Service Maintenance Agreements - Part Two: The Customer Experience
If you haven’t already, we hope you read our first blog post which provided a general overview on Elevator Maintenance Agreements and found it helpful. Now let’s pick up where we left off with additional information about Maintenance (Service) & Repair.
Like many service industries, there are two direct costs associated with providing maintenance – labor and materials. These costs can hit the job (aka agreement or contract) in two different ways – service and repair. Let’s discuss both in more detail within the elevator industry:
MAINTENANCE
When I started in the industry in 2008, it was common for a mechanic to perform maintenance monthly at a minimum. Some gearless elevators were even scheduled for weekly visits! At that time, customers generally had good relationships with their elevator service providers, especially their elevator mechanics. The mechanics had time to do what was required of them and could resolve issues quickly. There were fewer service calls because they were performing consistent pro-active maintenance. As we discussed in our first blog, most maintenance agreements lack specifics when it comes to service frequency.
Fast forward - in the late-2000s and early-2010s, most of the major elevator companies began to “optimize” their service routes. In some cases, service contracts were pulled and if they did not have a specific number of frequency service visits, the route visits would be adjusted. For example, if a customer had a single hydraulic elevator without a specific number of service visits specified in the agreement, it might change from monthly visits to quarterly visits. Some elevator companies shifted to three visits per year. One visit of which was 1/10th of an hour for fire service testing – 1/10th! That’s six minutes! Now, it’s unlikely quarterly fire service testing is even included in your agreement.
As a result, many mechanics were given unrealistic expectations, sometimes being responsible for 200+ elevators. Even if the number of service calls per elevator remained the same, that’s potentially two or three times more service calls. Unfortunately, that doesn’t include keeping up with annual or quarterly fire service testing and/or code inspection reports – or allow much time to communicate with customers.
In fairness, it is not all the fault of the elevator companies. There has been a downward pressure in the industry overall, on maintenance pricing. Pricing was really pushed down during the Great Recession. Companies did not want to lose their customers, so they were willing to cut maintenance prices at that time. The reality is that costs continue to rise and this is not sustainable. A lot of the strategies described above were intended to offset the rising costs, but in many situations, it has been at the expense of the customer experience, the relationship and the elevator well-being.
MAINTENANCE REPAIRS
There are two different types of elevator maintenance repairs – “billable” and “non-billable”:
Billable repairs. These are typically repairs that are not covered by your maintenance agreement. For example, control boards, door operators, complete assemblies, major equipment and sometimes testing. Although proposals for billable repair work may be necessary, they should always come with a conversation from your service provider.
Non-billable repairs. These are typically repairs that are included (or covered) in your service agreement for example, rollers, gibs, contacts, buttons, limit switches and all minor components and consumables that require replacement due to normal wear and tear.
It is important that you understand the impact of elevator maintenance repairs as part of your service agreement. Here are three customer stories that highlight their experiences in real-life situations (buildings names have changed):
Salmon Building - Hydraulic Jack Seals. Washington Elevator recently partnered with a landlord of a corporate campus with six elevators. The tenant is a major tech company, and the landlord (and their tenant) became frustrated with their service provider, the OEM of the equipment. When our team initially surveyed the equipment, two of the six elevators had been down for months, requiring piston seals on their telescoping jacks. The elevator company was contractually obligated to replace these as part of the service agreement coverage and eventually they did, but from the customer perspective, only after a long frustrating fight and with extensive downtime.
Shortly thereafter, Washington Elevator was fortunate enough to begin our service partnership with the landlord. As part of our partnership, we discussed the potential for additional repairs that may still be needed, a plan to proactively budget for repairs, and we clearly explained they would not be covered in our service agreement due to the inherent design.
Cod Building - Motor. A condominium had a full-service maintenance agreement with the OEM. When the elevator motor failed, their service provider locked the elevator off and stated it was due to problems with the incoming building power, stating it caused the motor to fail. The condominium hired an electrician, who refuted their service company’s claim. Eventually both an elevator consultant and a lawyer were also hired by the Board. The elevator was down for over six months during the ongoing disputes.
Washington Elevator was asked by the elevator consultant, who agreed with the building electrician, to partner with the condominium on repairs. We removed the motor and had it repaired. The repaired motor was reinstalled within weeks with no further issues and we returned the elevator to service.
Halibut Building - Door Equipment. An apartment building had both elevators down for over eight months. The equipment was obviously in need of improvement, but the elevator service provider told them the elevators could not be returned to service without a door equipment upgrade and no other options were considered. Due to lengthy equipment lead times the upgrade was put on the shelf without a temporary plan.
While we agreed the door equipment needed to be upgraded, Washington Elevator was hired to troubleshoot repair options to get at least one elevator back in service. Using “old-school, dirty- glove, hands-on-equipment-repair approach”, we were able to return an elevator to service until upgrades could be completed. The residents were very grateful to have a working
Washington Elevator’s service philosophy requires a change in perspective. If you have more questions I would love to talk to you, please feel free to reach out to me, Sean.