5-10minute reads

June 2024 – True story! (NB The elevator was not the model depicted in the photo above)

I am a Property Manager. It is part of my job to go into empty houses and in preparation for them to be ready for a new tenant, to do an Entry Inspection. We use company supplied IPADS . The job consists of taking photos and videos of the state of the home with our IPADS and depending on the size of the home this job can take 1-2 hours. The tenants had signed the tenancy on Monday and they were moving in Wednesday so for this property, it meant a quick turnaround.

Around 3.45pm it was getting noticeably colder and getting progressively darker on this dreary, wet winter Tuesday, so I decided I would pop down and inspect the garage/laundry before it got too cold, then to return to the upstairs, where the last of the sun would keep the room a little warm, I hoped, as I finished my task.

So I stepped into the internal elevator in the house, which would take me downstairs (there were no internal stairs) and I pressed the knob marked DOWN.

I waited. Nothing happened. I pressed it again. Again, nothing.

So then I tried the door, but oh no, that was locked now.

I quickly realised I was stuck in this lift.

There were no signs in the lift as to what to do,  just a white panel in front of me with buttons UP – STOP – DOWN. And an 0800 number which was no use to me. You see, I had my IPAD to take photos but it couldn’t make phone calls, and I didn’t take my cellphone into the elevator – after all, I had only planned on popping downstairs for a few minutes!

So after pressing buttons again and nothing happening, I sat down and started going through my IPAD. As a work tool, internet access was very limited. I wondered about the programme we used for our Inspections. Was it cloud based? Was I online when I worked on it? Would their HELP icon work in this situation? I knew that when I was based at my office desk, the business acted fast when they replied to our queries via their HELP icon. And I knew they were based in Australia which I thought could be very helpful if I was still stuck there after 5pm New Zealand time, as they would be at least 3 hours behind us.

I accessed the HELP icon and quickly shot an email message through saying where I was, and it went “whoosh”. I hoped that meant it went through.

Meanwhile it was after 5pm and getting quite a bit colder. I had been in the lift for at least an hour by now.

I said to God, ”Okay God, You are in charge of my life and I trust You. I can stay here if I have to. Someone will find me eventually but it would be really awesome if I could go home soon, my dogs will be getting hungry.”

I got myself as comfortable as I could on the carpeted square floor, hoping I could sleep the time away if need be. Then, only a little time later, I heard a loud ‘click’.

I tried the door and it opened!

I tell you, it was the strangest form of elation – opening the door to “freedom”, was simply opening a door into a hallway of an empty, now cold house.

So then I still needed to finish the Inspection – tomorrow the tenants were moving in! This time, I grabbed my phone and IPAD and returned to the elevator.

This time, when the lift didn’t work again, I rang the 0800 number on the panel and the Lift Technician talked me through. That is a very unusual error, he admitted, and it shouldn’t happen again, but he promised to take a look at it first thing in the morning.

I finally finished the Report and I was soooo glad to get home to my HUGE little house!

For a moment, I had wondered what had happened to my HELP message, but when I got home I sure found out! Barely had I unlocked the door of my house and greeted my pets, when bing, bing, bing, bing! Suddenly, my cellphone started and wouldn’t stop for almost an hour – calls/texts/messages – from the North Island, from my Manager at my local office, from the business overseas in Australia – “are you still stuck in the lift??”

My Wifi had kicked in, and the HELP message was finally sent.

What a day! I was soo grateful to God for rescuing me. I was equally grateful to my work for their quick response and genuine care for me (once they heard).

One last question remained and wasn’t answered until the technician looked at the unit the next day. After he had posted a notice in the elevator, with very clear instructions on what to do ‘in the case of emergency’, I felt I knew the answer but nonetheless, I just had to ask him,

“So.. is there a reset button on the unit so that after a set time the door will just click and reopen?” I asked.

“No,” he said, “probably a design flaw, that”.

I smiled to myself and quietly praised my God who performed a miracle. Not only did I not spend a minute longer than I had to stuck in a broken elevator, but furthermore, my dogs still got their dinner on time!