Ghosts of Christmas Elevators – With this Thanksgiving being one of the weirdest in holiday history, I felt moving right into Christmas was a great idea. By the way, be patient I will get to elevators.
One of my favorite collections of holiday movies comes from the time tested Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Whether it is Bill Murray in Scrooged, George C. Scott, Reginald Owen or Scrooge McDuck it is a great story. It tells of a bitter, greedy and disillusioned Ebenezer Scrooge and the four apparitions that visit him.
The ghosts are charged with the last ditch effort to reclaim Ebenezer’s soul from an eternal, tortuous walk in chains around the earth as penance. It is a story of hope and reclamation. “I am here to-night to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate.” Marley said. But would Scrooge heed the words of the mercurial spirits that came to sway his life decisions?
We all would like to think that we have the ability to change our minds or reform our thinking. However, part of the appeal of Scrooge is it hits closer to home that we would like to acknowledge. Ultimately, we all tend towards intransigence in our lives. Unfortunately, much like the lead character of the book. We walk the same paths, and make the same decisions over and over. In other words, we start doing something a certain way and there we are, stuck in the mud just like good ol’ Ebenezer. Change? Bah-humbug!
In my shortened version of the “movie” in this blog, I get to play the part of Marley. There I am wandering about with an over-sized ring of elevator keys jangling from my waist as I materialize in your presence. “You will be visited by elevator consultants of the past, present and future at the stroke of one, two and three.” I moan with my mouth agape. Unlike in the classic you get to decide whether you will change your mind or perspective on the past, present and future of the elevator industry, and thank goodness not the fate of your potentially wandering soul. And so it begins.
As the clock strikes one, you feel a nervous sweat drenching your brow. What will the early morning hold for you and your visitors or was the first visit all a dream just brought on by a bit of “undigested beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese or a fragment of an underdone potato”? Could it all be true? But then with great fanfare enters the Ghost of Elevator Consultants Past. This jovial spirit reminds you of the elevators of years ago and how you were once filled with joy at the prospect of considering new and exciting technology in the industry. Thinking outside of the box was a delight.
Now it seems the business is the same old, same old, cut and paste and you are part of it. The life of exploring a better technology and improved methods was not something to hide from just a few years ago; it was something to embrace leading to newer and better. You are then shown through the spirit, that the old-fashioned conventional elevator model as a broken down relic of times past and a new faster, safer, greener and less expensive alternative, off the building project’s critical path is available if you are willing and able. You are reminded that elevators have not changed in how they are built since the 1860’s…or have they?
At the strike of two the Ghost of Elevator Consultant Present takes you by the hand and whisks you away to elevator projects in the midst of the building process where unsafe conditions of heavy lifting, scaffolding in hoistways and open shaft entrances make for unnecessary injuries. On that conventional job-site the sounds of drama and argument fills the air as bickering constantly exists between various trades. They squabble over pit ladders, electrical runs and limited site storage. But, then in a flash, you see with your own eyes a complete elevator set in place (hoistway and all the components installed inside) in a couple hours, up and running in a couple of days. No arguing, no waste and no unsafe conditions. You can’t help but shed a tear over the waste of time, materials, general costs and resources when you compare one with the other.
Finally, at the strike of three the third ghost appears. He quietly points a bony finger to the factory where modular elevators are manufactured. You effortlessly glide overhead to see there is less waste and more efficiency. The team on the factory floor work together in harmony on the production line with jigs, templates and quality control measures that ensures a plumb and square hoistway every time and easy installation of components. The only heavy-lifting is done by cranes and forklifts making everything safe and easy. Time then passes forward in a blur revealing the elevator being trucked to a job site and swung into place. The process is done in a flash; safer, faster, greener and less expensive. Is this future just a dream?
As you and the apparition drift weightlessly over the job site and back towards the factory, you see smiling faces of the elevator technicians, the building owner, the architect the project manager, and GC. They have seen all the benefits of the high-quality commercial elevator made in a most unconventional way. Modular elevators have changed their lives for the better. It is a reality.
You release the robe of the last phantom and realize it is again the present day and now you recognize where he has placed you, at the door of MEM the most experienced and best modular elevator manufacturer in the world. Now the choice is yours, do you reject the past and embrace the future of building today? It is not too late! You still have time!
And if you choose modular as it says in the Christmas Carol (with my changes), “some people may laugh to see the alteration in your thinking, but let them laugh, and heed them little; for you were wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset.” But in the long run they and others as well will come to know that for any low or mid-rise building a modular elevator is the absolute best choice.
If you are curious, but don’t want me to show up in your bedroom with three ghosts or if you are ready for a change feel free to contact us for more information. And for a Fast Track budget number click the button below. Hope you liked the story! – Happy Holidays from your MEM – Quality elevators taking you to a higher level.