While googling for a piano dealer in Florida (we're building a house there and of course there will be a nice space for a piano), I came across this interesting paragraph.

Here's the website.



Is this really the way to sell a piano?

(And "Investment Value?" Does any new piano go up in value? You're not buying stock in a company.)

Wow!

It just goes to show that some Steinway salespeople have no qualms about stooping to the level of douchebaggery that many other piano salespeople have been known for.
Appalling garbage from an obviously arrogant slinger of crap.

It's a heck of an effective sales pitch, for everybody else except Steinway that is.

I'm not surprised that some dealers do this. Very sad . Makes me sick to the core . It is all BS. Very unfortunate.

On a happier note, there are good dealers out there. Honest, and down-to-earth.

Why is there an asterisk on Bosendorfer?

I'm not surprised that some dealers do this. Very sad . Makes me sick to the core . It is all BS. Very unfortunate.

On a happier note, there are good dealers out there. Honest, and down-to-earth.

Why is there an asterisk on Bosendorfer?

I read the whole article. It's not good, and quite inaccurate indeed. BS-tter.

I am just speechless.

A friend of mine (has been for many years and is a federal court judge) once commented to me:

"one does not raise one's status by making disparaging comments about others".

The comments from the dealer may well reflect his fear of competition from those "lesser" brands he disparages.

Glenn

PS - maybe he didn't like what Larry Fine said about SS NY.

When I was shopping for pianos, the Steinway dealer I visited spent an incredible amount of time (over an hour) badmouthing other pianos and other piano dealers. I was nowhere near Florida--it was not the dealer whose site is referenced above. The Steinway dealer was the only dealer I visited who behaved in this way. I left as soon as I could get away, and never went back.

I do not think that the dealer I visited would have put his words into writing, however. I am absolutely shocked by the above paragraph. It seems to me that the posters on this thread who work for and with Steinway need to take some action about it.

In any event, I look forward to hearing from them here.

And, as Rotom pointed out, luckily there are wonderful dealers out there!

It's quite a rant. Read the whole thing. There are a lot of interesting points. Some sound advice, too.


No argument there, eh?

I think this is endemic to certain piano dealers, and certainly not a Steinway-only issue. Dealers of high-end pianos that aren't Steinways regularly trash the build quality of various NY Steinway instruments, even the newest ones.

Heck, some of the dealers here have made similarly ridiculous statements about whatever it is they don't sell, but compete against.

To their credit, when I bought my upright piano, I also tried the Steinway model K, a Boston 126, and a Petrof or two at the Austin, TX Steinway dealer. I didn't end up buying from them, but when they called to ask how my search was going, they were classy enough to complement the choice that I made, and wished me the best. My local S&S dealer contact also does not trash other makers when we chat about pianos, although they are obviously enthusiastic supporters of the brands they carry.

I do find these sort of statements you cited hilarious, as there's a LOT of misinformation among some otherwise good advice there-- Have you also seen the fake piano review site out there where certain pianos are glaringly placed in the wrong spots to assist whatever dealer they are affiliated with...

What is it about Steinway & Sons that causes the company to a) attract arrogant dealers, and b) tolerate their trashing other brands as a way of selling Steinways?

If Steinway & Sons really made the best pianos in the world, they would allow their pianos to speak for themselves, rather than relying on trash talk to help them make a sale. If they really made the best pianos in the world, Steinway management and dealers would go about their jobs quietly and humbly, not even bothering to comment on the competitiion.

That this sort of trashy behavior continues to go on, and that this dealer is not alone in this behavior, means that the arrogance of the company has to come straight from the top - from management. It seems ingrained in the DNA of Steinway & Sons to belittle and demean the competition as a normal business practice. It is a sign of an unhealthy corporate culture, a disrespect for the piano business, and a deep-seated insecurity in their own product.

I visited two Steinway dealers when I was shopping. They sold their pianos, they didn't trash the competition.

Irony??



yet the link embedded to the word artists...



Sends you to this page http://www.steinway.com/artists which has headline photos of Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr. and Mitsuko Uchida.

The site makes for entertaining reading.
Apparently, "Steinway also builds a small number of pianos for the European market in Hamburg.." which come equipped with "steam pressed hammers"!

You gotta love it.

Ha! LOL

Hasn't this guy ever heard of lawyers? Lawsuits? Litigation?

Thankfully dealers like this are not the norm.

Numerian: I could not agree with you more. After listening to the Steinway dealer, I concluded that Steinways (and his dealership) could not be all that good, or he would not have had to resort to badmouthing competing pianos (and dealers) in order to sell his pianos (and dealership). In all fairness to him, I had already tried out the Steinway grands that were in the size range at which I was looking, and had not liked any of them; they did not speak to me. Thus, I was not going to buy a Steinway, based on the instruments themselves (when I got a chance to play them, as the salesperson talked all the time, too). The speech I received from the dealer at the end, apparently in an effort to create enthusiasm on my part, simply confirmed my decision that this was not a dealer with whom I wanted to deal. I was not then, and never would, buy a piano based solely on what someone says. The fact that the dealer seemed to assume that I could be persuaded to buy a Steinway whether I liked the pianos or not, based on his badmouthing of the competition, certainly reflects even more poorly on him. It was pretty clear that he thought that I was a fool.

