When a Godo piano is bad

[David Love]

I don't know, I've always had very good luck with Godo Pianos.

Seriously, it depends on what it is.  If the bridge is falling off or
the case is flying apart then you shouldn't have any problems convincing
the dealer/manufacturer that they should take care of the problem.  If
it's something like reverse crown in the board, poor tone, poorly cut
bridge, buzzing through the capo, 7 leads in the keys at middle C,
you're often in a no win situation as many of these types of items are
not directly addressed by any warranty language and standards are
sometimes simply ill defined.  While many dealer/manufacturer techs can
be very good and straight up, some are better at redefining "within the
range of acceptability according to current manufacturing standards".
Then, good luck.  My approach is to give the customer my honest opinion
about the situation whether I will be doing the work or not.  Tell them
what I think it will take to fix it and/or what their options are.  Let
them know if I think it might or might not be a warranty item and
suggest they check as thoroughly as possible whether it is or isn't and
what the dealer/manufacture's responsibility is.  Offer my phone number
for any further dealer/manufacturer inquiries.  Bill for my time and/or
any reports I have to write.  While I will provide my opinion or
necessary information to the dealer/manufacturer, I don't go to them to
argue on behalf of my customer.  I never allow myself to be compromised
by dealer or manufacturer requests to make excuses or explain things in
way that is not forthright or in the best interest of my customer.  And
I avoid questionable repair techniques that compromise the instrument in
the long run.  I am also honest with the customers that some
manufacturer's standards, in spite of reputation, are looser than they
should be and if they want certain things that might seem like warranty
issues fixed, they very well might have to just bite the bullet and pay
for it themselves.  Sad, but too often true.  

That being said, I'm always willing to work with or for the
manufacturer/dealer to give the best possible outcome at a fair price to
insure that they have a satisfied customer.  

David Love
davidlovepianos@comcast.net 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of Ric Brekne
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2005 1:36 PM
To: pianotech
Subject: When a Godo piano is bad

Hi folks

In an off list converstation an interesting subject matter came up and I

thought I'd put it to you all and ask your thoughts, then sit back and 
read the responses with out commenting. Just for my own edification.

Many of us have been in the situation where we are servicing a piano 
which presents some problems that require some form of warranty repair 
or compensation.  One situation in particular that I think most any tech

who has been in would rather not find themselves in again is the case of

a new piano sold which has serious problems that can not be addressed by

the field technician.  There are a variety of scenarios that fit this 
general case for sure, but one very common denominator is the risk to 
the technician for being <<blamed>> for why the piano does not sound or 
perform well. 

My own thoughts are that if the piano is truly in such a state, then I 
call the customer in as soon as possible, explain what I believe is the 
problem and suggest they call the dealer or manufacturer. I want to 
involve the tech up the ladder right off because if I am convinced the 
thing is bad... then I am not at all intimidated by a tech from the 
factory showing up and trying to make the customer happy.  They will 
confront the same problem I did.  Sometimes I make this move on my own 
inititative... sometimes it comes up when the customer is checking the 
piano out after I am finished, sometimes its on a second visit. Depends 
on the problem, how I judge the customer... etc etc. whether I take 
initiative right off. 

I would like to hear your various strategies for dealing with the 
situation.... how do you go about covering your own butt as it were 
whilst attempting to look out for the customers interests and at the 
same time keep any negatives with the manufacturere/dealer to a minimum.

Cheers
RicB





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