My grandfather used to repeatedly press the up or down button as if that would make the elevator arrive faster. To my mom that was one more illustration of what a dumb stupid idiot her father was.
There are walk signal buttons that work. Near where I live there is a place where a bike path crosses a busy street. If you press that one it takes effect right away. It used to start two-minute cycle. There was almost always a break in traffic before that was finished, leaving drivers to wonder who the fuck they were stopping for.