Bad Timing: Dealing With Broken Elevators in the Summer
June 3, 2015 — Replacing an elevator, especially in a building with only one, is no small feat. It's an exercise in organization, planning, coordination, and damage control — lots of damage control. Timing is everything with any major capital improvement project, but sometimes there's no way around it: if your elevator breaks down and the only real, cost-effective fix is replacement, it's going to be a long and grueling process. And people are going to complain, especially now that the days are turning hot and humid.
It takes anywhere between six and eight weeks to replace an elevator, and that doesn't include the period when you are waiting for an inspection by the city. When they are able to plan ahead and schedule the project, savvy boards try to avoid tackling this kind of task during summer. Nobody wants to climb up several flights of stairs on a hot, steamy day.
Here are some tips on how to ease the pain, especially if the elevator decides to go kaput just as temperatures start hitting lows of 88 with 100 percent humidity.
Curb the rage. Boards will need to brace themselves for complaints, and regardless of how unfair or annoying they might find it, they should be empathetic with building residents. Trudging groceries and laundry up and down the stairs for weeks can make anyone irritable. However, board members and property managers can curb the rage by keeping residents in the know.
E-mail. Send out an e-mail blast letting building residents know what's happened to the elevator and why it needs to be fixed immediately. Consider holding a meeting, too, with the contractor you've hired so residents can ask questions.
Remember information reduces angst. Send residents regular updates by e-mail or slip notes under their doors. Post updates in public places — particularly near the offending elevator.
Contact the FDNY. Be sure to inform the fire department that an elevator will be out of service, especially if elderly residents live in the building or if there is only one elevator.
Pad the schedule. Add an extra week or two into the timeline. Unexpected complications like a missing part or an inspection delay can add a week. If residents expect the job to take six weeks and it stretches into seven, tensions flare.
Have extra staff standing by. Be prepared to either hire additional porters and doormen, or schedule more hours of overtime for the ones already on staff. Let residents know when extra staff will be available to help carry groceries or strollers upstairs. If elderly residents need assistance climbing up, hire another porter.
Goodwill doesn’t cost anything. Place a chair at every landing so a weary resident can stop and take a break if necessary. But make sure the chair is not a fire safety hazard. Let residents park strollers or leave packages in the lobby until they can be brought up later. Losing an elevator is an enormous inconvenience, but a little compassion goes a long way.