[pianotech] Providing Options - Was Spinet Repetition Problems

[Al Guecia/Allied PianoCraft]

Spot on Paul. The conversation you had with the customer and or the compromise which took place is not known by the next tech who sees the work. I've got boxes full of jiffy weights and hammer clips installed by other techs, which I have removed. It was easy to sell them an action rebuild or proper regulation which addressed the real problem. Of course I'm not talking spinets here. I would use jiffies on a spinet, if they are able to get me to work on one :-).

I keep cartons of good old parts, so I never need to use a new parts on old pianos doing a repair. I have even gone so far as to stain a new part to match the others when I didn't have an old part to match. I go by the same policy as your colleague,  I don't want anyone to see that a repair has been made. I'm not putting anyone down who is not nearly as weird as I am, It's just my personality and not necessarily what I think everyone should do. My practice has always been, do it right. If the customer wants a touch-up, I'll sure they can find someone who will do that.

David Porritt wrote

First we have to remember that the piano belongs to the customer (unless, of course, we are working on our own piano for resale).  There's a lot of pure arrogance that enters the picture in these situations.  I ONLY do PROPER work!  In the case of the key leads, one can show the customer each approach and let them decide.  

It may be their piano, but it your reputation. I don't think it's arrogance, I think it's personality and the standards we we set for ourselves, not only in business but in life. The first page of my website says "Service without compromise" If that's not what a customer wants, there are many others willing to accommodate.

A second issue - tangentially related - is the whole concept of "preserving" old pianos that have little reason to be preserved.  I think over the years we have sometimes hurt the whole piano business (i.e. sales) by this heroic effort to restore the living-dead... but then I have a divergent view on lots of things.

Yes, I certainly agree with your second issue. If it's dead, bury it.

Just my 1.5 cents.

Al -
High Point, NC



On Jan 7, 2012, at 10:57 AM, Paul McCloud wrote:

> Hi, Chuck:
> I'd take this discussion a bit further.  What about those technicians whose reputation, sense of quality control, and self-pride preclude using "substandard" repair procedures?  (No definition of "substandard" rendered here, whatever that would mean).  If you are a rebuilder of repute, would you resort to CA'ing some tuning pins, or would you sell the whole nine yards and nothing less?  I used to work with a colleague, who had 10 years experience before mine.  He would always say that he didn't want anyone to know he'd done a repair, or at least that it didn't appear to be other than factory perfect.  It's one thing to leave it up to the customer, it's another to perform a repair that bolsters one's reputation, and leaves the customer with a repair that will last as long as the piano (within reason).  And, that the appearance of the repair is appropriate to the age, brand and condition of the piano.  There are some of us that will "git 'er done", and others that will use their sales skills to sell the job done right.  A job done only to satisfy the budget-conscious client may cause an unwanted nick to one's reputation down the road when another tech comes upon it later and says, "Hmm, Mrs. Smith, the guy who did this didn't do a very complete job (or other word inserted here).  He apparently didn't know what he/she was doing."  It's judgment call, and considerations of time and circumstance (and the economy) need to be considered.  I'm not sure there's a "right" or "wrong" approach here.
> Just sayin'
> Paul McCloud
> San Diego
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chuck Behm" <behmpiano at gmail.com>
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 7:03:15 AM
> Subject: [pianotech] Providing Options - Was Spinet Repetition Problems
> 
> You've both hit the nail on the head, John and Dean. It's all about giving the customer options, the pros and cons of those options, and letting them decide. Jiffy Leads vs. lead inserts in the keysticks are two options - one quicker and more economical, the other more "factory-like," but also more time-consuming (and expensive).
> 
> To use another example, if an old upright has loose tuning pins, we can CA it, we can install oversized pins, or we can take the piano to the shop, remove the plate to put in a new pinblock or pinblock panels, and repin with # 2 pins. Big difference in terms of time and money, but all options which the customer might want to consider.
> 
> Same with a lot of replacement parts. Plastic elbows or wooden elbows? Repair clips for a brass rail or a whole new brass rail? Cork-tipped bridle straps or original style braided straps? The list could go on and on.
> 
> When I said Joe repaired the keys the "right" way (by installing leads in the keystick vs. putting on Jiffy Leads), I probably should have said he did it the "factory" way. What is right is more what meets the customer's needs. If a less expensive way of doing things is what the customer wants, then that is the right way.
> 
> Sorry if my comment struck you the wrong way, Dean.
> 
> In my experience, most customers will choose economy over aesthetics any day, as long as the results are the same. Chuck
> 
> 
>> If lead is needed in the keys, what I would do is give my customers a
> choice. Either have the leads on the top of the keystick, or in the
> keystick. Give a price for each method, with pros and cons, and let the
> customer decide. I don't think the keystick cares either way. :-)
> 
> John Formsma, RPT
> Blue Mountain, MS
> 
>> If Jiffy Leads are fully functional, do not take away the aesthetic look
> of the outside cabinet the customer sees, last just as long, AND SAVES THE 
> CUSTOMER MONEY, why would they not be considered ?doing the job right??*** 
> 
> Dean W. May
> 

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