latest journal

[Don Mannino]

Hi folks,

I haven't gotten the new journal yet, but I am aware of Yamaha's policy.  I'd like to comment a little, first by replying to a few of Wallace's rhetorical questions:

> 	1. Have they thought about the marketing impact on the 
> general public?

You can be sure that this is the main reason for the policy.

> 	2. Speaking of the average person, has Yamaha informated the
> unsuspecting public?  Made *any* effort to educate the buying public?

That is what the advertisement on the back page of the Journal is for. They know that piano technicians are frequently asked for advice  about used piano purchases, and they are hoping that technicians will help spread the word.

> 	3. What would it really cost to provide parts backup 
> from Japan?

Maintaining a large inventory of parts is EXTREMELY expensive.  Purchasing, storing, and keeping track of piano parts inventories when the pianos are built in another country is very difficult. Increasing that stock of parts to cover piano models with which the US office is unfamiliar is much more difficult.  Keeping case parts scratch and dent free is another problem.

> To me, it sounds like Steinway refusing to supply parts for 
> pianos made in Hamburg

Have you ever tried ordering, say, a replacement fallboard for a Hamburg C by calling Steinway in NY? Or maybe a replacement sostenuto hangar for a 10 year old Hamburg B?  I haven't - but I think I know what their answer would be.

> or a car mfg refusing support to a car made overseas rather
> than in the USA factory.  

Go to your Ford dealer and ask for a set of spark plug wires for a German 'Ka.' See what they say.

The bottom line is that the used pianos brought over from Japan are competition for the new pianos of the same manufacturer. American consumers have been taught that a 20 year old used piano is essentially the same as buying a new one (especially after we regulate and voice it, right?).  Personally I feel that this is rarely true, but technicians optimistically hope that the used piano will have been lightly used and treated well, so that with only minor work it will be "as good as a new one."

There is something to be said for supporting your company's core business - making and selling new pianos.

Don Mannino RPT
(Kawai America)