[pianotech] Satisfied but persistent customer question

[Will Truitt]

Hi Geoff:

I would like to add my little tidbit to Ron's offering.  If the piano is
played extensively - as in many hours a day, 5 days or more a week; the damp
chaser may be ineffective.  The reason I say this comes from my own
experience as a tech here in the Northeast (New Hampshire) where we have
long and cold winters and humid summers - generally a good set of conditions
for recommending a d. c. unit.  But a good teacher customer of mine comes to
mind.  She teaches 8 hours or more a day, so her Yamaha G-3 is open (at
least the small lid) for probably close to half the day. There is simply too
much free air moving through the piano for too long for the d. c. unit to
keep it stable, and the control unit was not a good investment in her
setting.  

Ron is right in that, if this is the case with her, she might end up
thinking you sold her a bill of goods for good money that did nothing. It
could worsen your relationship with her as a result.

You may end up recommending restringing with the attendant bearing surfaces
work.  It would be my guess that this condition will only continue to worsen
over time, along with an increase in your misery level and her frustration
level.  Sometimes we have to let the customer know that we can't give them
what they want, but we can give them what they need.  That's your selling
job with her - to establish your credibility and clearly define the solution
path. It is the customer's choice at that point to accept your diagnosis and
path to correction, or look elsewhere.  

No apologies should be necessary or given - the piano is what it is.

Good luck,

Will Truitt

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Ron Nossaman
Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 1:05 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Satisfied but persistent customer question

Geoff Sykes wrote:
> Greetings all --
>  
> I have a customer with a 1982 Kawai KG-C6 grand. 

I think it's past time to introduce her to reality. The string 
rendering problem means that you can't get enough information 
from the piano during tuning to leave it in a stable enough 
condition to be reliable. That's neither your fault, nor your 
problem. You're already giving it your best shot and picking 
up the pieces at your expense. Selling her a Dampp-Chaser 
system isn't going to help the rendering problem and won't be 
well received if it produces no improvement of the situation. 
Addressing the problem directly is, oddly enough, usually the 
best way to correct or at least improve it.The piano 
realistically needs work, likely extensive, to improve string 
rendering, with humidity control next on the list if it proves 
necessary.

My call,
Ron N