Western Walkabout: Caught In An Elevator
Richard Harris tells of embarrassing moments in an elevator.
“What evil luck,” I thought. It was POETS day – Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday –when the elevator shuddered to a stop between floors, seven floors from the ground.
Worse still, the only other person in the lift was my boss and we’d been having a difficult week.
The boss was a man who tried to manage everything with tight controls, leaving little room for either negotiation or initiative, and wanting every interaction reported back to him in minute detail.
What on earth would we talk about in this situation?
I recalled the classic Public Service ploy – the Do Nothing option, and decided to say nothing. I just smiled. The boss smiled back.
He lifted the emergency telephone and spoke to one of his staff. Within about a minute the elevator started moving again and the doors opened at the ground floor.
We were met by an anxious Manager Administration, the officer responsible le for security in the building.
“Are you okay?” he asked the boss.
“Fine. We’re both fine,” he said and stalked off.
The MA looked at me and cracked up. He thought it was a hoot.
“Your relationship with that bastard is well known,” he told me.
“I’ve told all my mates. You’ve made our week.”
