Had a job in the late 80s teaching customer service English to the elevator girls and greeters at Datong department store on Chongshan and Wufu Lu in Kaohsiung (lived in the building next door, the one with all the MTVs) . Very nice work- only drawback was you had to be there early, as it was before opening hours, and in those days I usually had a hangover.
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Do you feel being an “elevator girl” would have been a very fulfilling career?
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I googled to see if such jobs still exists, and to my surprise, in 2018 some people were still writing about working as an elevator girl. So I guess prior to the pandemic, you can still find them in department stores outside of the major cities.
One article says the role of the elevator girl was created because at first most customers did not know how to operate the elevators. Since the 80s and the 90s, their primary job is crowd control. I guess when there used to be a lot fewer shopping centers outside major cities, everyone living in suburbs would crowd into just a handful of department stores, especially on the weekends or holidays.
They would attempt to let people with strollers and wheel chairs get in to the elevator first. However, these days, customers are increasingly hostile towards them. Often making remarks such as “why on earth would we still need elevator girls in this day and age?” when they attempt to crowd control. Some customers would refuse instructions and insist on pushing and shoving to get in.
https://www.dcard.tw/f/mood/p/229184012
Also, the starting salary is apparently pretty decent.
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A good way to move up in the world!
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They had to look nice- makeup and hairstyle- and wear a fancy uniform, so it was a good job for many between school and marriage- good way to meet prospective husbands, too. They used to have them at the foot of escalators as well, both to give information and help customers on and off.
Taiwan at the time had many attitudes in common with Japan, among them that the purpose of women in the business world was to be decorative and not be in competition with men for higher jobs.
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Well, they at least make an effort to provide customer service with a smile. Now all we get is zoned out people looking bored out of their minds at the end of Costco escalators helping you free your cart from the treads.
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I guess the role of women has changed in a lot of countries.
Since you mention Japan, the elevator girls were still there last time I was there. They had this weird permasmile and vacant dead eyes, I personally would rather they were not there to be frank.
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MTV is still there. The Department store is the one that burn down a long time ago when I was little. I wonder the MTV is old but seems people go there to see a movie or do other things still. The area now is for student age girls mostly, not sure how was back when the Department store was there.
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This one?
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Wow!!! The one across from central park?
If so, it was beautiful building once. Is that an amusement park on the roof of the building?
Rooftop amusement parks are something else I’d like to know about.
For most of my time in Taiwan that building was a burnt out shell. It was relatively refurbished to something else but I haven’t had time to spend to check it out. When you have a car and the family you really can see very little of a city.
The president’s department store I’m familiar with is located near the cultural center.
They had some pretty nice elevator girls.
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you - you win the internet today!
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You’re making me cry with all the nostalgia!
Yea- it was mostly a kiddie attraction. It was a busy central location back in the day.
I lived in the building directly to the left of it in that picture
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The old Tainan Far Eastern also had a roof top amusement park. The roof top roller coaster brings you over the edge of the roof. As a kid it was super fun.
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Hansioux…
You’re from Tainin…
I lived there briefly off of Linsen Road by the rail road tracks… About 20 years ago.
To kill time, I’d bike wherever.
I stumbled upon something near the coast that looked like an abandoned amusement park or family entertainment park. If I recall correctly, there were grass slopes that looked like they were for skiing or sliding. Don’t know but it looked a bit strange like it was something.
Whatever, it was a great place to sit down, take a rest and have a Mr Brown.
Do you have a clue what I’m talking about?
That looks almost unreal!
It might be this place, used to be called Woozland (悟智樂園)
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After looking at the timeframe, I think it might be this one instead:
The second iteration of this park was at 十二佃, also near the sea.
Yeah I think I remember that name was written somewhere.
Wasn’t the place somewhere near a big rectangular lagoon or something by the port.
Maybe I’m confusing it with an other place. I used to go to a cheap movie theater near some place called Chinatown which I found strange. Having a Chinatown to the Chinese City was a little weird.
Woozland looks pretty cool from the article you sent me. Was it fun?
They’ve broken through the glass ceiling. Climbed up the ladder.
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I would be more concerned if it were ‘where have the elevators gone’?