Today when you get on an elevator, all you have to do is push the button for the floor you want and then stand there while the elevator whisks you to your destination. When the elevator arrives at your floor, the doors automatically open and then close behind you.
Back in the olden days, when you used an elevator, there was an elevator operator, who wore a crisp uniform and sometimes a small hat, sitting inside on a stool. The elevator operator had to open the door of the elevator and then, cheerily, greeted you and asked "What floor, please? The operator closed the door behind the passengers, and selected the floor buttons. Off you went - occasionally laboriously - to your floor. Upon arrival, the operator opened the elevator doors so that you could exit.
Today, you get on an express elevator with a bunch of people that you may or may not know. Everyone stands there, facing forward, and rarely speak to each other. With doors that close automatically, you also run the risk of being hit by the doors if you don't move quickly enough or are trying help small kids on and off....a kind of unfriendly experience.
I think it's kind of nice to have someone in an elevator to greet you and to make sure that everyone was on/off safely before closing the door. Back in the olden days, if you took an elevator on a regular basis, you got to know the operator. So elevator riding became a more personal experience.
Some times things from the olden days are a good thing.
There was an elevator boy in a building where I worked. He wore a red suit, a little pill-box hat with an elastic to hold it on and white gloves. I had a total crush on him. He'd look like a dork nowadays, but I thought he was very cute.
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