Steinway parts

[Diane Hofstetter]

>Alan Barnard pianotuner at embarqmail.com wrote:
>One of my favorite stories was the customer who insisted--firmly--that ONLY S&S parts be put in his>vintage grand (an "O", as I recall, he's since left the area). So, I ordered a pair of replacement wound>strings for D2 from Steinway.

>They were drop-shipped from Mapes and the bill was substantially more than it would have been had I>ordered them direct from Mapes. I put the usual mark-up on the strings and the customer paid, but was>not thrilled when I let him in on the "joke".

>So Steinway or Mapes? Steinway or Renner?

>Ignorance is so expensive!

>And does Steinway print a parts catalog or price list? Not to my knowledge, and certainly won't have it on>the web, I'm sure. When I ordered those strings, I asked if a parts list or catalog was available and the>S&S guy just said: "Tell me what you want", in such a voice that I could clearly sense that he was looking>down his nose at this little hick from the shticks like he was a recent lottery winner and I'd just called to>tell him I was his mother's sister's third child's brother-in-law and could I borrow some money.

>Alan Barnard
>Salem, MO


Actually, I am going to give him costs for Steinway parts vs. costs for Abel hammers and action parts from Wally Brooks, because I have had such great service and parts from Wally in the past.  Also, I want to recommend Arledge strings, because I recently restrung a Chichering Quarter Grand for another local tech and really liked the sound.

But the customer should make the ultimate decision and there's a learning curve involved for him.  A friend of mine, Fenton Murray, once said at a PTG meeting, and I will never forget it;  "If they ask for a tuning, give them the tuning, then discuss the next step."  I took him to mean that first you must respect your client's wishes, then try to help them understand more of what is actually involved.  

Diane
Diane Hofstetter