Yamaha Service Bond -Reply

[Steve Pearson]

Bravo!  and thank you for bringing up this important topic!  That the dealer
is willing to put out money for this vital service is to their credit, and will
repay in customer satisfaction.  Personally, I feel that 2 or 3 hours of 
prepping is time well spent, and it may be that in your role as technician,
you can educate the sales staff to the benefits.  Having said that, you
must weigh the importance of some of the less crucial stuff, such as
hammer alignment - not that it isn't important, but seldom far off in
Yamahas - with the really necessary things like balance hole easing,
hammer height, escapement and drop.  On the other hand, "eating" a bit of
time for now,  may pay long range dividends, especially if you inform the
dealer what you are doing in the cause of customer satisfaction.  You
are fortunate to work for  a retailer who is willing to deal with prepping at
all, since it is not fully appreciated in all quarters.  Rumour has it that a
certain brand of piano from a large  East Coast city requires many hours
of prepping before they are playable.  It is perhaps almost unfortunate
that Yamaha pianos are so carefully prepped before leaving the  factory, 
contributing  to the illusion that they are ready for sale "right out of the
box".  
You are to be commend you for you thoroughness.  
Your dealer is lucky to have you.

Steve Pearson
Yamaha Piano Service
>>> Vanderhoofven <dkvander@clandjop.com> 06/05/98 11:36am >>>
Dear Friends,

I have been doing the Yamaha Service Bond for a few new Yamaha
pianos
recently.  When I talked to the dealer technical service manager and
turned
in my bill, she said that the Service Bond usually takes about 45 minutes
to an hour.  I have been spending two hours for an upright piano, and
three
hours for a grand piano.

Here is what I have been doing:
tighten every single hinge, case, plate, pinblock and bench bolt
remove action, tighten all the action and damper flange screws
Adjust pedals
Align hammers and other action parts
Check and adjust keylevel and dip, hammer blow distance, let off, drop,
checking and dampers as needed.

If there is a pitch raise and tuning, I add an extra hour to hour and a half.

How much time should it realistically take to do a Yamaha Service Bond
on a
new piano?  Is 2 to 3 hours of work in addition to tuning more than I
should be doing?  

Maybe someone who does a lot of these can respond.

Thanks!



David A. Vanderhoofven, RPT
Joplin, Missouri
http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/

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