Cheap comprehensive maintenance contracts, but expensive repairs!

Many lift companies offer low-cost maintenance contracts but charge excessive repair fees, locking customers into costly agreements. Traditi

Over the last couple of years, there has developed a widespread model of lift companies proposing cheaper and cheaper comprehensive lift maintenance contracts so customers can save a few hundred dollars. Lift companies then lock their customers into long term maintenance agreements and charge excessively for repairs. When the excessive repair costs are factored into the overall cost of maintenance the conclusion appears to be that customers are simply being exploited!

It is time for full disclosure, I established and own a medium sized lift maintenance company. My opinions could be simply dismissed as a competitor’s opinion or viewed as an insider with serious knowledge of how the lift industry is now operating. You will need to check my claims and make your own judgements.

Traditionally, 20 years ago, lift companies, in today’s money, were charging around 15-20K for a low rise lift comprehensive agreement. The going rate today for a comprehensive agreement is around 4-5K. This might appear that people were paying too much back then and that lift companies were making a fortune. A closer look paints a very different picture.

Previously, a comprehensive agreement meant just that, apart for abuse or natural disasters, everything was included, new motor replacements, control systems and re-roping lifts etc. Sometimes lift companies lost money for years on a contract and worked on averages of good and bad lifts to make a profit. Currently, the cost of a comprehensive agreement is so low that it is obvious something must have changed or companies would all be broke! Apart from comprehensive agreements now how having exclusions for obsolescence or items that have reached the end of their reasonable working lift, most companies are now marking up the cost of repairs by many times to make significant margins to cover inefficiencies and dividends.

We commonly have lift owners and body corporates contacting us for a second opinion on a repair price. Generally, our repair quotes are 25% to 60% less than the international companies and we are still making a moderate return.

Just to cap things off, apart from excessive repair costs, there is little incentive for a company with contracted and locked in customers to provide quality customer service and fast repairs. Lifts are often left out of service for many days or weeks for minor repairs or answers to questions.

A simple solution to the above disturbing trends is to find a lift company that does not lock in customers for long periods of time so you can shop around for repair costs if you think a price is unfair.

All the best with your lifts!

Andrew Lewis
Director

Published: January 10, 2025