Our Nordstroms Elevator Adventure


We went to the mall and got stuck in the elevator at Nordstroms.

Yesterday (the day after Thanksgiving and the busiest shopping day of the year) we decided to join the herd and and do some shopping. We went to TJ Maxx, then Sam's Club and finally the Barton Creek Mall. After an hour or so at the mall, Sam was getting tired and grumpy so we decided to leave. We parked by the side entrance of Nordstroms which apparently is some kind of parking vortex because there was plenty of parking available there. We went through Nordstroms to their elevator to get to the first floor.

We got in the elevator with a very pregnant woman, her two year old, and her mother (as we found out later). I pushed the button and decided that this was either the smoothest elevator I'd ever rode in or it wasn't moving. I pushed the button again and again. Nothing. Then I started to remember that one of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. So I pushed the emergency call button. A recording came on reminding us that we were stuck in an elevator at Nordstroms (thank God for modern technology) and then it hung up on us. This is where I started to get concerned as the pregnant woman looked very pregnant and we soon found out her due date was the next day. I was able to pry the doors open a bit only to discover that we were between floors so getting out on our own probably wasn't an option. I decided that everyone is a little insane and pushed the emergency call button again. This time after the recording ended, a woman came on and asked us what the problem was (as if that wasn't obvious) and where we were. I filled her in and she said a technician would be right over to get us out.

At this point everyone started to accept the fact that we were going to be stuck in the elevator for a while. That is, everyone except the kids. They were just having fun, completely oblivious to the situation. But women that are nine months pregnant with a due date of tomorrow don't get stuck in elevators right? That only happens in the movies right? Wrong. The pregnant woman's mother starts talking about an elevator at her work that plunged several stories before the emergency brakes kicked in. She won't ride in that elevator anymore. I tried my best to convince her that elevators have the best safety record of any form or mechanized travel. It didn't appear to help.

At this point, Sam's getting hungry so Jeannie sits down on the floor to nurse him. It's getting hot because elevators don't have air conditioning so we all starting taking off our sweaters. Except the pregnant woman's mother who unfortunately isn't wearing anything under her sweatshirt so taking it off isn't an option. Petula (the other two year old girl) poops in her diaper to remind us all that elevators are small and have little air circulation. The pregnant woman is trying to help her claustrophobic mother "find a happy place" and I'm trying to recall what I learned in our childbirth class two and a half years ago about doing an emergency delivery.

After about 20 minutes we hear the voice of the tech asking if everyone is OK. To help motivate him to work fast, I let him know we have a pregnant woman that could go into labor at any moment. A few minutes later, the elevator starts moving again and we are back on the 2nd floor. The doors open and we are greeted by a Nordstroms customer service rep who apologizes to us for the inconvenience and give us all coupons for a free meal at the Nordstroms bistro (a place so expensive that I'd only eat there via a free coupon). We still needed to get to the first floor and I was tempted to give the Nordstroms elevator another chance but in the end we decided to try another one. Unfortunately, the closest elevator was at the food court so we started heading in that direction. We were soon greeted by the store manager who again apologized, gave us some really nice bottles of Nordstroms water (yes, they have their own water that comes from a glacier somewhere-and you thought the glaciers were getting smaller due to global warming), balloons for the kids and more meal tickets. I was certainly happy to see that Nordstroms had trained there staff on how to treat those that survive a malfunctioning elevator.

So our trip to the mall started out like any other and ended like no other. That's life.

Posted: Sat - November 29, 2003 at 10:49 AM      

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