Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Regulation or Warranty? What should I expect from a dealer?

I posted a similar thread over in the Tech forum... forgive me for doing it twice, but I am afraid that I'll be unable to log in to PianoWorld again (major problem for months now) and really feel I need to ask these questions.

When I purchased my new RX3 Blak, it came with one complementary tuning and partial voicing.

The dealer suggested I "save" that till later in the allowable year's time span since that I would have a better idea of what voicing I would probably want done.

My piano was delivered in September, and I got it tuned by an independent RPT in early January, also asking the tech to fix a click in F#3 and a knock felt in the damper pedal when using half pedal and playing keys in the C5-C6 octave. The tech was not able to fix the F#, but improved the knock so I only felt it in two treble keys. The following day, I discovered that the same treble range now makes a clicking/knocking noise every time I play loudly, and it's sometimes accompanied by a buzz. The tech returned at my request, but could not fix the knock and buzz.

On his second visit, the tech said there was some minor warping in the front key rail (right under the front edge of the keys) but rejected that as a cause for the knock since he could only slide a single piece of paper under it and the knock still happens with the paper wedged in place. He also tried at least three other solutions.

I called the dealer to ask for a tech with lots of experience with this brand and whether it might be a warranty issue. He initially wanted to schedule my free tuning and would have the tech look at it, but when I said I'd just paid to get it tuned, he said it was an awfully long drive from his place to mine. Could he think about it for a few days then call me back? I said "yes." He never called. Funny, considering the dealer very reliably returned calls when making a sale was a possibility...

I know that his techs have varying ability levels. If I persist in asking for one of his techs, does he have any reason to send me a good one? If his tech doesn't solve the problem on the first visit, do I foot the bill thereafter since my piano only came with one complimentary tuning and partial voicing... notice it includes no regulation work? Maybe all these costs are regulation and should be mine? If I find an independent tech, and we discover a problem that we think comes under warranty, not regulation, How do I bring the problem back to the dealer? Do I end up racking up costs for the same diagnostic done by "my" tech then his?

I fully intend to get my piano fixed, especially since a tech in that forum said there's no good reason a new/maintained piano should have these problems persist. If it's the dealer's responsibility, I'd like him to take it and will insist he address it. If it's mine... then naturally I will call an independent tech and hope this one is capable! How am I supposed to know whose realm of responsibility this falls into?

Hello Pianist4ever,

Without making any judgement in this situation, I will say that dealer preparation of pianos before and after delivery varies a good deal from place to place. But every piano can benefit from this work. Also, every piano is made up largely of organic material (even the BLAK) which reacts to changes in temperature, humidity, and with use, so this is most likely a benign issue that is easily fixed.

The issue to me is whether your dealer should pay for the work, which boils down to the understanding you had with the dealer when you purchased the piano. I feel a few dollars should never come between me and my customer's good experience with my company but someone else may feel differently.

Why not call and explain you are disturbed by this situation and see what he/she says? Explain you would really appreciate him taking care of it, even though this might be a little above and beyond because you would like to continue telling your friends and neighbors to purchase their pianos from this store in the future.

Good Luck and keep us posted,

Hi P4E,

I'm sorry that you are feeling that you are getting the run-a-round from your local dealer. Kawai is known for their customer satisfaction and pride themselves in making sure that their customers are happy.

My suggestion would be to contact Don Mannino, Director of Field Services, Kawai USA. His screen name at Piano World is KawaiDon or you could reach him at dmannino@kawaius.com.

Explain your story in detail and trust the Don will do the best for you that his is able.

Now THAT is good advice. Why didn't I think of that?

Thank you Marty.

Pianist4ever,
If the dealer does not resolve this issue for you, I suggest posting their name on PW. A good technician should be able to resolve all of the issues you listed. RX-3 Kawai's are very well made.

Marty gives good advice.

In listening to your description, I'm guessing the source of the knocking may be a bedding issue. This is an often overlooked adjustment that can show up with seasonal changes.

Depress one of the symptomatic keys slowly with very light pressure so that it doesn't play. Then take another finger and tap the same note firmly while the note is depressed. If you hear a knock and not a thud, you have identified at least one issue. The buzz could be related (a long shot) if the cheek block needs an adjustment.

It's harder to diagnose than it is to fix in most cases. Individually, they are probably just nuisance issues, but all together, I hope your dealer will take a pro-active approach to check them off, 1 by 1.

You may already be doing this, but to help the visiting techs, be as specific as you can about which notes are affected and under what circumstances (note combinations, pedal combinations, staccato play, etc.).

On the flip side, we helped a customer last fall with an 120 year old grand and found 20+ sources of noise/buzzes in the surrounding music room beyond the 7-10 sources in the piano. Our 2 techs covered everything in sticky notes because the customer was not home at the time.

+1

Rick

Thank you all. I greatly appreciate advice coming from people in a variety of piano-related roles.

Rich, I expect changes in the piano, but I was definitely surprised to find issues (that seem) this big when I keep the room at 45-49% humidity. Having a tech suggest the problems were irremediable was very disturbing since it wasn't a cheap instrument and I expected many years of enjoyment, not irritation. I wanted a dealer's perspective on the situation since mine didn't seem at all inclined to help, and you gave it -- thanks!

Marty, thank you for putting that e-mail address in the body of your reply. That one sign-in Saturday was the only one that worked for my account since October. Don Mannino sent a private message, but I can't access it so having his e-mail address is the perfect solution.

(I've taken the liberty of opening a new account with my old name plus a "1"... in case that wasn't obvious.)

Sam, how amusing for the piano owner to return to a room covered in post-it notes! I'm fairly confident that the buzz is not from anything in the room, but I could check more thoroughly. I think you're right about the knocking being a bedding issue. For the few keys in the C2-G2 range, it responds as you described. In that treble octave, either the buzz varies it or there's something else going on too. The sound is not exactly the same though the clicking/knocking is most consistent and annoying in this area. I do my best to duplicate problems for a visiting tech, but I should keep a list of when the problems surface. I'm sure that would be more reliable.