
A person standing in front of you on an elevator who is getting off at the same floor as you. But then when the door opens they signal the sweeping hand motion to indicate for you to get off first. While this is nice, I find it minorly annoying. Now I have to rush out of the elevator, because this person is standing right there waiting.
It’s like when there’s only one car at stop sign and they indicate for you to cross. But then you have to hurry, because the car is waiting. I’d much rather just have that car go and for me to take my time across the street.
Maybe I just have no elevator manners.

Similarly, although I don’t mind chivarly entirely, some of it is pretty pointless. This includes the ‘elevator signal’ you mentioned. People, it’s just an elevator. I’m going to be in it less than a minute. I don’t care whether I get on first or not!
this sort of thing happens to me very often as a woman. men signal for me to get in/out of the elevator first, in/out of doors first, in/out of grocery aisles first, etc. i also find this annoying, especially when it’s not logical, like when the man is closer to the door anyway.
however, i am a hypocrite. when men go first automatically in front of me, i find myself thinking, “how impolite!” i guess i am hard to please 😉
what i find particularly annoying is some people’s choice of where to stand in the elevator. Sometimes when i’m the first person in, the second person will be facing me. There’s the unspoken rule that everyone in the elevator faces the doors. I don’t like strangers staring at me waiting for a conversion or something. Who do they think they are? Barbara Walters, David Letterman? Ted Koppel? Bruce Clark? geez.
It’s a suburban thing. Us folks in the city, we don’t look at each other. We don’t look at each other on the L. We don’t look at each other on the sidewalk. And certainly NOT on the elevator. Nobody has ever just faced the wrong way in the Chicago Tribune elevator. Never. If they did, i’m sure the other person would just sock ’em in the nose.
the other thing that drives me nuts is when people stand to close to me in the check out line at the grocery store. the line doesn’t move any faster when someone is standing on your heels.