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Overheard a building super say elevator mechanics just push buttons and collect checks
That guy has clearly never spent a Friday night elbow deep in a 30-year-old hydraulic unit in a basement with no heat while trying to figure out why the relief valve is chattering.
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leet324mo ago
Oh man, I've seen that exact thing happen at a midrise I used to work at... we had this older Otis unit that would throw a code every few weeks. The mechanic would roll in, jab the test button with a screwdriver, and boom it was fine for another month. Charged us 150 bucks and a trip fee every time. I finally just watched him do it twice and started doing it myself... saved the building a good chunk of change over the year. But I still had to call him for the real stuff like when the door operator got out of sync.
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adam_anderson63mo ago
Jabbing the test button with a screwdriver" - classic. I'm pretty sure that's how I'd fix my own car too if I was brave enough (I'm not, I'd probably short something out and make it worse). But hey, at least you saved some cash before the real problem showed up.
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stella3074mo ago
Play along with this for a second. Imagine you're the super at a fancy high rise where the elevator breaks down once a week, and you just call the same guy who shows up, jiggles a wire, charges $200, and leaves. Half the time he doesn't even open his toolbox, he just pushes the reset button on the controller and it works again. The owner pays him a retainer just to keep his number on speed dial, so his whole career is basically collecting a check for being available. I'm not saying all elevator work is easy, but there's definitely a corner of the industry where it's just pushing buttons and cashing in.
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