When Your Elevator Vendor Won't Return Your Calls: A Procurement Story

It started with a stuck elevator. And a voicemail. And then another voicemail.

I'm the office administrator for a mid-sized company—about 400 people across three office buildings. I manage all our facility service contracts, including elevator maintenance. Roughly $80,000 annually across 12 vendors. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I inherited a mess of contracts. Most were fine. But our elevator vendor? A different story.

Our main building has two elevators and one escalator. Service was bundled with a major provider—let's call them Vendor X (not KONE). For the first year, it was fine. Routine. Boring, even. But then the phone stopped getting answered.

Here's the timeline (circa 2023):

• Monday, 9 AM: Elevator 2 makes a weird grinding sound. I call Vendor X. Left a message.
• Tuesday, 11 AM: No callback. I call again. 'We'll have someone call you back.'
• Wednesday, 3 PM: The grinding stops. The elevator just stops. Tenants are stuck on the 4th floor for 45 minutes.
• Thursday, 10 AM: Vendor X finally sends a technician. He fixes it in 20 minutes. Loose part.

A 20-minute fix took 3 days to get someone on site. That's not maintenance. That's crisis management.

The Cost of Reactive Maintenance

The loose part was a symptom. The real issue was that Vendor X was running a reactive model—they'd show up after something broke. And they charged a premium for it.

I tracked the costs over 6 months:

• After-hours callouts: 4 (at $400-600 each)
• Rush part replacements: 2 (at 1.5x standard pricing)
• Lost productivity (estimated): 12 hours of downtime across all buildings
• Tenant complaints: Countless

It's tempting to think a big national provider has it all figured out. But their 'standard' response time was 24-48 hours. For a broken elevator in a commercial building. That's not a standard—it's a gamble.

The Search for a New Provider

I started evaluating alternatives in early 2024. My criteria were simple:

1. Reliable response time (under 4 hours for critical issues)
2. Transparent pricing—no hidden after-hours premiums
3. Preventive maintenance included in the contract (not optional)

I looked at three providers. One was KONE. Honestly, I'd dismissed them initially—I thought they only did new installations for big construction projects. But a colleague in another company mentioned they also service existing equipment.

(Side note: this is where I made a mental note to actually read the full service catalog next time. Assumptions cost time.)

I called KONE's customer care line. The phone was answered by a human in under 2 minutes. That was a start.

The KONE Proposal: What They Offered

Their proposal had two parts I hadn't seen from the old vendor:

1. 24/7 Remote Monitoring – Their system (I think it's tied to something called Ecodisc®) monitors elevator performance in real-time. They can spot anomalies before they become breakdowns.
2. Fixed Maintenance Schedule – Monthly preventive visits, not just 'on-call' response. This included a checklist of 30+ inspection points (I asked for the list—they provided it).

The pricing was comparable to what we were paying Vendor X, but with fewer line-item surprises. Setup fees were included in the annual contract (no nasty $500 'account setup' charge).

I asked the KONE rep: 'What happens if something breaks on a Saturday?' She said: 'We have a 4-hour response guarantee for critical issues. It's in the contract.'

That's a concrete promise. Vendor X's contract said 'best effort.' There's a difference.

The Switch (and the Transition)

We moved our contract to KONE in Q2 2024. The transition took about 3 weeks—they needed to assess the existing equipment (our elevators were from a different manufacturer, but KONE services most brands, which I didn't realize beforehand).

The first 3 months were quiet. Too quiet. I almost missed the chaos. But the monthly reports started coming in: 'Elevator 1: brake adjustment performed. Elevator 2: door sensor recalibrated. Escalator: chain tension checked.'

No breakdowns. No tenant complaints. No urgent calls to my phone at 6 PM on a Friday.

In our Q4 review, I asked the KONE rep: 'How many emergency callouts have we had so far this year?' She looked at the record. 'Zero.'

Honestly, I didn't know if I should be relieved or suspicious. But then I thought: that's the point of preventive maintenance. It's boring—until it saves you from a crisis. (Note to self: boring is actually good in facility management.)

What I Learned

Most people don't think about elevator service until the elevator stops working. That's the problem. The 'always get three quotes' advice ignores the value of a vendor who proactively prevents problems.

Here's what I'd tell another admin buyer:

• Check the response time clause. If it says 'best effort' or 'within 24 hours,' ask what happens when it's 4 PM on a Friday.
• Ask about remote monitoring. If they can't tell you what's happening with your equipment between visits, you're paying for reactive service.
• Verify invoicing compatibility. This is a weird one, but Vendor X used a confusing billing system that our finance team hated. KONE sent clear, itemized invoices. Our accounting team saved 3 hours monthly just on that.

Is KONE perfect? No. I'm sure they have their own issues. But at least they answer the phone. And my tenants can get to the 4th floor without a staircase workout.

Pricing information based on KONE proposal received Q2 2024; verify current rates. Vendor X comparison drawn from internal records.