kawai warranty question

[David Vanderhoofven]

Hi Tom,

Good question.

Pianos used for teaching, whether in homes or in schools get much more use 
than the average home pianos.  Accelerated use equals the need for an 
accelerated service schedule.  Parts wear out faster and need to be 
replaced sooner.  Tunings need to be done more often.  Hammers need to be 
voiced more frequently.  The regulation needs to be tweaked regularly.  And 
because of extra wear, expendable parts such as key bushings, hammers and 
strings need to be replaced more often.

No piano manufacturer that I am aware of will cover service.  Tuning, 
regulation, and voicing are all at the owners expense, and rightly 
so.  Kawai, or any other piano company, can't control the end use of the 
product.  The piano may be used by a little old lady only on every other 
Sunday afternoon for 15 minutes, or the piano may be in a practice room 
being used 14 hours a day, every day.  Key bushings would not be covered by 
the warranty, unless they were defective when the piano was new.

Kawai has an excellent warranty.  If there is a warranty situation, please 
call technical services first and report the problem.  The factory 
technician will walk you through the repair and how to do it.  Always get a 
authorization number and a warranty repair form from Kawai before 
proceeding with any warranty repairs.  It is also good to keep the local 
dealer informed.

If a warranty situation should arise with any piano, first call the factory 
and the technician will send you the claim form.  After you receive the 
authorization form, do the repair and get the customer to sign the form 
that they are satisfied with the work.  Then mail the completed form back 
to the factory, and they will pay you.

Tom, I would recommend going to the PTG annual convention every year.  That 
way you can personally meet all of the factory technicians and discuss any 
concerns with them.  You can meet face to face, and look them in the eye, 
and go have coffee.  Later, when a warranty situation should arise, the 
factory technician already knows you and you already know them, so they can 
expedite any problems.

As far as documenting warranty problems, pictures are always nice!  Bring 
your digital camera!  Smile!  Be confident!  Answer the questions from the 
customer.  Do expert work.  Fill out the form and mail it in.  Get a check 
in the mail.  Everybody is happy.

It is a partnership.  If I am doing a warranty tuning for a dealer, I am an 
extension of the dealer.  I am looking out for my interests, but also 
looking out for the interests of my customer, and also looking out for the 
interests of the dealer.  I need the dealer to sell pianos to keep me 
supplied with future customers.

If I am doing a warranty repair, I am an extension of the factory.  I want 
to do a competent/expert repair to put the piano back in good condition.  I 
am looking out for my interests, but also looking out for the interests of 
my customer, and also looking out for the interests of the factory.  The 
factory is not my enemy!  The factory is my friend!  :-)

How do you get the factory technician to trust your opinion?  Meet the 
technician at a PTG convention or seminar.  Or better yet, go to factory 
sponsored training sessions.  It also helps your credibility if you DON'T 
turn in questionable or frivolous claims.  If you have a question, call the 
factory technician first.

The bottom line is, key bushings are not covered by the warranty unless 
they were defective 10 years ago when the piano was new.

Hope this helps!

David Vanderhoofven
Joplin, Missouri

At 08:23 AM 4/4/2005, you wrote:
>List
>
>I service a Kawai grand, model number not at hand right now, that is 10 
>years old.  This piano is owned by a piano teacher and she uses it for her 
>lessons, so it does get heavier use than most home pianos.  Still, I am 
>surprised at how poorly it was fared.
>
>Key bushings are completely worn and need replacing.  Dampers lift 
>immediately upon depressing the key.  The damper lift, I am going to 
>remedy next week, but I wonder if the key bushings are something that 
>would be covered by a warranty.  (She couldn't find the warranty when I 
>was there, but hopefully will have found it by the time I return next week 
>to regulate the damper lift.)
>
>I would think Kawai would warranty their new pianos for some length of 
>time.  But even should the warranty still be in place, would key bushings 
>be covered?
>
>Having been in the business for only 6-7 years, I'm not really sure how 
>long key bushings are supposed to last . So maybe it's unrealistic for me 
>to expect them to last longer than 10 years.  Please straighten me out on 
>this if my expectations are off.
>
>And unrelated, really, to the above:  let's say that a Kawai did have 
>something that needed fixing that was covered by an existing 
>warranty.  How would you go about getting Kawai to cover the cost of the 
>repair? Or even agree to have the repair done?  Why would they trust my 
>opinion that the key bushings (or whatever) needed replacing?  Would I 
>have to produce some evidence to prove it?   I've never had to do any of 
>this before.  And yes, I could probably call Kawai and get an answer, but 
>then, as a hypothetical question at this point, I wouldn't want to bother 
>them with it.  Certainly someone here has done warrantied repairs: how is 
>it arranged?
>
>Thanks,
>Tom Sivak
>Chicago Chapter PTG Associate