Customer Satisfaction

[Matthew Todd]

Anyone else care to jump in here?

"Porritt, David" <dporritt at mail.smu.edu> wrote:                Matthew:
   
  If D-30 is the last plain string it must be a Baldwin SF-10 or it could be a model R (I don’t have those scales here in front of me).  In my humble opinion it’s a scale issue.  The wire changes on the long bridge without any string length changes can and frequently do have big tonal changes there.  The string tension is radically different between those notes.  Some skilled voicing can sometimes partially mask the disparity but nothing will make it go away without rescaling.  
   
  dave
   
   
  David M. Porritt, RPT
  dporritt at smu.edu
   
    From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Todd
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 5:51 AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: Customer Satisfaction

   
  So, I have returned from the dreaded appointment.  It actually went pretty fair.  I tried several things on the note she was complaining about, but I don't really think it did much.  She actually said it improved, but it really didn't.  But hey, if she said it did, I wasn't going to argue with her.

The note in question is D-30.  The piano is a Baldwin grand, and the D is the note just before the copper wound strings.  I did two things to the note.

I spent some time voicing, and then I made sure the knuckle and jack relationship was where it is supposed to be.  It was off some.

If you were to play a D Major scale, by the time you hit D-30, it just doesn't quite match the previous notes.  It doesn't quite have the "life" the others have.  It is not bad.  In fact, if she didn't point it out to me (I wish she hadn't!) I wouldn't have noticed it when I tuned it a month ago.  There is just a little "thud" when you play it.  Or like the note is sounding with just a little less force and volume than the rest.  She demonstrated the way it sounds to her by playing a Sonata she had been practicing.  In the piece she is repeating the D, and that is how she probably discovered it.

I know this will be difficult to diagnose over the internet, and it is definitely not something severe that calls for another tech, but it is a good learning experience for me, and I did tell her I wasn't going to give up, or call her "picky" or "crazy".

Thanks!
Matthew

Michael Kurta <mkurta at roadrunner.com> wrote:
        Matthew:

        First, get a clear explanation and demonstration from the customer as to their complaint.  Some folks have a hard time explaining so you'll need to help them with this.  You need all the information you can get to diagnose accurately.  Second try your best to remedy their problem.  95% of complaints are real and noticeable to the player, though there are some which may not be correctable, and others that are imagined.  

        Failing your efforts to make them happy, call upon another, more experienced tech to help, even if you have to pay for their time.  Chalk it up to training as we've all had to do this once in awhile.  Sometimes a second opinion will reinforce your solution, and the customer will be satisfied.  

        My favorite motto is:  "The customer isn't always right, but they're always the customer."  Good Luck and let us know how it all worked out.

        Mike Kurta, RPT

        Syracuse chapter 

        Moving to the Chicago chapter August 1.

   


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