I loved elevator operators. The guys in the building where I worked were always polite, knew people’s names and the floors where they got off. Even warned me occasionally if my boss had arrived in a rotten mood. That was back in LA. Many years ago....
When I traveled to NYC on business, I had a scare when my cab took off before I’d finished closing the door and caught my thumb in it. The elevator operator took one look and told me I had to see a doctor and suggested which one to see./...and he was right.
I grew up in Rochester, New York in the 50’s. We had two big department stores named Sibley’s and McCurdy’s. They both had elevator operators. I mostly remember the Sibley’s elevators because they were pretty fancy. I can’t remember if any of the operators wore uniforms, but I do remember you had to call out what floor you wanted. I also remember the elevators had an inner gate that had to be locked into place before the outer doors would close. And I remember the times when the operator hadn’t quite reached the floor they needed, and had to adjust the car up or down so it was level with the floor. And some elevators had pull-down seats for the operator to sit on while he/she was working.