[CAUT] boston comments

[Dennis Johnson]

Right....   I would wager that almost everyone one of us have been in a
similar situation at least once.  What do you think would happen if the
Jeannie left the piano unfinished and the customer unsatisfied? Who would
get the wrap for that?  From lessons I have learned though, we do have a
fairly good idea of what the dealer is thinking about in terms allowed hours
to deal with problems.  When faced with something beyond that normal
parameter it is always wise to stop and get approval first.  It's clear the
customer never expected the technician should donate that extra time, so
actually there is some leverage.  If I honestly felt cheated out of several
hours of labor on a particular case there is no way I would ever have
association with whomever was responsible for that again.  Simple business.
Dealers understand that too, and if you made the customer's day they are
going to want you back as well.  I never could understand why piano warranty
service seems to work so differently from warranty service of any other
product.  Technician owned dealerships are much more likely to catch these
problems before it gets to the customer's home, where it often can cost more
to fix than the overall margin can afford.  Sad situation...

In some cases I have suggested to the dealer that when a particular customer
specifically requests my service, and the rate is beyond what the dealer
normally budgets for house calls,  then why not explain this situation and
offer the customer to either pay the difference or work with a regular
dealer tech???   Sorry- that leads into another subject, so never mind.

best,

Dennis Johnson
___________

On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 4:56 PM, Jeff Tanner <tannertuner at bellsouth.net>wrote:

>  In Jeannie's defense, "full in-home concert prep to the customer's
> satisfaction" definitely implies "whatever it takes to satisfy the
> customer".  It's the dealer's ignorance that is taking center stage here.
> Add the urban legend introduced by early dealers of certain Asian makes that
> they don't require ANY dealer prep, you can deliver them to the customer's
> house in the crate and not even need to tune them for years, and you have a
> full blown case of ignorance being purported.
> Jeff
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Mike Kurta <mkurta1 at comcast.net>
> *To:* caut at ptg.org
> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:25 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [CAUT] boston comments
>
>     Well, again the old bugaboo raises it's head:  making assumptions.  The
> dealer made the first one by thinking Jeannie could do everything within his
> four hour time frame.  He also assumed the piano wouldn't need more than
> that.
>     Jeannie also assumed that she had "carte blanche" to do whatever was
> needed regardless of the time spent, and would be paid for it.   Too many
> assumptions......
>     Mike Kurta
>
>
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