Elevator operator
An elevator operator (North American English), liftman (in Commonwealth English, usually lift attendant), or lift girl (in British English), is a person specifically employed to operate a manually operated elevator. While largely considered an obsolete occupation, elevator operators continue to work in historic installations and fill modern-day niches. Historic description Being an effective elevator operator required many skills. Manual elevators were often controlled by a large lever. The elevator operator had to regulate the elevator's speed, which typically required a good sense of timing to consistently stop the elevator level with each floor. In addition to their training in operation and safety, department stores later combined the role of operator with greeter and tour guide, announcing product departments, floor by floor, and occasionally mentioning special offers. Remaining examples Buildings With the advent of user-operated elevators such as those utilizing push buttons to select the desired floor, few elevator operators remain. A few older buildings still maintain working manually operated elevators and thus elevator operators may be employed to run them. In Dayton, Ohio, the Mendelson Liquidation Outlet operates out of an old Delco building that has an old passenger elevator run by an operator. The Fine Arts Building in Chicago;