Prices and Service,
And other small talk:

Prices and Service are the topic for discussion here.

QUESTIONS:

Why is it that a supplier cannot be the lowest in price on everything?
What makes the difference?
Is there a reason to pay a bit more?
Why does this site not have a shopping cart?
Can I order by mail safely?

LIFE IN THE INTERNET FAST LANE:

Recently, we have seen a very competitive environment develop in Internet based sales and business. This is caused by the great American way of competition. But, we want to say, "Caveat Emptor," or Buyer Beware. Here is why:

1. There are brick and mortar businesses who have a store on the street where they sell pianos and piano related products. They also sell sheet music and sound equipment in many cases. The mark up they can add is very high because they may not have any competition in their niche in their city. These brick and mortar establishments can treat their Web sites as an add on where they really don't have to make much profit. A $500 item can be sold for a $15 profit, and they are happy. At Steve's Piano Service we do NOTHING but Web sales. We cannot enter the price wars now raging on the Internet. We plan, by the grace of God, to stay for the duration. We believe the service we give, and our experience in the piano trade, will be of higher value to our customers than shaving a couple dollars off the price.

2. Another reason for low prices is that a fifteen year old kid, who knows nothing about the product he is selling, can start an alleged business in his closet. He may get some help from a family member, but all he needs to know is how to design a convincing Web page. After you trade with him, he may disappear, and you have to start over finding the product. He also may walk with your credit card numbers and sell your e-mail address to porn spammers.

3. On the other hand, retired folks can start selling something, and underprice everyone. This is because they may have a pension, and they are on Social Security. We would not want to stop these people from prospering, but they almost kill many trades on the Web since all they need is pocket cash for greens fees.

We at Steve's Piano Service are NOT retired, nor do we have any pension income etc.

We are not asking for pity or blind loyalty. By the Grace of God, we will prevail, and here is how:

EXPERIENCE:

We intend to compensate you for paying a bit more by offering service.Keith has 50 years of experience tuning, repairing, and restoring all sorts of pianos. Many a derelict piano has been pulled in from the barn in Michigan, and the owner asked Keith, "Just try, and see what you can do." Keith has tuned for George Winston, some good and for lots of very ordinary people. They all get the same product-- the best Keith can do. No one can ask for more.

This experience is almost totally absent at other piano sites on the Web. Some offer technical support from men who have moved in professional circles and actually refused to tune and repair old beater pianos. They have limited knowledge, considering the years of experience they claim. It takes many years to see one of everything, and then to figure it out and fix it. Steve almost never walks away from a piano tuning or repair situation without trying. If you pay a little more for our products, you are buying 20 years of experience from nine foot Steinways and Bostons to Wurlitzer runts and Knights from the UK. Keith has restored square grands and rescued "bird cage" actions from the UK and Germany.

Technical Support Number: (906) 864-1437
Call here if you have questions about repairs or if you are a customer needing help.

SEND MAIL
For seeking advice, complaining, checking on orders, or to tell us how the okra is growing this year :-)

NO MORE DATING OF PIANOS
We no longer date pianos for the public, ONLY for customers. Someone is sending people here to date pianos,
and it have become overwhelming. Sorry about that.

Ordering Number: (800) 338-8863
After browsing the Online Catalog, please use this line only to order or to ask which item you should order for your piano. Thanks.

ORDERING WITH CONFIDENCE:

We also offer ordering by phone and credit card so you can talk about your needs and make sure to order the right thing. You will not see a shopping cart on our site. PayPal is available by arrangement. We make sure, on the phone, that you get the right item the first try. We offer options and innovations which others never heard of. And, we stay with you in technical support for as long as you need us. We try to answer all E-Mail from piano customers.

INVENTORY:

We also have some of our product in inventory, but many items now "drop ship" directly from our suppliers to you. Your product may be mailed the same day you order, and in the old world trade of piano parts and tools, that was unheard of until we went on the Web in 1995.

We are now offering products which are not found elsewhere, especially in the area of Moving Pianos. Steve is using his experience to innovate with products from non-piano related commercial sources to help you move you piano safer and easier. We are pricing these products as if we have competition, though in many cases we do not.

