Elevator warranty versus maintenance

We receive correspondences from customers from time to time indicating they have questions on bills because they have just modernized their elevator equipment and it should be under warranty.  One in particular was a building who replaced their door operator and power unit and believe that all the service calls for their elevator should be covered.  The building went so far as to cancel their maintenance agreement with the elevator maintenance provider they had been using previous to our involvement to save funds.  While the conversation of warranty vs maintenance does not occur very frequently, it does happen, and we have to explain the difference between warranty and maintenance each time.  Each project is a little different so circumstances are always unique to the building.

We always encourage buildings to make sure they have a watchful eye on their elevator equipment.  When we fully modernize an elevator electrically and mechanically we will complete maintenance visits for the first year in conjunction with the one year warranty.  The perceptual black hole occurs when buildings do a little of this one year and a little of that the next year until their elevator is fully modernized.

Definitions

Warranty – a written guarantee, issued to the purchaser of an article by its manufacturer, promising to repair or replace it if necessary within a specified period of time.

Preventative maintenance - Preventative maintenance (or preventive maintenance) is maintenance that is regularly performed on a piece of equipment to lessen the likelihood of it failing. Preventative maintenance is performed while the equipment is still working, so that it does not break down unexpectedly.

I go to many condominium meetings and I know buildings always have funding challenges. Most buildings have good intentions when they take action and may not be informed on the implications of their decisions.

Building owner thought process – We are spending a lot of money on changing the elevator equipment I believe the company’s warranty should cover our service calls.

Elevator Company thought process – The building only changed 30% of their equipment and the service call was for a component they choose to retain.

Take away – Talk to the elevator company about what is covered and what is not covered prior to entering into an agreement.  Talk about what happens. It is better to have the conversation before so everyone is on the same page. 

If you have any questions or would like information from Colley Elevator you can go to www.colleyelevator.com, email Craigz@colleyelevator.com or call 630-766-7230.