Dealer Prep/Lack Thereof

[Kevin E. Ramsey]

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    Dave, I know that it feels as if you're between a rock and a hard =
place sometimes, with the dealer not prepping the piano fully, and the =
customer expecting more than what he's getting. No one can expect us to =
do work that we aren't getting paid to do, though.
    As far as the frequency of tunings go, get some of the "How Often =
Should My Piano Be Serviced?" pamphlets from the home office. They are =
very useful for educating your new customers as to care in the first =
year especially. Just stress that the first year is perhaps the most =
important time for the piano to "settle" properly.=20
    As far as regulation, you have to take into account the needs of the =
customer, but on an un-prepped piano I wouldn't feel bad selling the =
customer a quick regulation for about three times my tuning fee. If they =
ask why it wasn't done before they took delivery, you can tell them that =
the dealers in your area don't do it in order to keep their prices low, =
or some such half-truth.=20
    If the customer insists on you doing a whole bunch of stuff when you =
know that you're not going to get paid, just refer them back to their =
salesperson. They get the commission, they can solve the problems.=20



Kevin E. Ramsey
ramsey@extremezone.com
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: PNHISTIC1@AOL.COM=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 6:33 AM
  Subject: Dealer Prep/Lack Thereof


  List,=20

  I've been doing a fair amount of work for dealers lately, and I've =
been very frustrated by the lack of prep done on new pianos in the =
stores.   Most of them get tuned once before delivery, then one free =
tuning in the home.  Few get the recommended full-on prep/regulation .  =
It's usually enough to get them out the door, which is what a =
salesperson is SUPPOSED to do.=20

  The problem lies with the dealer avoiding the maintenance issue:  =
frequency of tuning(3-4 times a year for the first 2-3 years according =
to the manuals)  Regulation is seldom, if ever, mentioned in a sales =
pitch.  Repairs are often left for the customer to happen upon after =
delivery.=20

  I don't want to bite the hand that sometimes feeds me by calling the =
dealers liars, but I don't want the pianos and owners to get sub-par =
service because the dealer said "tune it once a year, whether it needs =
it or not."   By saying things like this, the dealer is cutting us out =
of the loop, and doing the piano and its owner a great disservice.=20

  I'm sure many of you have faced or still contend with this issue.  How =
do we, as techs, tell the customer that the piano needs more frequent =
and more thorough service without heaping the blame on dealers?=20


  Dave Stahl=20

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