RICK JONES PIANOS INC

"In 35 years of business I have never had a customer act this way toward me or my staff. This is a mean-spirited and possibly libelous review in my opinion. The author purchased a grand piano 11 years ago and became very angry, using the "F" word in one of his emails, because of our refusal to re-buy his piano at his asking price. I suggested in an email that he attempt to sell it privately. We offer all customers a written lifetime upgrade for 100% full purchase price credit in trade. However, nowhere in writing or verbally do we imply that we will buy back a piano if the customer just wants to sell it and not trade up. The author's personal piano technician spoke with me by phone yesterday and said that he never encountered any service issues with the author's piano nor can we find any records of service related problems throughout the 11 years of his ownership. Since 1983, every piano we have sold includes a 10-year warranty on all parts and labor. He is suggesting that the parts we use are made in China and inferior. We do not now, nor have we ever used Chinese parts in any rebuilt piano, regardless of the piano's provenance. Our preferred action parts are Renner from Germany (www.rennerusa.com). Renner action parts are the same used in all new Hamburg Steinways, Bosendorfer, Schimmel, Bechstein, and Fazioli, the Ferrari of pianos in our opinion. The author also claims that I use "poorly trained/payed laborers." Our four most senior piano technicians have been here full-time for 31 years, 26 years, 24 years and 21 years. Two of our full-time piano technicians are Registered Piano Technicians (RPTs) with the Piano Technicians Guild (www.ptg.org). Please feel free to come in or call any of our staff and ask if they feel under trained, underpaid or if they are being treated unfairly. If the author of the above review were representative of just a small fraction of our customers, we would have been run out of the piano business years ago. Instead, for 35 years we have enjoyed a reputation for excellence nationwide with piano teachers, professional pianists, schools, churches, and parents of piano students who want quality, affordability, selection and, most importantly, a company they can trust for life. That is who we are."