I learned something interesting recently from a lift (or elevator to US readers) engineer: In most lifts the 'close doors' button isn't actually connected to anything.

It's what they apparantly call a 'pacifier button' - something that keeps the customers calm because they feel that they are in control of this piece of machinery. But in reality the lift doors will close when the lift's computer says so and not before.

That's why you frequently have to press the close doors button a number of times before it works - or rather, until you coincidentally hit it at the same time as the lift decides to close the doors.

Learning this made me look around for other pacifier buttons, and sure enough I found them on my trip to London this week.

Next time you travel on the London Underground, on one of the reasonably modern trains, you'll see a 'door open' button on every door. Try an experiment: be the one in front of the door as it pulls into the station - and don't press the button. Two things will happen. Firstly, the other passengers will start to get frustrated at you not pressing the button, secondly the doors will open anyway - as will all the other doors on the train. Another experiment can be done from the platform. Look down the leangth of the train as it arrives in the station and you will see that every single set of doors opens at exactly the same time - even if there's nobody in the carriage who could have pressed the button. The train doors open when the train decides to open them, and then they are all operated together. My guess is that the 'Open Doors' button isn't connected to anything either, just like the lift button.

But designers of these machines know that they are dealing with the general public, and they've clearly been advised by some experts on psychology. People like to feel that they are in control. When they don't feel in control they feel stressed, unhappy and possible angry.

Now compare this with many of the other companies we have to deal with in modern life. They're gradually taking away every sense of being in control that their customers have. Decisions are made by the computers ("Computer says no"), any communication involves jumping through numuorous digital obstacles of their devising, and customers are getting increasingly angry about it.

In reality, the call centres are actually much more efficient than when we used to have to traipse into town to go to the bank branch between 9.30am and 3.30pm, but we've lost the feeling of control and it makes us very unhappy.

The pacifier button teaches us the importance of giving the customer some level of control - even if it's an illusion to make them happier about an automated system that is more efficient but which they can't control.

Are there ways in which you can give your customers greater control, or at least the feeling of greater control?

For inspiration, think about the companies you deal with. What frustrates you about dealing with them? How could they give you a greater feeling of being in control.

The pacifier button is a fascinating idea, and a trigger for better customer service.