Killer Octave - Warranty Issue?

[Z! Reinhardt]

Comments below ...

----- Original Message -----
From: "Clyde Hollinger" <cedel@supernet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 6:58 AM
Subject: Re: Killer Octave - Warranty Issue?


Does it follow that if a client buys a cheap
piano it all comes back to "you get what you pay for"?  There might be any
number of
things we would consider a warranty problem in a fine piano, but not in a
cheap one.
True or not?

+ Unfortunately true, depending on your vantage point.  We as technicians
want the best a piano can give for our customers, but whether or not the
funds would be made available for doing the necessary work is often left up
to people who feel otherwise. +

We might think a manufacturer of anything shouldn't make inferior
merchandise,
period.  But as long as there's a market for it, it'll be out there.

Regards,
Clyde

+ My somewhat-limited experience with manufacturers has been that they are
often (not always) more interested in a problem than the dealers.  I should
hope that if they get enough reports of a recurring problem, that they would
do something about it, be this paying closer attention to manufacturing
processes or refining the design.  More than once when there was a clear
defect (glue joint failures, weak pinplock, etc.) the manufacturer wanted
the piano back for failure analysis but the dealer was not as enthusiastic
about retrieving the piano and doing as the manufacturer requested.
Instead, there was much talk about how the repair would be attempted in the
dealer's back-room shop.

+ But yes, I have heard some less-than-enthusiastic reponses to individual
problems.  One manufacturer once told me "remember, this is not our
top-of-the-line piano ...."   I pestered them into telling me who they
thought should be responsible (as in paying) for correcting this problem.
They said The Dealer, who didn't perceive it as a problem.  Then I badgered
both The Dealer and The Manufacturer about excercising a little more quality
control.

+ Trouble with the possible problems mentioned so far resulting in this
"killed octave" is that they don't involve something as obvious as broken
glue joints.  A flat soundboard and/or lack of downbearing is not a sign
that the piano is or will spontaneously disintegrate, despite the effect
this has on the tone of the instrument.  This is probably why the problem is
not being taken as seriously as we technicians think it should be.

+ As for this particular piano, I'd be very curious about a] what the
problem turned out to be (true manufacturing flaw or a design quirk), b] who
takes the problem seriously, and c] what the recommended course of action
is.

+ Now back to the original problem ... just what DO we tell the customer?  I
should think the first step would be to "take it to the drawing board" as in
finding out what the manufacturer's expectations are for that particular
model of piano.  We may make recommendations on improving it, if they'll
listen.  It could be that they don't care about the tonal characteristics of
individual pianos at the bottom of their lines, in which case you can well
bet that they would not be too thrilled with honoring warranty work to
improve the tone.  In that case, let the customer come to their own
conclusions about the tone.  If they're bothered by it, suggest that they
upgrade to a better instrument.  Or, it could be that they are looking for
the pianos that were victims of a bad production run.  In that case, it will
be an easy matter to tell the customer that you were specifically looking
for pianos that have this problem as evidenced by the tone.

+ The bottom line:  Find out who will give you the blessings for chasing
down the problems. +

Z! Reinhardt  RPT
Ann Arbor  MI
diskladame@provide.net