Shipping piano

[jolly roger]

Hi rook,
           I have missed most of this thread, so what I have to say may be
redundant.
We ship pianos quite often, with minimal problems, by repacking them in a
crate. As good or in if not better than the manufacturer.
Photo's and insurance is important.  CAUTION:  Standard freight insurance
is by the pound.  You have to ask for declared value insurance to prevent
problems in the event of a claim.
They charge accordingly.
Skid shipping a piano, is unwise unless dealing with a specialty company
like Keyboard Carriage.

With grands we usually pack legs, lyre, and bench seperately. Some how they
rearly fit into another brand of packing crate.
Warn the customer that it is not the cheapest way to do it, but it is
safest. Also they will be responsible for processing all damage claims in
the event of damage. 
Some minor packing rubs can be expected. It happens all the time on new
instruments.
We even off the customer the opportunity to inspect the packing, prior to
calling the freight company.
Be up front with the customer that you cannot be responsible for any thing
that you have no control over.  Freight damage is a freight company
problem, and the customer should understand this.

It is too easy to caught in the middle of a dispute.

Regards Roger





At 06:51 AM 3/10/01 -0500, you wrote:
>>I'm think of taking
>> photos before it leaves...
>>
>absolutely..AND go over the mover's checklist with them..they may 'know'
>what they're doing, but it only takes a split second slip-up to cause a
>problem on the other side....'there's a scratch on the key slip...funny,
>it's not on our check list as to being there before we moved it'...
>
>I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but in this area, I see alot of horror
>stories from people who did not do good prep work...movers AND owners.
>
>treat the piano like it was your own.
>
>roo(k)
>