Pianotech

We all, I think, have agreed it is a fine piano. However, there are two general themes I see traversing this thread:

1-Evidence of or experience of the excellence of the instrument
2-The emotional games required to part people from $150k.

Geoff's original, not so much question, but thinking out loud, was feeling somewhat psyched-out by the sales hype which accompanies the fine features. He was not sure he wanted to pursue a market where sales tactics used, by necessity, to relieve folks of that much money, resemble an alpha-dog wrestling match, more than the experience many us relate to and seek, in a musical experience.

My own take on this thread, is that the hype necessary to part folks from $150k for a piano, requires that the sales tactics create un-realisitc emotional expectations in their clients, and impossible expectations regarding the perfection of the machine.  Un-realisitc expectations means the emotional charge used to fuel the sale, cannot be satisfied, no matter how excellent the machine is. This will lead, in many cases, to buyer's remorse at the best and contract disputes at the worst.  My sensors pick this up in Geoff's description of his customer. Its not clear to me that this client will ever escape the OCD (which we all have to some degree), that causes them to fixate on an imperfection dujour.

This is why my rebuild sales discussions, similar to what Peter Grey described on another thread, presents the instrument as a highly worked, excellent instrument, that will not be perfect or even close to perfect. There will be warts. I explicitly compare the warts to things in a spouse you accept, even though you didn't know you were getting when you signed up for spouse-hood. One accepts them in the large scheme of things and in the imperfect nature of experience.

I also reference the warts of my own piano, in these sales discussions. I love my 5' Chickering 122, and look forward to playing it more than any piano I service, including the Faziolis and other fine high flying instruments. However, I take them to this fine small piano, show them its real fine points, and then explicitly discuss the warts. Warts it has, and I explain and play through the warts…this, to make the point that excellent does not mean perfect.  Interestingly, even in larger performance piano projects, the strong points of this small grand, irrespective of its warts, are responsible for about 85% of my rebuild sales...(something that I find surprising and very interesting)... 

Its very hard to make the "excellent does not mean perfect" point of inescapable human experience, when making a $150k sale. Dropping the mask to make this point, is a sure way to kill a $150k sale...so this little detail is not discussed. 

I think Geoff's customer is setting himself up for disappointment, and unless I could get a sense that he was of a mind to get real about the reality of the machine, probably would not be busted up if the high rollers ended up with the job.

In sum…it has nothing to do with the technician's chops, and everything to do with satisfying un-satisfy-able levels of OCD, and sales induced unrealistic expectations.  Unless…a large caveat…unless, the client's need for tribal belonging is high. If the need for tribal association is high, spending that $150k will actually trump all other concerns mentioned above. 

I really think the price point of these instruments, places the manufacture's between a rock and a hard place...I don't envy them at all. Give my my Chickering warts and all. 

We all, I think, have agreed it is a fine piano. However, there are two general themes I see traversing this thread:

1-Evidence of or experience of the excellence of the instrument
2-The emotional games required to part people from $150k.

Geoff's original, not so much question, but thinking out loud, was feeling somewhat psyched-out by the sales hype which accompanies the fine features. He was not sure he wanted to pursue a market where sales tactics used, by necessity, to relieve folks of that much money, resemble an alpha-dog wrestling match, more than the experience many us relate to and seek, in a musical experience.

My own take on this thread, is that the hype necessary to part folks from $150k for a piano, requires that the sales tactics create un-realisitc emotional expectations in their clients, and impossible expectations regarding the perfection of the machine.  Un-realisitc expectations means the emotional charge used to fuel the sale, cannot be satisfied, no matter how excellent the machine is. This will lead, in many cases, to buyer's remorse at the best and contract disputes at the worst.  My sensors pick this up in Geoff's description of his customer. Its not clear to me that this client will ever escape the OCD (which we all have to some degree), that causes them to fixate on an imperfection dujour.

This is why my rebuild sales discussions, similar to what Peter Grey described on another thread, presents the instrument as a highly worked, excellent instrument, that will not be perfect or even close to perfect. There will be warts. I explicitly compare the warts to things in a spouse you accept, even though you didn't know you were getting when you signed up for spouse-hood. One accepts them in the large scheme of things and in the imperfect nature of experience.

I also reference the warts of my own piano, in these sales discussions. I love my 5' Chickering 122, and look forward to playing it more than any piano I service, including the Faziolis and other fine high flying instruments. However, I take them to this fine small piano, show them its real fine points, and then explicitly discuss the warts. Warts it has, and I explain and play through the warts…this, to make the point that excellent does not mean perfect.  Interestingly, even in larger performance piano projects, the strong points of this small grand, irrespective of its warts, are responsible for about 85% of my rebuild sales...(something that I find surprising and very interesting)... 

Its very hard to make the "excellent does not mean perfect" point of inescapable human experience, when making a $150k sale. Dropping the mask to make this point, is a sure way to kill a $150k sale...so this little detail is not discussed. 

I think Geoff's customer is setting himself up for disappointment, and unless I could get a sense that he was of a mind to get real about the reality of the machine, probably would not be busted up if the high rollers ended up with the job.

In sum…it has nothing to do with the technician's chops, and everything to do with satisfying un-satisfy-able levels of OCD, and sales induced unrealistic expectations.  Unless…a large caveat…unless, the client's need for tribal belonging is high. If the need for tribal association is high, spending that $150k will actually trump all other concerns mentioned above. 

I really think the price point of these instruments, places the manufacture's between a rock and a hard place...I don't envy them at all. Give my my Chickering warts and all.