Hello all,

Appreciate your thoughts -

The lift in our block is being "refurbished" -

They started on 17th November 2011 and it was scheduled to be finished on 23rd December 2011 - it is still not complete. I have never known anything like it, and I gives me the impression that the Swiss are just pure lazy and have the wrong work ethic in getting things done. They have not taken the opportunity to work on a Satruday from 08h00 until 17h00, and did not even bother coming in yesterday to get stuff done. (Yes, people may be on annual leave, but surely a planned scope of works shoudl be given to the residents??).

To cap it off, my Wife is 37 weeks pregnant and to get outside has to ascend/descend 7 flights of stairs each time.

Do I complain to the letting agent (who to be frank is VERY Swiss and has not heard the word customer service) or just have to put up with it as a complaint will not be understood nor be acted upon.

BTW, they claim that they will give CHF200 for the inconvenience.

I really don't think I am being too demanding here (others may disagree), but welcome your thoughts.

I really feel for your wife! when I was pregnant at times our lift would break down usually on a Sat morning (so all weekend and we were 5th floor) and I was in my late stages of pregnancy

I would complain but as you say swiss customer service can be lacking and I think 200CHF is not much of a compensation - 7 floors!!

We are on the third floor, but it feels like 7 !

I will write a mail to the letting agent and see what happens, but I am resigned to the fact that they could not give a monkey's toss - as long as the rent is paid.....

Yes you should complain

If you've ever refurbished anything mechanical yourself, you will understand that there is no way to know what the job will involve until you actually start on it. So any dates, times, costs given in advance are only estimates. Ten days' overrun is also not that much, especially over the Christmas holidays: suppliers are out of the office, the postal service is swamped so orders take longer to arrive, and in general it's just that much harder to get anything done.

Even at other times of year, ten days could mean the guy found out he needs a rarely-replaced part and has to wait for a supplier to send it. It could mean it's a small company and the guy who was assigned to your job came down with flu for a week, or was called away to a critical job somewhere else. Who knows? Or maybe one of his other jobs is taking longer than expected, in a building with nine floors. If he has a choice between making you wait a week and making the residents of that building wait a week...

In short, I wouldn't draw conclusions, or even entertain serious suspicions, about a whole country's work ethic based on this one incident. There are too many other possible explanations.

But yes, go ahead and complain (nicely!) to the agent. I doubt you'll see any direct results - he's already offered compensation, what else do you want him to do? - but it gives him ammunition to go and complain to the lift company. "Look, you need to finish this job. Tenants are complaining, I have a 37 weeks pregnant lady on the top floor etc." Depending what the actual holdup is, this extra pressure may or may not get your lift fixed any faster, but it's worth a try.

OMG... I hope the laundry in not in the cellar!

When I got home from hospital after a C-section our lift was broken (just 2 floors though). Thankfully it was fixed within the week.

On the bright side, walking up and down stairs is very good exercise and might bring on labour... which at 37wks might be welcome...

yes complain... and get the 200-

This sounds similar to experiences I've had since living here. My building was improved over 3 months one summer, we had limited notice of the work starting (signs put up on doors the night before) and were given no schedule of work, we were given 24 hrs notice that windows would be being replaced (requiring us to move all furniture), sometimes work was announced for one day and started 3 days later etc... I don't know whether laziness is the word I would use - more just a lack of awareness that some people might like to have some idea about the expected duration and scale of disruption.

I didn't complain because I was warned that there would be significant building work taking place before I moved in, so I didn't really feel justified in moaning about it afterwards.

But in your case I would politely complain, just to make it clear you're happy, as presumably you did not move in on the understanding that lift service would be disrupted at some point!

If you manage to meet the person working on the lift then just ask in passing whilst trying to be polite and not annoying. They will most probably give you the most accurate answer.

Hope it gets fixed soon and your wife's pregnancy goes smoothly.

I would definitely send a letter or an email (something trackable) to register your unhappiness with the situation, and to explain the risk regarding your pregnant wife. Typically companies don't like risk.

Another option would be to become a member of ASLOCA, who can advise you, help you write letters, and represent you if need be.

We lived with problems for a year because we didn't want to complain and weren't sure of our rights here, until we got a giant unexpected bill, and then let them know each and every problem we had had (in a polite way), and they very quickly tried to resolve them.

Also, it can be helpful to have a swiss person proofread whatever you send, not only for language, but also swiss customs with things like this.

pitch a fit. plaster the lobby with "BASTA YA!" posters. Sponsor a sit in. Hire an assassin. Switch to organic. Encourage your neighbors to go on a hunger strike.

Or just ring the letting agent and ask for an update and express your wish to have the process speeded up.

I don't think this is an unreasonable length of time to maintain a lift. You may be a Hammers fan but have obviously never travelled on London Underground! Do you not recall how long t takes them to maintain the escalators?!
I sympathise with your wife having to schlepp up so many stairs though.

In my opinion any man worth his salt would simply carry his wife up the 7 flights. The best position, if I may be so free with my suggestions, and because of the well-known change if figure in such cases, would probably be to let your wife sit on your shoulders. Obviously she'd have to lean back somewhat, but this can easily be compensated if you lean forward and allow her to grip you around the neck. Should you notice any untoward strain on the spine there's always help at hand - I suggest two ski sticks to help you bear the added weight should there be cause...


No, seriously, you can't blame the workers. The landlord requested a price for the work and if he didn't stipulate working on a Saturday at overtime rates and working on a holiday day then you are not able to expect anything else.

There goes my plan to just pitch her a tent on the ground floor.....

we moved to ground floor - was sick of lift breaking or inconsiderate people moving and holding the lift for hours leaving me to bump a buggy down 5 floors or carry shopping and buggy up 5 floors

How much moving was going on in your building that you never got to use it? You can also holler "Hey, I need to use the lift!!!"

Not sure pregnant ladies are his thing

Um..this sounds incredibly dangerous. I'll hope your post was just a drawn out joke.

I don't "do" publicly advertized hits.

BTW Keefyd - awesome calf muscles! Can you teach me your secret workout drills?

Any ideas for the baby's name?

Otisella
Schindleretta
Stannahilde

Great advice. I once complained after six weeks that we still couldn't use the laundry as the tiling job wasn't finished (the new plastering had to dry out before new tiles could be put on so we were told not to use the washing facilities) and it turned out that the firm, having done the first part, had then simply forgotten the job completely.

I'm glad I moaned when I did, or maybe the folk in that appartment block would still be doing their washing in the neighbouring house!

Quite often believe it or not. Oh and I would holler and get ignored. Normally I'd got downstairs before anyone realized they had caused any inconvenience.