Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Bohemia Grand - Soundboard Crack - Followup

George, for what it's worth: They owe you a new piano. And it's insulting that they want to send you an *upright* as a loaner for a *grand*. I think CTPianotech had it right: Your defective piano *is* the loaner until they get you the replacement.

I'm watching how Bohemia resolves this. Because it will affect whether or not I could recommend Bohemia to others in the future.

Chris

So if George gets a new piano who pays?
The dealer, the manufacturer, the distributor, the importer, insurance, some other party or some combination of the above?

Or do they all negotiate and duke it out. :t:

I'm sure a few of you dealers here must know.

I'm not a dealer but I would bet the manufacture would supply a new piano and pay for shipping. The dealer will be out the time he spent resolving the problem, but that's part of the cost of being in business.

In this case I am pretty sure the manufacturer WILL supply a new piano and George will be a happy camper.

George-- if my piano developed cracks in the sounding board in the first year I would certainly be looking for a new piano from the manufacturer.

Good luck with the resolution. Bohemia has a fine reputation, and I would think they will do the right thing.

If you're not satisfied with the resolution you can always post a youtube video. :t:

George,

Sorry to hear that you are not getting premium service from Bohemia. They do make a nice piano. I stongly considered one, but bought a Walters for my church instead. Interestingly, when the Walters developed a finish problem, it was quickly replaced with a new piano. I did not have to beg or even suggest.

Wouldn't it be nice if Bohemia kept up with the competition? I am glad I made the choice I did.

At this point..if you don't get a new piano
it will forever be imprinted in my brain ..avoid this "brand" piano at all cost! no excuses!

That may be the case, but so what? If he really feels it necessary to verify for himself what others have already attested, he should come to you because keeping his customer happy should be his No. 1 priority.

George, the entire situation appears to have become more irksome than helpful. It sounds to me like it's time to go over the dealer's head here and write directly to the CEO of Bohemia. Include a link to this thread.

George,

I've forwarded this thread to Bohemia already.

Not to make lame excuses, but I suspect part of the problem may be somehow related to the recent change of ownership.

I hope for your sake and for Bohemia's sake this gets resolved to your satisfaction. FWIW, I've had good dealings with the company.

These were my exact thoughts. It is not the type of customer service I would strive to provide, in their shoes; to stick within the letter of contractual obligation. This can often cost much more in the long run. The "right" thing is worth so much more and can be the best and actually least expensive advertising. Keeping my reputation and customer good-will would be more important to me. Of course I am speaking as a consumer but when a person makes this type of purchase, these are the worst fears. Seeing how they are responded to, means a great deal. I can't imagine if a cost, in any part of this, was the same or even close they would argue anything other than what is the customer's preference.

Cathys

Maybe we need to drop ship a copy of Grand Obsession to Farley's....

A warranty of any kind is only as good as the company/manufacturer/dealer that stands behind it and honors it.

I’ve learned that you can’t “make” anyone do anything they are not willing to do; arm-twisting may have worked during the days of the old west or during the gangster era of the 1920’s but not anymore. As someone else has mentioned, if this issue is not resolved to Georges’ satisfaction, it would definitely be bad publicity for the manufacturer, whether they have changed ownership or not.

Surely dealerships and manufactures/distributors have a contingency plan for this sort of thing (or, maybe not).

Best regards,

Rickster

George,

Does your piano have a limited warranty or a full warranty?
Full warranties protect the consumer, limited warranties protect the manufacturer/importer.

If it has a full warranty, there should be no problem whatsoever in getting a brand new fresh piano at no additional cost to you.

In some states, full warranties also allow you the opportunity to get your money back anytime during the balance of the factory warranty. {Magnuson Moss Warranty Act}

If your piano has a limited warranty, you are sort of at the mercy of the manufacturer and/or the importer. Some warranties have exclusions due to climatic conditions in your home. Too dry or too humid.
If you have a limited warranty, read the fine print.
Some warranties state that transportation of the piano to and from the repair or replacement facility must be paid by the consumer.

Bohemia is a good company and I hope that they do the right thing for you, limited warranty or not.

We are on your side with this unfortunate problem.

Best of luck George,

Bear

This story really concerns me given that I'm on the fence with a purchase of a 6'1" Bohemia. I may wait until I see how this plays out. Customer support on an expensive purchase like this is important.

Things are appearing to take a turn for the positive. I don't have details, as of yet, but I'm being told that Bechstein is stepping up to the plate to make things right. I am amazed at how fast this is happening.

As I said, I don't have details yet, other than some private communications from friends - but things are moving. It appears all will be done to make me a satisfied, happy, and proud owner of the Bohemia piano.

If this is the kind of support that Bechstein provides, through Bohemia, then that's a very good thing. I'll post more when I know it.

Thanks to everyone for their support. Especially to those who voiced their opinions.

Good news George!

My Mother-In-Law will be very happy to hear this.

George,

Bohemia has gotten a good rep at least partly through the word of mouth on this board - and particularly with a regular like you buying one.

Based on your words, I'm going to be hopeful for a satisfactory resolution. I would have expected nothing less from a company aligned with Bechstein.

These stories are rare among very best pianos - but how they are dealt with builds or destroys a reputation. Glad to hear they understand the business.

I've been following this thread and I'm impressed with Piano World and with some members or dealers having some clout, have appeared to have helped George.

Edit: Maybe better to say influence instead of clout.

George, I've been out of town and just returned to read this (long) thread. I am in agreement with everyone here. Two cracks, a potential third problem developing...the dealer and manufacturer should replace the piano. If you decided you wanted to keep the same piano and just have the soundboard replaced, that would be a nice option to offer as they will have to replace the soundboard anyway.

Either way they should not have left you swinging in the wind like this. That's unacceptable, and I'm glad to hear that they are moving off the dime now. Keep us posted.

On pins and needles here....