Steinway M problem

[Les Smith]

Hi, John.

For what it's worth, here's one opinion. While the mis-positioned
capstans have a big impact on the touch and playability of the piano,
and the clicks produced when they hit the wood of the wippen, itself,
rather than the cushioning felt, have to be really annoying, the fact is
that correcting the problem by repositioning the capstans is not really
all that big a deal. Certainly not as big a deal as the owner probably
believes it to be. And put it in perspective: he apparently wasn't even
aware there WAS a problem until you brought it to his attention--after
all, he's been living with that piano, as is, for twenty years now!

That said, it's pretty apparent that this is a incredible manufacturer's
defect. As Jon Page recently said about another piano, "How did it ever
get out the door?" Are we supposed to believe that Steinway who built it,
and the dealer who sold it, were unaware of the problem? Gimme a break!
If you believe that one, you've probably also bought the company line on
why they were able to reduce their warranty from ten years to five. Pure
and simple, that piano was sold in that condition--with a problem that
even Ray Charles could detect (apologies to Ray)-- because NO ONE GAVE
A DAMN! Do you really think that either Steinway itself, or the local
dealer, now, twenty years later, is going to show a change of heart and
pick up the cost of correcting a problem they didn't consider import-
ant enough to address when the piano was new and still under warranty?
Highly unlikely, John. To put it mildly.

Where does this leave you? Well it sounds like the owner is out for
blood. When you contact Steinway on his behalf and he hears that they
have no intention of correcting a 20-year-old problem, he's going to
bring out the big guns: lawyers, The BBB, maybe the Attorney General's
office, etc. Do you really want to become part of a lawsuit against
Steinway--giving depositions to lawyers, maybe testifying in court,
etc.--all over a problem that you can correct in less than a day?
More importantly, are you SURE that the owner is going to amply re-
imburse you for all the time you might have to put into this case?
You weren't planning on donating your time for free, were you?

I would do the following. By all means contact Steinway on his be-
half, explian the problem to them and see if they are willing to
pick up the cost for the repair. After the laughter dies down, be
prepared for a "No way, Jose", or, in this case, John! At this point
I would make clear to the owner that it is going to cost him MUCH
more to attempt to pursue this problem legally, than it is just to
pay you to do correct the problem, outright. If he insists on tak-
ing Steinway to court, let him do so on his own and move on to
something else, without looking back.

There is one other approach you might try, assumimg that Steinway
denies the warranty claim and it could make you come out looking
like a hero. You say that you have talked to him about replacing
the entire action, because of the teflon-bushed action centers.
This, of course, is a big-bucks job. If you haven't already given
him a firm quote on what it's going to cost, figure out what you
would have to charge to make a decent profit, add a couple of hun-
dred dollars to the figure and tell him that if he goes for the
action replacement, you'll throw in the capstan repositioning for
free! As I pointed out earlier, reposition those capstans is not as
big a deal as he probably thinks it is. At all costs, however, I
would not entangle myself in a lawsuit, either against Steinway or
anyone else. There are more productive AND PROFITABLE ways to use
your time.

I Hope this helps!

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.bet


On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, John W. McKone wrote:

> Hello List!
>
> I have run into an interesting situation with a Steinway M and would like
> some input from those who may have had something similar come up.
>
> The piano is about twenty years old with a teflon action.  I was called in
> to take care of some sluggish notes and do a general regulation.  When I
> sat down to play, there was a very loud click in the middle of the keyboard
> that appeared on a loud blow - the kind of sound that makes you think that
> theres a coin or something that has worked its way under the key.
>
> After fooling around for awhile, and not finding the problem, I pulled the
> wippen on one of the worst offenders, and guess what I found - the capstans
> are mounted well over 1/4 inch too far back on the key, meaning that
> instead of hitting the wippen cushion, they are hitting raw wood!
>
> Actually, the capstans are just about half on and half off the cushions,
> and since the piano is played rarely, they were catching just enough felt
> for the problem to be hidden until now.  Of course the thing plays like a
> truck too.
>
> Now the owner claims that no one has ever done anything but tune the piano
> until now, and I see no evidence (which would be pretty obvious) that there
> has been any after market modification to the action.
>
> I explained to the owner that this was a serious problem that needed to be
> addressed, but that the piano was well out of warranty, and (trying to be
> diplomatic here) my experience with Steinway suggests that they would not
> be willing to go the extra mile to make it right.  I went on to suggest
> that since we had already discussed replacing the teflon action anyway, we
> could take care of the capstan problem (and any other action
> spread/leverage problems that might exist - I haven't explored that far
> yet) at the same time.
>
> What HE wants to do is go at Steinway and make them either fix it
> themselves, or hire me to do it.  He's talking lawyers Better Business
> Bureau, the whole bit.
>
> Now this is definately not a situation I want to get caught in the middle
> of, so I told him that I would prepare a detailed report, with pictures, of
> what I observe in the action, and what it would take to fix it.   He can
> then use that report in any way he wishes.  But I will not be the middle
> man in any negotiations with the factory.
>
> I did go so far as to talk to the local dealer, to see if they might not
> want to pay for the repair, just to keep this guy (whose a fairly
> influential sort) happy. They didn't bite.
>
> This guys beef is legitimate - this is a big factory defect - but I don't
> see how he's going to get any satisfaction.
>
> So, oh wise and wonderful list, any suggestions? Advice? Similar experiences?
>
> I await your response....
>
> John McKone, RPT
> St. louis Park, Minnesota
> (612) 280-8375
> mckonejw@skypoint.com
>
>
>
>