Well, I never returned, as I said earlier.

Here is another quote from the same Steinway page:



Rubbish!

Years ago you could go into a Lincoln dealership and be told how the Lincoln was unbelievably superior to any other car on the market. But out on their used car lot were Cadillacs and Chrysler Imperials that you were told were equal to any car ever made in America.

And we're surprised when Steinway dealers trash new European pianos? 'Twas ever thus.

I remain convinced that I have a superior piano.

Talking down your competition is a universal trait - the only difference is a matter of degrees.

Maybe the OP should make a trip to a few competing dealers to have a more balanced exposure to brand opinions.

Yes, you "do" have a wonderful piano Anne!

But to put it in writing and post it on the Internet... Come On...

The Mustang Ranch here in Nevada does not bad mouth other brothels...

That is pretty awful and someone from the Steinway central office should tell them to take it down, as it reflects poorly on the entire company. However, in fairness, I doubt this is representative of all Steinway dealers. It certainly has not been in my experience, and I've visited quite a few in my travels. In fact, I've tended to find the opposite-- that competing dealers trash Steinway far more frequently and strongly, as well as whatever brand they are not selling. So the Bosie dealer I visited trashed Masons. The Yamaha dealer trashed Steinway. It's part of the piano sales culture and is a turn-off to people who just want information and to buy an acoustic piano. No wonder people buy digital pianos over the internet after reading online reviews. Much less stressful .

Sophia

Obviously, we can't project to all other dealers what the dealer quoted here says.

It was just surprised to see this expressed so bluntly in writing.

I was googling for a Florida Fazioli dealer when I found him, because he mentions Fazioli here google found it;



I nearly did a spit-take! They are taken very seriously, of course.

First, I stand by my comment. I am not trashing anyone, I am just stating the obvious. It is my opinion on my own web site. I am a second generation dealer with 40 years experience. I have represented Bosendorfer, Yamaha, Schimmel and almost every other brand before becomeing a Steinway dealer 16 years ago. I am also an award winning columnist for Music Inc. and Music Making magazines.

I am not willing to drink the Kool-Aid and grant equivilancy of Bosendorfer and Fazioli. They are not equivilant and the number of artists who play them without compensation, and the number of Halls that have them (unless they have been donated) is insignificant. The number of halls that have them and use them is even smaller.

That said, all 9' pianos sound pretty good and there is no accounting for taste. Feel free to disagree. But let's not get personal.

I stand by this comment, except that since it was written Story & Clark has switched vendors to Heintzman in China and they are even better. It is one thing to call it rubish and another thing to address the facts. My data is derived from the US Department of Commerece and has been published, among other sources, in Music Trades Magazine.

Sorry Greg, but that "opinion" of yours on your web page does Steinway no credit.

The fact that you think it is "obvious" doesn't give me a lot of faith in your powers of argument. That's understatement, BTW.

Greg:

Welcome to Piano World!

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a piano customer. We're planning for retirement in a couple of years, and wanted to upgrade our pianos to high-end ones, now that we'll have more time to play and practice. I replaced my Yamaha C7 in our California house with a Bosendorfer 225 recently, and am looking for a piano in about a year time-frame for a house in Florida. I found your website by googling for "florida piano dealer fazioli".

I completely avoided Steinway in my search for a "high end" piano, which may seem odd. I'm a staunch "buy American" type of person; I drive American cars, for example. But something about the brand just doesn't appeal to me as much as the European pianos do. You can just dismiss that as "there's no accounting for taste," or you can try to understand why.

Reading copy like this on a dealer's website isn't likely to want to make me come in to that dealer. You may want to try to think of positive things to say about your product to make your business more inviting to more customers. Do you really think the information you decided to present has resulted in one more sale or one more customer?

I am glad to know that PianoMadam found a new retail home. Not Mustang Ranch--- no, she was not that kind of madam--- but in scenic south Florida, which writer Carl Hiaasen has described as "a paradise of scandal." Although she was permanently barred from PW when caught in the act of perpetrating the dishonest practice of using several different identities (also known as sock puppets), her arguments for Steinway products had some sass. Like an alley cat, knocked off a fence when a boot is shied at it, she landed on her feet and lived to scratch out the eyes of her rivals unabated... and that's the way it should be. Just not here.

Why should the site be altered? Let the dealer say what he likes. Some will flock to his showroom, feeling they've found a kindred spirit and a true home on Tamiami Trail. Others will be warned off, and would not touch one of their instruments with a barge pole. The true believers will look with smug condescension on those purchasers of "adequate German and Austrian pianos," as they've always done and always will.

I think speechlessness is just about the right response.

Funniest thing I read today, by far...