The Ups and Downs of Captivity: Or, Keep Your Knees Bent (Not Just in Unsafe Elevators)
by Jeff Lindsay
The
day my previous post appeared on deliverance and captivity, I was
experiencing a little captivity and, fortunately, deliverance during
an elevator ride in Shanghai.
The
basic story is that I and several others were trapped in an elevator
and could not rescue ourselves. The way out involved making a call to
plead for deliverance, and then we were kindly delivered, carefully
brought up to safety.
It's
a nice little analogy to the way we are trapped here in mortality
through death and sin, but if we turn to God with faith and patience,
we can be delivered and brought back to Him.
Actually,
the story is more complex than that and has further lessons about
deliverance, about helping fellow travelers in mortality, and dealing
with those who don't seem to recognize the problems they create for
others.
It's
also about how a respected institution can lose the trust of its
customers by not recognizing the problems they face, which is a
lesson to all of us in any organization, the Church included, about
listening and staying in touch with those we are responsible for.
Being trapped in an elevator with cool people is actually not as fun as it looks.
Lots of joking, but I think we were all a bit nervous after the elevator slipped several times on the way up before getting stuck.
Those
stranded with me in a Shanghai elevator were mostly speakers at a
United Nations-sponsored conference on intellectual property. They
included the Consul General for Bulgaria, the European Union's IP
Attaché serving in Beijing, a prominent European patent
lawyer, and some Chinese business leaders and IP workers.
This
little adventure for 10 passengers was supposed to be a brief
"three-story cruise" on our way from the lowest level to a
five-star luncheon above, but shortly after our Otis elevator began
its ascent, the elevator slipped downward a few inches, stopped, and
then continued upward, only to slip again and then again.
After
the third slip, the elevator stopped completely just a few feet short
of the second floor.
We
were in one of Shanghai's premiere locations, the World Expo Center
in Pudong, where one would expect the highest quality in construction
and maintenance. We were in an Otis elevator, probably the world's
most trusted and famous elevator brand. But we were also in China, a
land of many surprises, and a land where tragic elevator accidents
are not unknown.
This
is a place where maintenance is sometimes an issue, along with
shortcuts in construction. I'm not saying any of that applies to this
setting, but there have been problems in the past with proper
maintenance of elevators and some tragedies as well.
We
rang the alarm button and expected to receive assistance right away.
There was no response. We rang it again a few minutes later and it
looked like some staff members were observing us (we could look down
through some glass to see some staff gathered on the floor below us),
so we expected help soon.
After
a few more minutes, though, there was no sign of real help. We needed
help, help from outside. I then noticed that there was a small
speaker next to another button and suggested we push that to reach
someone. We were able to speak with someone to explain our situation.
They told us to wait and I think they said help was on the way.
We
chatted and exchanged business cards, but it was getting quite
unpleasant inside with no circulation and fairly warm air. I got out
a magazine and fanned it over a woman in the back who was having some
trouble, and we pressed the alarm again, which now had been disabled
so we wouldn't alarm others, I guess.
We
called again to ask for help and were told to just wait. After a few
more minutes we called again and no one was answering now. The alarm
was off. The phone was off as far as we could tell. I think we had
become too annoying.
Then
I noticed there were two phone numbers printed on the Otis nameplate.
I called one and got a "number not working" notice. I
called the other number and was able to reach the Otis company
itself, I think in Beijing, and reported the problem. They told us
help was on the way.
One
of the last hotels I stayed at, a 2-star place near the Yangtze River
in China, had a large helpful sign in its elevator. The sign gave
directions on what to do if the elevator should slip and suddenly
begin plummeting to earth — even though the place was only four
stories tall.
It
said we should brace ourselves with our backs against a wall and bend
our knees somewhat, apparently to reduce the risk of breaking legs on
impact.
I
debated whether I should share this helpful information with my
fellow sufferers, but in the interest of safety, with as much
gentleness and optimism as I could muster, I casually mentioned
having seen that sign and suggested we be ready, just in case.
Then,
suddenly, a cable snapped and we all screamed as we crashed toward
the earth and — no, actually, nothing like that happened at
all.
A
few minutes later came deliverance, but not exactly as expected. I
thought we would be slowly lowered back down to safety. Instead, once
the technician above had accessed the system to override or overcome
whatever was halting our journey, the elevator began going slowly up,
up, up to the third floor.
Recognizing
that something was wrong and that slippage was possible, the higher
we went the more nervous I grew, knees slightly bent. But we made it.
The door opened and we swiftly walked out.
There
was an official Otis technician next to the elevator, with a panel
open and some wires plugged into a box or something. We were relieved
to be rescued. We were greeted by an apologetic hostess and escorted
to the delicious lunch waiting us. But I wanted some information. I
asked the Otis technician what had gone wrong. He said, "Too
many people."
"Really?
Then why didn't an alarm go off as happens normally when the load is
too high?"
"You
must have been near the limit but not quite over it. Not heavy enough
to make the alarm ring." He thought that was a satisfactory
explanation. I did not.
