[CAUT] Yamaha Exchange program; pros, cons

[Paul Milesi]

I strongly agree with the point James Schmitt makes regarding dependency.
We, too, are involved in a Yamaha loan program that was put in place just
before I came on board.  I immediately saw the inclination to ignore
maintenance of our own inventory, which would ultimately be to our great
detriment and leave us without an escape route.  I pointed this out to
faculty and chair, and we began actively pursuing (meaning I am being
supported in) re-hammering, reconditioning, rebuilding, and routine
maintenance of our own, older inventory, such as it is.

Good thing, too, because our dealership was sold, the terms of our agreement
changed, and, yes, we lost literally 1/2 the loaner inventory in one fell
swoop at the end of Fall 2011 semester!  We were not quite as well
positioned as I would have liked, but at least attitudes towards working on
our own inventory were already adjusted and some work was underway.

BTW, I feel the same way about the All S&S thing, or any other
manufacturer's program.  How could a school ever afford to put enough of its
own (ignored) inventory in place after one of these agreements  has gone on
for 10 years or so?  Loaner programs can be a tremendous help in a pinch,
but dependency is a bad thing, IMHO.

On 6/7/12 11:42 AM, "James Schmitt" <pianotenor at comcast.net> wrote:

> I agree with Joe.  We had the Yamaha exchange program and things worked real
> well for us when the profit share program with the local dealer was helping
> our school get some new pianos but needed to be stopped when the flooring fees
> for keeping the pianos at the school where not supported by  sales when the
> economy went sideways.   The dealer is and was a good dealer but times being
> what they are, kept the original deal from working.   The thing that I find so
> hard about the piano exchange programs to start out with is that they tend to
> leave the school dependent  on the program without a way out.  The deal we had
> allowed the school to purchase some pianos via a school sales profit  share
> that payed the flooring fees but also made way for the school to purchase
> pianos without using school funds. The goal was to work our way out of the
> program with an ongoing way of upgrading as time went on.   When folks where
> buying pianos it worked real well.
> James Schmitt BM, RPT

> 
> On Jun 7, 2012, at 6:37 AM, Shelley wrote:
> 
>> Yamaha Exchange program; pros, cons
>>> Hello All, 
>>> I work at a small University where they are considering doing the Yamaha
>>> piano exchange program.
>>> I would greatly appreciate any pros and cons that you could offer.
>>> Thanks,
>>> Shelley
>> Shelley Byrd Anderson
>> Registered Piano Technician
>> All Piano Services
>> Chicago, IL.  60645
>> 


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