Does pushing the “door close” button on an elevator do any good?

If you’re tempted to push that “door-close” button on the elevator - don’t bother. 

More often than not, it won’t make any difference. In most elevators, that button is either non-functioning or will only work in an emergency. Even if it is functional, it won’t close right away, so repeatedly pushing it is really pointless.

In older elevators, when that button malfunctions, it probably won’t get fixed as it doesn’t interfere with operation. In modern elevators, the operator in charge has the option to override that function - and usually takes advantage of that, especially for busy elevators. If your “close door” button works, consider yourself lucky - and two seconds richer.