The elevator algorithm

I work at a large company with hundreds of employees and many departments. Most employees are located in buildings that have 3-5 floors, and each floor has 2 elevators. I found it quite strange (and annoying) that, every time I was calling an elevator, one elevator would go up to the floor I was on, while the other elevator would stop at every other floor on the way to my floor, making my ride incredibly long (frequently 10 minutes or more). This would happen during peak hours when people were arriving or leaving (8-10 am and 4-5 pm). <br>I discussed this with my colleagues, who reported the same. The IT infrastructure at this company is cutting-edge and incredibly well-run, so we ruled out bugs in the elevator system. <br>Can anyone explain why this happens?