---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment List, I appreciate all of the thoughtful responses. Looks like most of us have been in this position for at least a portion of our professional lives. Thanks again. Dave S. In a message dated 5/27/02 5:27:15 AM Pacific Daylight Time, dnereson@dimensional.com writes > > > >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: <A HREF="mailto:PNHISTIC1@AOL.COM">PNHISTIC1@AOL.COM</A> >> To: <A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> >> Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 7:33 AM >> Subject: Dealer Prep/Lack Thereof >> >> >> List, >> >> 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. >> >> 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. >> >> 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. >> >> 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. >> >> 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? >> >> Looking forward to a time I'm too busy with private tunings to work for >> stores....:) >> >> 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. >> 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). >> 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). >> It was "make all the keys work, check the pedals, pitch raise, quick >> tuning, out the door". >> 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. >> 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. >> 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 >> > ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/da/04/65/0c/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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