So here is a now hilarious story (wasn’t then) about getting stuck on the 39th floor in an elevator at eBay Motors University for over 30 minutes.
Enjoying a great lunch sponsored by eBay on the 42nd floor of the convention center and we all decided to adjourn. One of our team members had already gone down, but the remaining 4 of us board the elevator along with 2 other dealers to rejoin the conference. As the elevator doors are closing another group of 5 dealers hit the button, the doors quickly reopen, but as they step on one of the guys sells the group on just taking the next one (we had been packing on elevators all morning like a New York City rush hour, shoulder to shoulder with no personal space left).
Finally we have a comfortable descent for 6 passengers down three floors and then all of the sudden lots of jerking and a quick stop! An automated voice comes over the speaker, “We have experienced technical difficulty.” Our software developers would have been proud that they gracefully handled the error, but as many error messages are, it offered no reason or solution.
I turn around and looked at the dealer in the back as his eyes are the size of silver dollars with white knuckles gripping the railing. He later informs us that earlier this morning he missed his plane from Houston. Not a good time to be stuck on an elevator with a guy having a bad luck day. We push the security call button but no answer….
At this point it had been 8 minutes stuck in a steel box in an elevator shaft. Not a good mental picture in this situation. Plus, I had been drinking coffee all morning and had 2 glasses of tea at lunch. Pardon my language, but needless to say I needed to pee. Soon after the security voice comes over the speaker and we describe the situation, etc. We exchange for a few seconds and then he finishes by saying the building engineer is coming to “pry” the doors open. Yes, he used the word “pry”. Several minutes later, he comes back on to say that Otis (the elevator company) is in route. In Route!!! Can’t the building engineer override the system with a key or something? So we patiently wait a few more minutes until I can’t stand it any more and push the button to talk with the security guy. I said, “Hey, we need you to keep us informed every few minutes. Not telling us anything builds tension.”
In the meantime, Bill Berry (National Sales Director) is on the ground floor texting us inappropriate messages such as “take small breaths”.
Now we have people on the floor above us able to talk to us. Their voices are faint in volume so we now think we are stuck between floors. Great…I’m thinking at this point, “Is this going to be a 45 minute deal or 3 hours?”
At about the 28th minute, security comes back on saying Otis is on the property! Step one to solving the problem….we got the right guy to fix it. Several minutes later the elevator starts moving again and opens at the next floor! Yes, we are spared! As we are greeted by additional security staff they take us to another elevator to go down. MORE ELEVATORS! No, I’m not getting on another elevator today. I’m thinking 40 flights of stairs instead. We converse for a few seconds and finally are talked into getting on another elevator which successfully took us to the ground floor.
Melissa, marketing director at AutoRevo, now informs us that she is extremely claustrophobic and can get panic stricken. The dealer in the back also tells everyone that he has an extreme fear of heights. Needless to say we all go outside for a view of wide open spaces and fresh air. What an eventful day.
