<HTML>Hi List, I do a fair amount of warranty work for a few different manufacturers. &= nbsp;Note that I said manufacturers, not dealers.  While I am usually c= ontacted by the dealer that sold the piano, I have found that it's far easie= r to get the necessary parts and forms directly from the manufacturers. &nbs= p;Things seem to get done a little more quickly that way.  Kawai and Ch= arles Walter are very responsive to technicians. The only manufacturer I've encountered that doesn't seem to want to deal= with techs is Kemble.  They insist I go through the dealer.  The = dealer, for his part, says that extracting money from them is not necessaril= y a piece 'o cake, but he is willing to cover my charges(which is all I shou= ld really be concerned about). It seems to me like it would be in the builders best interest to offer s= upport to the techs that work on their pianos.  I recently was called t= o tune and fix a year-old Kemble 48" upright that had a broken hammershank. =  Imagine being the piano owner and having this happen.  Wouldn't y= ou wonder if you got a lemon?  I would.  Having the ability and th= e time to fix the problem and "re-sell" the piano to a slightly disgruntled = customer without having to get clearance from dealers and manufacturers and/= or having to make numerous trips to the home would seem to me to be in every= one's best interest:  keeps the customer happy, keeps egg off the face = of the dealer and the maker. To keep the customer happy, I fixed the problem first and asked warranty= questions later, which is when I discovered Kemble's policy.  I will b= e compensated by the dealer, but Kemble's way of dealing--or not dealing--wi= th things seems less than ideal. Any thoughts or experiences along these lines would be appreciated. Dave Stahl Promote Harmony in the Universe--Tune Your Piano! Dave Stahl Piano Service 1148 Los Trancos Road Portola Valley, CA  94028 650-224-3560</HTML>