VIRTUAL PIANO WORLD USAGE:

We offer a Web site which is not a generic style site. The online book on repair and tuning looks like a book. There is a great deal of interlinking. We tell you how to install the parts you buy in the online book. We will even help you into the piano tuning trade with technical support. We also have a one-of-a-kind catalog which is designed to LOOK like a catalog you would be handed if you walked into a specialty store on the street. This was ALL by design to make the whole process easy for you, even if you think you are a complete idiot to piano things. We don't care, and we will help you get it right. Most people in the piano trades will HIDE the facts from you to see if they can make work out of your need. Not here, folks. We regularly talk people OUT OF spending money on things they don't need.

SECURITY:

We do not keep our records on a hard drive. We design all of the Web site in the most advanced way we can, but all orders and records are on paper ONLY. This is so that we will never crash and lose our records, and your data on file with us cannot be hacked and stolen by a Web thief. When we are done with your order form (after two years) we shred it. We NEVER sell or give your information to anyone, not even the Feds. We set these protocols in place in 1995 on purpose, and we don't intend to change. It means more work for us, but we all live a safer life.

INTERNATIONAL SCOPE:

We have sold piano things to many people around the world. We sent a piano tuning tool set to the High Commissioner of the Falklands Islands. We sent piano covers to the Hyatt Regency on Guam. An Englishman in Thailand voiced his piano with our tool. A mover in Ireland is using our moving straps. Several men in the UK have started a piano tuning trade with our help. Our strings just went into a Piano in Haiti and Honduras. A lady in Antarctica is tuning the six pianos at McMurdo base. There are also thousands of people all over the USA who use our services and products. Each one counts as much as the other. The only people we turn away are the ones with a filthy mouth. We don't tolerate that.

OUR ETHIC:

Furthermore; we follow the Judeo/Christian ethic of the Bible. Some of you may not be very religious-- it's a free nation. But, we have no shame to tell you that a Jewish Carpenter from Nazareth gave the world the highest form of ethic it had ever seen. We want to be accountable to our God and to you, in that order. This is also why we take off Saturday and Sunday-- Saturday to work on the car, and Sunday to rest :-)

WHATEVER IS BEST FOR YOU:

Nor are we in this to destroy any of our competitors. One fellow did something a bit offensive in designing his Web page. We objected, and he at once changed it. We then linked to him and we now send some customers to him who live in his area. Another gentleman helped us with the search engines to our great advantage-- we send him customers. We will not sell you products when we are unsure of ourselves.

OUR COPYRIGHTED CD:

Steve wrote and copyrighted a book on piano tuning and repair in about 1995. When he was finished, he was trying to decide how to market it. Steve's sons, Dan and Mike, told Steve he ought to put the book on the Web and sell piano parts and tools to Do-It-Yourselfers. It was the best advice a Dad ever got from his sons, for that is what we did. (Steve still tunes a few pianos so that he can keep his skills sharpened.) The CD has been a real help to a lot of people worldwide, for there is no other CD like it anywhere. The CD has everything found on this site, plus, complete instructions in Professional Level Piano Tuning. The CD is actually being recommended by a number of piano stores and tuners around the USA.

SERVE BETTER:

Our customers find that we do not use the confusing "shopping cart" method of ordering. We want to talk about your order with you. You are not ordering in the dark. We believe that service is more important than anything else... Our, customers come back, and they give us references to new customers. You know, the Web is not a bit different than the brick and mortar world. If you take care of the customers, they will take care of you.

So, our prices may be a bit higher than some others on the Web, but you need to know that the lowest price on the Web is a lot like the lowest price on the street-- It may come with no service and incompetent backup help. Having said that, I hope you understand that our prices are frequently the lowest in the world on what you are looking for.

Just so you know we care :-)

TO LEARN ALL ABOUT YOUR PIANO AND HOW TO FIX IT:

TO GO STRAIGHT TO OUR CATALOG:

TO ORDER: CALL TOLL FREE: (800) 338-8863

ORDER BY PHONE WITH CREDIT CARD

OR:
Go to Mail Order Form for printing and Ordering by Mail:

For Technical support CALL: (715) 803-4556

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