Need an Elevator Company? Here’s some tips for finding the best one!

Many building owners, homeowners and management companies with vertical transportation equipment face the dilemma of searching for vendors that provide high quality building maintenance services. There are many questions related to what to look for in a company, especially who is most reliable, while providing the best cost and most efficient service. We wanted to provide some tips on how to select the best elevator maintenance company for your vertical transportation device. Some thoughts to consider:

1. What kind of services will you need?
2. How many elevators would you like serviced and in what frequency/capacity?
3. What types of elevators do you have, hydraulic, traction or MRL (machine room-less)? This will affect pricing of service and repairs.
4. Would you prefer a full-maintenance contract or an oil and grease contract?
5. What is the average response time for a general service call?
6. Emergency response times if there is an entrapment?
7. Access to 24/7 emergency personnel/phone line communication?
8. General number of employees servicing the area where your building is located – I.e. how many located in NJ/PA/DE?
9. Technicians ability to have regular parts on hand or in work vehicle.
10. Easy access to office personnel for questions (Accounts Receivable department, Service and Repair departments, Inspection/Permit departments, etc)?
11. Does the company provide training to customers and building facilities personnel on how to operate the elevator, relieve passengers who are trapped, or provide additional general knowledge of operating and sustaining an elevator?
12. Does the office staff have instant connection to the field personnel if there ever is a problem?
13. What does the maintenance contract provide and are the costs associated within your budget?
14. Other than maintenance, does the contract provide liability insurance coverage and other legalities with your machine?
15. Does the company provide a project management department should you want to modernize your elevator?
16. What are the standard billing rates for work completed not within the contract?