This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment ----- 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 ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/5c/9f/e0/41/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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