How to Choose an Elevator Service Company

What exactly is an elevator service contract, and what does it include?

A service contract is an ongoing agreement between the building and a licensed elevator company. Broadly, it says something very simple: you pay a fixed fee, and the company makes sure the elevator works. But as always, there are plenty of small details here worth knowing. So what does a service contract usually include?

• Periodic maintenance visits, usually once every month or two, including preventive servicing, a general inspection, lubrication, adjustment, cleaning and handling of normal wear.
• Handling breakdowns during the company's regular working hours.
• Rescuing passengers from the elevator, 24 hours a day, including Shabbat and holidays.
• Preparation for the periodic certified inspector's inspection, and handling the "elevator inspection report" issued until it is "clean".
• Proper written documentation of every visit and service call, stating what was actually done.

As for payment, the service fee is usually set as an annual sum divided into quarterly payments, index-linked and plus VAT. The contract is usually signed for one year, renews automatically, and can be exited with about three months' written advance notice.

And it's important to know: some things stay the building's responsibility, not the company's. Ordering a certified inspector once every six months and paying for it, locking the machine room, insuring the elevator, a Bezeq line or SIM card for the elevator, and reporting faults immediately. And above all, by law the overall responsibility for the elevator's soundness and safety rests with the building committee and the property owners. Hiring a service company hands off the actual work, but it does not remove your responsibility to make sure that work is really being done.

Three types of contract — what's the difference?

At almost every elevator service company you'll find two plans, and the difference between them is simple: who pays for the work and the parts when they're needed. Think of it like car insurance: you can pay a little more every month and sleep soundly knowing everything is covered, or pay less and take on the cost of the expensive parts yourself when they need replacing. But we also have a third plan. We realized our customers needed another option, one that completely removes the risk of a very high, unexpected expense for the building: Diamond Cover.

Let's go through all three and see exactly what each one means:

And what about the price?

With us a basic service contract starts at around ₪600 a month, and can reach several thousand shekels for taller or more complex elevators. The final price for each building depends on the type of elevator, its age, its condition, its size and the number of floors in the building. A new elevator in a small building and a thirty year old elevator in a high rise tower are two different worlds, and that shows up in the price.

And when you compare prices, look at the big picture. Is the contract you were offered basic or comprehensive? Which parts are excluded? Is the company you are signing with well known and reliable? Will it know how to give your particular elevator the right service, or will you end up disappointed? Very often, going with the cheapest option turns out in hindsight to be a mistake that costs you both time and money.

It is also important to understand that there is a significant price difference between the three coverage plans, and that makes sense, because they cover completely different things. A major part such as replacing the suspension cables can cost close to₪100,000, and on the Diamond plan a cost like that is already included. The broader the coverage, the higher the monthly price.

What separates a company that actually repairs from a company that just "gets the elevator working again"

We hear about service companies where the technician turns up at the building, gives the door a little kick, gets the elevator moving again, and vanishes. A week later the same fault is back, and with it another call-out, another bill, and another resident stuck inside. They treat the "symptoms", but not the "disease". We prefer to diagnose properly, get all the way down to the root of the problem, and cure it. That may take more than one visit, but in the end it saves you a great deal of time and money.

Beyond that, these are the things worth checking with any service company, ours included:

The team that shows up is ours, not some subcontractor picked up along the way. The same team that knows your elevator comes back every time, rather than learning it from scratch at your expense.

Response time and location. This may be the most practical factor of them all. We are strategically located in the heart of the central region, and that translates into very fast response times. From our warehouse we get quickly to Kiryat Ono, Ganei Tikva, Yehud, Or Yehuda, Givat Shmuel and Petah Tikva. When the elevator is stuck, the difference between half an hour and three hours is the difference between night and day for you, and for the whole building.

Access to parts, in advance. One of the first things we do behind the scenes on your behalf is stock our warehouse with parts for your specific elevator. That way, when something happens, in most cases the part is already in our hands.

Professionalism and transparency. Licensed certified technicians, original parts, and a proper report after every visit. You always know what was done to the elevator, and when.