<HTML>In a message dated 12/8/01 9:37:44 AM Central Standard Time, Tvak@AOL.COM writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">At the store where I work, here is our prepping procedure for every new piano.  (This list is for vertical pianos, which is my responsibility at the store.)    1. Seat all the strings to the bridge.  (Front and back of bridge.)    2. Spray front rail and balance rail keypins w/TFL50.    3. Spray wippen pads w/TFL50.    4. Adjust for lost motion, if necessary.    5. Set key height, and level keys, if necessary.    6. Set key dip.    7. Align hammers to strings.    8. Set let off.    9. Set backchecking.    10. Adjust pedals if necessary.    11. Tune to A442. Often, we can skip several of the steps, but I've had to adjust every single thing on that list on one piano or another.  It seems obvious to me that Biasco certainly did not seat the strings to the bridge:  is this something that every store SHOULD do on a new piano, or does the store where I work go that extra mile?  (It's  the only store I've every worked at, so I don't know what standard procedure is.)</BLOCKQUOTE> Welcome to the real world.  There are good piano dealers but face the facts, most people who sell pianos don't know a thing about prep, don't want to know a thing about prep and certainly don't want to pay anything for it.  They are cigar smoking men in a suit with a "shoeshine and a smile" (Arthur Miller) who only want to push the *unit* out the door and get the money in the bank. Your instructions as the technician are as follows: JUSTOONEM!!! I know this all from more than 30 years experience dealing with dealers.  You are lucky to have found a dealer where true prepping service is expected and the norm.  This Biasco (correction: Fiasco) company is getting what it deserves and will soon be history. Recently, there was some blow hard statement made on this list from one of its managers.  All you have to do to read between the lines to recognize the phoniness in every line, especially the one about the "commitment to the customer".  There was also a Yamaha dealer from Madison, WI who came on here with the same kind of B.S.  Never, ever, once in that company's history has one of those so-called Service Bonds ever been done by its tuners but they sure do love to pedal out the B.S. about it and collect the $35 rebate from Yamaha. Keep up the hard work and don't worry too much about having multiple checking accounts until you really need them. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> </HTML>