In a message dated Wed, 20 Mar 2002 5:09:29 AM Eastern Standard Time, Richard Brekne <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> writes: > Farrell wrote: > > > Richard, Richard, Richard. Do you not have any Aeolian spinets/consoles (or equivalents) on that side of the planet? Do you work on nothing but Bechsteins, Faziolis, Steinways (Hamburg) and Broadwoods? Have you actually replaced a set of hammers on a $500 (U.S.) piano > > Guys guys guys... you GOTTA be kidding me here... please... give me a break on this one. > > Lets think about this for a second... Are you guys gonna really tell this fellow to go reglue hammer felt on the moldings on this thing ?? Its been subjected to fire and smoke damage.... what good are you going to do a customer by taking his money for this kind a repair ?? A few points if I may. Richard, give me a break here, you have to evaluate the piano and the customer. This piano may not warrant any work. The next piano may get one more year for a few dollars. Perhaps that will give the customer enough time to afford a better piano. > 1. Looking away from the fire damage thingy for a sec... whats it going to cost in time and effort to glue when you have just 3 or 4 hammer ??... I personally have this collection of used new spares for any such kind of need. Easy and fast. > > 2. What if you have like 30 hammers ?? Is that going to cost significantly less then a new set...?? I dont think so... nonononno.. Well I don't know what you charge but a new set of hammers installed runs about $525.00 here versus maybe $60.00 labor to reglue 30 or so hammers. Many people simply can't afford that, especially on a $500.00 piano. > 3. The result ??? mush balls.. or what ? Yes, or it might sound OK, but I do guarantee it will sound. It's not just the hammers you know, remember evaluate the piano. > 4. The scenario of "poor little johnny who's parents cant afford a real piano" is almost always false. Take a look at the 2 year old Voyager and the 54 inch screen TV with surround system components in these folks houses... I wasnt born yesterday ya knows... :) And THESE kind of customers all to often are also the type that will complain when in a few days another 10 hammers have come loose and want their money back. Where I come from Richard, that "scenario" can be very real. These are people who do not have a big screen TV and are listening to a boom box in the living room of their apartment (or trailer) and are driving a 20 year old car. Yet they are spending some of there hard earned money to give their kids lessons. Remember, evaluate the customer, if it is obvious they can afford the hammers and the piano warrants them then by all means sell them the hammers. You may not have been born yesterday, Richard but you sure were not born in my neighborhood. > 5. Any piano that is so poor in quality that new parts are not justifiable belongs on the garbage heap any ways. Its easy enough to find these things any ways. The country is full of 500 dollar junk heaps without any such acute "gotta be fixed if its going to be used" problems, so replacement is not really a big deal. Lets get real here Richard, where is the ordinary customer going to find these $500.00 pianos? In the want adds? Who is going to go out and evaluate the pianos for them, you? How much are you going to charge and how many are you going to look at before you find the right one? Who is going to move the piano for them and how much is that going to cost? Who is going to tune and adjust and fix the myriad of things, even just the little things, that comes with a $500.00 piano and how much will that cost. What if they don't have $500.00? > 6. Given the real bonified heartbreak case where a healthy portion of charity is called for why not put on a set of used hammer heads. I always keep 6 or 7 sets in stock for situations just like this. And while I am on about charity... I personally would think that telling the person that instead of using a 100 dollars here... a 100 dollars there on such low yield repairs they would be far better off paying down a decent instrument... even a used decent instrument. I will let you tell me how much it would cost to put on a used set of hammers. Are they bored correctly or do you have to compensate. I do not keep many sets of used hammers around, especially for uprights. Do you need to regulate the action after your done. How about shaping or just filing out the string grooves do you include that? How will the piano sound? What if you have no credit, or can't afford $500.00 down? > 7. Finally,,,, as to what planet I am living on... and what clientele I have...... let me just say we make our own boats in this world. I spend a lot of time building customer relations and attitudes. We keep talking about educating our customers as to how to treat and care for instruments... how to get the most of ones instrument... what is good quality and what is not and so on. My experience is that customers accept these low low end situations because there is always some guy or gal willing to tell them they can fix it for 49.95. What kinda education is that ?? I will ask you again, what kind of clientele do you have? Yes, we keep educating our customers and they do the best they can. I am in the boat I made for myself but I like the idea of keeping pianos in homes and people playing them. As people build better boats for themselves they will be able to buy better pianos. Thank God for the techs who will do the best they can for $49.95. Thats life, thats what kind of education that is. As a good friend of mine always says, "I live in the real world." > No... I live here on earth... and I am sticking to my position on this one. But by all means.... go for it if you will :) > -- > Richard Brekne > RPT, N.P.T.F. > Bergen, Norway > mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no > http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html I will Richard, I will. :) David Koelzer DFW
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