outside closest to traffic.
comment to #s 9, 15 and 18:
i run an electrical contracting company. i am a woman. i am glad to hear that chivalry is not dead and i am glad to be treated ‘fragile & delicately!’ women that want to be ‘one of the guys…’ good for you! but you must STOP speaking for the rest of us that like to see the show of courtesy and appreciate it. i have raised many sons, and there would be hell to pay if i saw them NOT treating a lady with the dignity i taught them to show, regardless of whether they appreciate it or not!!
Unless there is a pregnant, elderly or disabled individual let’s all just get on first come first serve. Exception-if you’re one of the exceptions above pls demure if you will be getting off at the next floor, why make them push through to the front for exit?
It is considered more courteous and safe for those who ride the lift closer to the door.
An etiquette item offered for 1st refusal perhaps these days, like opening and holding regular doors?
I have one comment to add which this web site does not address in regard to order of getting on an elevator.
I was going to a pediatric appt with my child and I arrived to the elevator and boarded, and then noticed a woman coming in with a stroller, and I held the door for her to let her in. We were both going to the 2nd floor, and the only office there is the pedatricians.
Well since she had the large stroller she was in the front of the elevator and thus also exited the elevator before me….
The problem with this situation is that then she was ahead of me in the hallway and proceeded to go into the office ahead of me and sign in before me, even though she had arrived at the elevator quite later than me.
I found this very rude! She should have exited first but stepped out of the way in the hallway to let me and my child sign in first, which is what I would have done in the situation and did indeed do when the situation later arose and I was the one arriving to the elevator second.
As a paramedic, I have a contribution to make on this one. I am
appalled by how often I am trying to get to the floor where a sick
person is on an elevator and people impede the process. Much as this
seems like common sense, most of the time people seem to either be
ignorant or just don’t care. The following are well worth
remembering: 1. When emergency personnel are on an elevator, do not
get on with them. When we are trying to intervene in a matter of
life and death, we do not have time for you to stop at whatever floor
you’re going to, or for you to load/offload your
luggage/kids/groceries. If you’re on the elevator and emergency
personnel are getting on with their equipment, get off and take the
next elevator. In many of the situations we respond to, 60 seconds
really can make the difference between life and death. 2. When
emergency personnel are on an elevator with a patient, do not enter
that elevator under any circumstances without the advance permission
of said personnel. In emergency situations, patient interviews are
being conducted continuously, and your presence on the elevator
interferes with patient confidentiality. In addition, if emergency
procedures are necessary, they will be performed on the spot…in the
elevator if needed. Emergency personnel do not need the added issues
of trying to protect you from graphic procedures and keep you from
interfering.
What’s this “ladies and gentlemen” business? Is it still 1957?
Give special courtesy to the infirm, but a healthy 30 year old woman does not require any special treatment, and where I live, she’d be offended and weirded out if a man insisted on it.
Sheesh people, welcome to the 21st century.
Sorry to say this, but conformity tends to make crowds more efficient. To reach your destination both quickly and with your manners-reputation intact, my advice is to be one with the herd. Thus if you’re in Manhattan, just move before they run you over. If you’re in Texas, where I live, its best to let the women go first.
I think that it is always up to the individual (referring to males) rather they should board first or wait… regardless of your reason, as long as you have confidence in your reasons for boarding as you do, it shouldn’t matter how others feel.
The paramedic, Chris, is the only person that has said anything worthwhile of all the postings I have read on any subject on this site. On all matters, let common sense and common courtesy prevail.
Bottom line: Get on the elevator or take the stairs! We don’t let women drivers drive ahead of us on the road, do we? Its common sense: Get on and get out of the way of others!! Also, if you are getting off the elevator on a nearby floor, stay near the front!! Those alone are the BEST courtesies for the elevator.
I work with a man who insists on exercising his stupid elevator gentlemanness. He has to be the last on and then he stands in the doorway when the women are exiting. I want to say, “Get out of my way!” It makes me uncomfortable to have to walk so near, sometimes brushing against him on my way out. If he wants to exit last he should move to the back and stand there until we all are out.