Our
hostess came to take me over to the speakers’ luncheon. I
followed her and saw the great food and would have liked some, but
felt that there was a safety issue still there that I couldn’t
just ignore.
I
went to the host, the kind man who had invited me to speak and attend
the luncheon, and excused myself. I needed to go back and follow up.
This is one of those character traits I have that sometimes makes me
genuinely annoying, in addition to hungry.
I
went back to the elevator to talk to the technician. Our hostess
followed me. I asked what had been done to prevent this problem from
happening again to another group of the same size. He gave me a
puzzled look and shrugged his shoulders.
Our
hostess got it and she diplomatically rephrased my question to make
it clear we weren't accusing him of any kind of shortcoming, but just
wanted to make sure the problem was resolved for the welfare of
others.
But
it didn't appear that anything was being changed or repaired. I
explained I felt a duty to report this to Otis, and could I please
get his name and phone number. The hostess gave this a nice
diplomatic spin, and the man gave me that information. I called Otis,
reported the problem in detail, and was told I would get a response
soon. There was no time to eat now, but it was OK.
Otis
called that night while I was at a lovely banquet for speakers and
staff. An English speaker this time talked to me and asked what I
wanted. I explained I wanted the problem fixed. I explained why it is
a serious problem to be trapped in an elevator for 20 minutes or so.
Her
response really surprised me: "Well, sir, we can fully
understand how even a single minute in an elevator can seem like 20
minutes to a passenger." I was really put off by that
condescending tone and failure to understand just how long their
elevator had trapped 10 passengers.
Fortunately,
another passenger was nearby. I asked her to ask him how long we had
been trapped. He was clear: 20 minutes, at least. Maybe Otis was only
timing the response from the time I called them and the time the
technician showed up; I don't know.
Then
the woman said that their contract requires them to respond in 30
minutes, which they had (congratulations, Otis!). I reminded her that
we trapped passengers don't really care what your contract says. We
don't want to be trapped. So what are you doing to fix the problem? I
was assured that they would investigate and get back to me Monday.
Monday
I got a call from a fast-speaking Chinese technician. He was talking
about technical details that I couldn't follow, so I had a friend
chat and translate for me. The technician explained that the load
cell had not been properly calibrated to detect an overload
condition, but now it had been adjusted and all was well. Hurray,
I've done my job.
But
now that I look at the light-hearted photos I took in the elevator to
commemorate the event, I can see the Otis panel indicates it is rated
for 1000 kg and 13 persons. There were 10 of us (my best estimate)
and I think I was the heaviest, well under 100 kg, so the total
should have been well under 1000k kg.
The
problem was a mechanical failure, possibly from underrated equipment
that couldn't handle maybe 900 kg when it should have been able to
handle over 1000 kg. That's not a load cell calibration problem.
The
cheap fix, of course, is to adjust the load cell so the alarm will go
off when there is a 900 kg load, but the elevator is rated for 1000
kg. Come on, guys, fix your elevator!
I
hope Otis understands that they have a problem. Organizations need to
listen carefully to those whose lives they affect. I think the Church
is striving to do this, but all of us at every level in the Church
need to do this with those we affect and work with.
So
tonight, with the help of a friend, I called Otis again and got into
the technical details and insisted that they have a mechanical issue
they need to address. Let's see where this goes. Deliverance, I hope,
for some future group embarking on a three-story cruise. I hope they
are listening. So far, the response has been disappointing.
When
people we can help or should help are trapped, may we respond quickly
in delivering them, and may we take steps to make the way safer for
those who come after. That's what a lot of our work in the Church is
all about, delivering others and making pathways better for those
coming after us.
If
you are facing some form of captivity, it is probably much more
serious than my little misadventure, but the principles of turning to
an outside source for help and deliverance still applies. One call,
one prayer, may not be enough. Be persistent, hang in there, brace
yourself, and keep your knees bent.
Update:
Otis called again today to report the good news that there
was no mechanical problem, just a load cell issue. That's a relief!
The Otis person told me that load cell failed to detect that we were
way overweight since we had 17 people in there. Huh? 17?
We
were around 10 by my count, maybe 11, and looking at the photos,
taken from near the right front of the elevator, I really don't see
how 17 people could be there. There were a couple at the front and
one or two at the side by me that don't show up in the photo, but it
doesn't add up to 17 by my count.
I
asked where they got that number and suggested they go verify the
video footage to see how many came in and out of the elevator. They
are going to check and get back to me. As is so common in elevator
entrapment stories, I remain in suspense.
Hmm, a report of 17
— that sounds like the kind of data manipulation that happens
occasionally to make inconvenient facts fit the desired narrative. If
it can happen to temperatures and inflation data, it can happen to
passenger counts, too.
Seventeen
passengers = load cell problem and easy fix. Ten passengers and
elevator failure (in a unit rated for 13 people and 1000 kg) =
something more troubling.
I told this to my wife, shook my
head, and said that I must be so annoying. "You enjoy this so
much!" was her response. Where do women get these ideas?
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.