Thoughts on Warranties (was Re: Steinway defect)

[Farrell]

> Wow!  The pianos "have never been serviced" since 1997?  Wow!

I tuned a Yamaha C5 a while back. 300-cent pitch raise. First service since purchased new in 1975. The guy composed country music! A tuning within 5 years? Hey, that's not bad at all!

> Now that I have your attention, I think Steinway would be well within their 
> rights to void the warranty because of lack of service. 
> 
> Now, we don't want to kick the customer while they are down, but neglect of 
> a piano like this is uncalled for.  3 or 4 tunings per year X 5 years = 15 
> or 20 tunings that were missed.  Also, the piano should have been voiced 
> and regulated at least once in this time period.  When the customer blows 
> off service like this, it is like driving 50,000 miles and never changing 
> the oil in the Lexus or Porsche.

Have to disagree with this analogy. 50,000 miles without an oil change WILL cause excessive wear on internal engine components. How in the world will lack of tuning and voicing negatively affect (or cause) a loose tuning pin? I see no relation. This is a defect. (IMHO.)

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Vanderhoofven" <dkvander@joplin.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 1:10 AM
Subject: Thoughts on Warranties (was Re: Steinway defect)


> At 08:29 PM 11/13/02, Louis Verkoelen wrote:
> 
> >Hi list,
> >
> >I serviced a 1997 Steinway "L" yesterday and encountered a defect. The lower
> >three tuning pins will not hold tension.
> >Here is some backround. The owner bought 3 of these in 1997 for her 3
> >houses.
> >They have never been serviced.
> 
> 
> Whoa!  Hang on a bit here.  Can you say that again?  Wow!  The pianos "have 
> never been serviced" since 1997?  Wow!
> 
> Now that I have your attention, I think Steinway would be well within their 
> rights to void the warranty because of lack of service. Most piano 
> manufacturers warranties that I have seen include a section that discusses 
> what will void the warranty.  Usually, lack of service, extremes in 
> climate, and misuse and vandalism, etc. will void the warranty.  The 
> warranty on the Steinway web page doesn't mention what will void the 
> warranty.  Of course, with a customer who owns 3 "L"s, Steinway may bend 
> over backwards to resolve this.
> 
> Now, we don't want to kick the customer while they are down, but neglect of 
> a piano like this is uncalled for.  3 or 4 tunings per year X 5 years = 15 
> or 20 tunings that were missed.  Also, the piano should have been voiced 
> and regulated at least once in this time period.  When the customer blows 
> off service like this, it is like driving 50,000 miles and never changing 
> the oil in the Lexus or Porsche.
> 
> Now that you are taking care of the piano, you can encourage them to have 
> the piano tuned 3 or 4 times per year as recommended by Steinway.
> 
> This is something that I have never seen discussed.  What responsibility 
> does the piano owner have to maintain and service the piano to keep the 
> warranty valid?  If the piano owner doesn't have any service done for 5 
> years, will that void the warranty?  I would think so.  However, I don't 
> represent any manufacturer, so don't take what I say as Gospel.
> 
> I know that representatives of some of the different piano manufacturers 
> monitor and contribute to this list.  Perhaps the factory technicians could 
> chime in here?  Warranties are typically pretty vague on this point, and 
> perhaps some clarification would be in order?
> 
> 
> >2. What is the warranty on this piano and who should I contact about it.
> 
> I think that Steinway only has a 5 year warranty.  So, if the warranty is 
> still valid, time is running out on having this covered under warranty.
> 
> http://www.steinway.com/   - Steinway web page
> http://www.steinway.com/technical/warranty.shtml   -  Steinway warranty
> 
> The web page has contact information for Steinway and Sons.  The piano 
> owner should contact Steinway.  You may wish to assist the customer in 
> resolving this issue and you may wish to contact Steinway on their behalf, 
> but you could put yourself in the middle of something that you will regret 
> later.  It is the customers responsibility to find out about the warranty 
> and to contact Steinway regarding warranty repairs.  (Of course this is 
> just my opinion.)  If you get involved in this, make sure you keep very 
> detailed records of every letter and phone call you make, and bill for all 
> of your time.
> 
> >3. Short of a new pinblock, are there other solutions that would be
> >appropriate for this caliber of piano.
> 
> Call Steinway and discuss this problem with them before doing any repair to 
> the piano.  The factory techs at Steinway can give you their suggestions on 
> what to do.  I would suggest oversized tuning pins or plugging and 
> redrilling the pinblock.
> 
> >4. The other 2 pianos are in N. San Diego county. Is there anybody on the
> >list that covers this area and can service her other pianos? I am somewhat
> >concered that these pianos may have a similar problem and I would like to
> >make sure they don't.
> 
> Steinway can provide a list of dealers nearby who can provide competent 
> service.
> 
> >Thanks in advance
> >
> >Louis Verkoelen
> >PTG Associate
> >Big Bear City, CA
> 
> Welcome to the list.  I hope this is helpful.  Good luck!
> 
> David Vanderhoofven
> Joplin, MO
> 
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