service bonds, was Re: No shows: etc

[Ron Nossaman]

>I'd like to insert a comment here because I find this matter to be a
>problem.  The amount of money that Yamaha pays the dealer to have this
>service performed is very small and many dealers are not willing to pay the
>difference to have all the items listed in the manufacturers recommendation
>completed.  So either it doesn't get done, the tech does it for free,  the
>tech doesn't do it, the customer gets charged by the tech for something that
>it would seem should be included in the purchase price, the dealer refers
>another tech to the job who will do it for less, etc., etc..  None of which
>are satisfactory.
>
>David Love

David,
I agree. Here's how I approach it. My assumption, and that of the dealer I
do this work for, is that Yamaha doesn't expect their new pianos rebuilt
for $40. The intent is presumed to be to take care of those little problems
that surface in the first six months of the piano's life in a new
environment, before they become bigger problems. I see it as reestablishing
a service baseline in the new environment. For their $40, I pull the
action, tighten plate screws (that I can reach - if I can't reach them,
it's a moot point), tighten all action screws, including dampers, check key
fit, action regulation, adjust the pedals, tighten general case and
hardware screws, and bench screws and legs. It takes somewhere between 35
and 45 minutes. If I find anything out of the ordinary enough to take
significantly more time, like excessively tight key balance rail holes,
that will be taken care of at an expense beyond the service bond allowance.
The tuning is charged to the dealer independently of the service bond
allowance as well. The dealer knows my work, likes my work, and trusts my
judgement. I try to make us both look good and do my very best not to abuse
that trust (even when it costs me a little), but I'm not going to do a half
day's work for him for $40. This is understood and accepted with no
problem. He understands my need to make a living. It's a mutual respect and
intention of legitimacy thing. In my opinion, the tech habitually doing
considerably more work than is covered by a best case scenario pricing
policy is not "doing the right thing". He's voluntarily absorbing a loss in
a process he had no voice in defining and perpetuating a problem. If the
tech doesn't think he can meet Yamaha's intent within the price allowance,
and the dealer won't pay the difference, then by continuing to do the
dealer's work on those terms the tech has accepted the loss and condoned
the policy. The biggest question I see here is in how far to go in meeting
the intent of the service bond. The rest of this is a consequence of the
answer.
Ron N