Dealer Prep/Lack Thereof

[Dave Nereson]

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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: PNHISTIC1@AOL.COM=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 7:33 AM
  Subject: Dealer Prep/Lack Thereof


  List,=20

  I've been doing a fair amount of work for dealers lately, and I've =
been very frustrated by the lack of prep done on new pianos in the =
stores.   Most of them get tuned once before delivery, then one free =
tuning in the home.  Few get the recommended full-on prep/regulation .  =
It's usually enough to get them out the door, which is what a =
salesperson is SUPPOSED to do.=20

  Granted, the SF Bay Area is a very competitive market.  All the major =
brands, and many lesser known brands are available within easy driving =
distance.  School sales abound, close-out sales are rampant.  I =
understand that dealers must keep costs down to sell things at =
competitive prices.  And for the most part, customers want cheap first, =
quality second.  Shiny PSOs.=20

  The problem lies with the dealer avoiding the maintenance issue:  =
frequency of tuning(3-4 times a year for the first 2-3 years according =
to the manuals)  Regulation is seldom, if ever, mentioned in a sales =
pitch.  Repairs are often left for the customer to happen upon after =
delivery.=20

  I don't want to bite the hand that sometimes feeds me by calling the =
dealers liars, but I don't want the pianos and owners to get sub-par =
service because the dealer said "tune it once a year, whether it needs =
it or not."   By saying things like this, the dealer is cutting us out =
of the loop, and doing the piano and its owner a great disservice.=20

  I'm sure many of you have faced or still contend with this issue.  How =
do we, as techs, tell the customer that the piano needs more frequent =
and more thorough service without heaping the blame on dealers?=20

  Looking forward to a time I'm too busy with private tunings to work =
for stores....:)=20

  Dave Stahl

      I see nothing has changed.  That's how it was when I worked for a =
dealer from '79 to '87, and a Yamaha dealer at that.  At least the =
Yamahas came from the factory in pretty good shape, the imports better =
than the American-assembled, of course, and most of them just needed =
regulation touch-up, tuning, and a little voicing. =20
      One store manager told me, "Don't spend more than an hour on a =
piano."  (At that time I was getting $6/hr. for floor tunings, which =
usually included aligning several hammers to the strings, easing a few =
keys, perhaps shimming a keyslip, disassembling trapwork to lube =
squeaking nylon parts that weren't supposed to squeak, and driving out =
the long hinge pin of many a fallboard hinge to put a few gentle bends =
in it so it wouldn't buzz, etc.  I usually spent more like one and a =
half hours on a piano.  Then there were the Lowreys, the Kincaids, the =
Kimballs, which took even more time to put in acceptable condition). =20
      Fortunately, the customers buying new Yamahas got more "prep" in =
the form of screw-tightening, regulation touch-up, and another tuning, =
but it happened 6 months after they bought the piano (the service bond). =
=20
      It was "make all the keys work, check the pedals, pitch raise, =
quick tuning, out the door". =20
      After that, it was up to me to de-propagandize the customer from =
what the salesperson told him or her, and then try to re-educate them =
any way I could.  Yamaha also had an owner's manual which was quite good =
and recommended frequent tuning when new.  At least they had a =
maintenance and care manual.  Other manufacturers did not. =20
      People have a hard time accepting the fact that something =
brand-new needs frequent service.  At least now the PTG brochures are =
more comprehensive, slick, and professional-looking than they were in =
the 70's and early 80's, and there is more literature available to use =
for educating customers, e.g., the Larry Fine book, and others.  When I =
went to do a new piano owner's first tuning in the home, it wasn't =
always easy telling them that the sales pitch was only partially true, =
and that some of it was outright b.s., but I just tried to tread =
lightly, kind of like when you have to tell kids there's no Santa Claus, =
at least not as the jolly old guy in the red suit.  Just use phrases =
like, "Well, that's only partially true ... it's recently been shown =
that blah blah."  or  "That's what a lot of people think, but to really =
keep your piano in top condition you'll want to blah blah ..."    You =
just have to do a lot of " 'splainin' " about strings stretching, =
soundboards settling, tuning pins settling in their holes, wood drying, =
humidity changes, "playing-in" the action, hammer felt getting packed =
down, etc. etc. =20
      But if you're prompt and consistently do a good job and include a =
few freebies (tightening bench legs, adjusting pedals, whatever . . . ), =
they'll have you back and refer you to their friends, relatives, =
neighbors.  Don't alienate the dealer (biting the hand that feeds), =
since you are, after all, getting work, referrals, and experience from =
them.  In a way, you pay for the clientele you build up through them by =
doing reduced-rate tuning and service for a few years.  But then the =
time will come when you can move on, or charge them more for your =
increased knowledge and experience.
      I'm not sure dealers will ever change -- they're trying to =
maximize their profit and minimize expenses.  Often the technician gets =
caught it the middle.  When the dealer questioned my spending too long =
on some problem, I'd reply with something like, "I can either fix it now =
at $6/hr, or later in the customer's home after they complain, at $25/ =
hr." (those were 1979 rates, and at the low end for the time).        =
--David Nereson, RPT, Denver    =20

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