California Home Elevator

Earlier this year we found CHE on the web. It was difficult to find anyone who did work on dumb waiters. Shortly after initial contact a technician showed up at our house to look at the dumb waiter. That visit cost about $400. The technician decided that the motor was the problem and that they would have to remove it to have it repaired. That required yet another visit. Given that both my wife and I work, each visit was an inconvenience although sometimes we were able to have our housekeeper meet the technician. When the technician took the motor on the next visit we were told they would have to take it to a specialty shop for repair. That was the last we heard from CHE for several weeks. We called the office several times and texted and called the techinician we first dealt with. When we finally got a hold of the technician he told us he was not the one who actually removed the motor and that it was another technician. When we finally got a hold of that technician he told us the repair house was taking its time, he couldn't get to it, etc.--we were given a rich variety of excuses. Meanwhile we finally got through to the office and they gave us excuses--"we really don't know what the technician did, who he took it to, etc.". And, as with the technicians, I found myself talking to multiple people at the office, each of whom blamed the other ("shes new and I'm training her", etc.). After several weeks of this I demanded that they return the motor and install it. That began a new round of discussions about who could do that, when they could come, etc. We were now about 2 1/2 months into this and the dumbwaiter was no better than when we first called CHE. Finally, after another couple of weeks they agreed to return the motor without installing it. They dropped the motor at the house with our housekeeper. I later had an electrician look at the motor and the dumbwaiter. He was shocked to see that CHE had just cut off the wiring rather than properly disassembling the motor from its housing. And CHE had managed to take out the pulleys and several other parts that now could not be found. At that point there was nothing he could do without the missing parts. To my dismay I had to call CHE again. I got through to a human being after only about 10 calls this time. The lady on the phone promised me that her guys were the right ones to reinstall the motor and that a regular electrician would "just screw it up". I foolishly trusted her. Again the technician comes out and takes our motor. In the space of the next two weeks I was told we needed an entirely new motor. Perhaps two weeks later when yet another CHE technician came to reinstall the motor the new verdict was "Oh there's nothing wrong with your original motor. It's some other parts of the system that need to be replaced." I was beyond being shocked that it had now taken them nearly 5 months to come to this startling conclusion. When I asked the 1st of the 3 technicians how much this new work would cost, he sent me a single-line proposal that said "replace contacts--$3,500". I was floored. I texted and e-mailed him that this was exorbitant. He did not answer any of these texts and e-mails. After enduring silence for a while I finally told them to just bring the motor back and that my wife and I would learn to live without a dumbwaiter. I heard nothing in response. Instead one day at work I got a call from the CHE office telling me the technician was outside the house waiting for someone to answer the door. I told her that no one from CHE told me they would be there that day and so of course there was no one to answer the door. She said the technician had been in touch with me about this. I offerered to send her screen shots of the texts I'd sent to the technician to show I'd gotten no response from him in more than a week. Finally I had the technician return the motor when someone was home. He had the nerve to demand that my wife sign some form--which I have every intention of contesting--claiming that CHE had "done work" on the motor and dumb waiter. In fact, all they did was remove it and drive it around for a while. The motor is sitting in my garage shorn of its connecting wires, parts are still missing and the dumb waiter still doesn't work. In 22 years of home ownership covering two homes this is THE WORST contractor experience we have ever had.