Building owners rely on their resident “elevator expert,” usually the elevator service company for information on the health and status of their elevators. It’s akin to the situation when one brings his or her car into the proverbial car mechanic. 
Sometimes it’s not clear what’s actually wrong, and sometimes you can be “taken for a ride” do to your lack of knowledge. The problem is that you – as the car owner, or the building owner – don’t have the skill and expertise needed to evaluate what’s really going on.
A Typical Conversation between Mechanic and Owner
Here’s a typical conversation:
A “building owner’s” car (a.k.a., elevator) is making an odd noise, so the building owner takes his car into a mechanic. The mechanic (a.k.a., elevator service company) takes a look, “fixes” the car, and the conversation goes something like this:
Mechanic says “I fixed it, that will be $2,000”.
Building owner pays the $2,000 and drives away. Three hours later, the noise starts up again, so the building owner goes back to the mechanic and says, ““the noise is back.”
The mechanic takes a look at the car, fixes it, and says “I fixed it, that will be $5,000.”
Building owner says, “What did you do?”
Mechanic says “The drive pulley needed tweaking”.
The building owner wonders what is a drive pulley. But the car is working without the noise, so he pays and leaves. Two days later, the building owner hears the noise again, and goes back to the mechanic.
Building owner says “The noise is back. Fix it.”
Mechanic looks at the car, fixes it, and says “I fixed it, that will be $12,000”.
Building owner says “WHAT!!??!!”
Mechanic says “Yep, I fixed it that will be $12,000.”
Building owner says “What did you do?”
Mechanic says “The drive pulley needed replacing.”
The building owner has no choice but to pay. Five days later, the noise returns, and the building owner has to bring the car back to the repair shop.
And so the cycle repeats – whether it’s cars, or whether it’s elevators. The “elevator service company” knows a lot more than the owner, and the owner can be “taken for a ride.” What happens with cars can also happen with your elevators. Building owners and management are vulnerable when it comes to elevators and other vertical transportation assets in their buildings.
Ending the Vicious Cycle
This scenario can be what happens with the elevators, escalator, lifts, etc. of the buildings. The building owner probably doesn’t know what a drive pulley is or the function of the drive pulley on his car just as the building owner or property manager does not understand the mechanicals of the elevators or escalators in their building. Building owners sell the building with these problems, and property managers move on to new buildings leaving the existing problems. This is a vicious cycle that happens on a daily basis to buildings. This is one of the problems The Elevator Consultants solves; we end the vicious cycle.
Elevator Consulting: Hire the Experts
As experts in elevators, we can assist building owners to “not be taken for a ride” and to truly understand the status of their elevators and other vertical assets in any building – before, during, and after a sale. If you’re looking for an elevator consultant to help, reach out to us for a consultation today.