Arising out of the above, the February 9th visit has now been moved to 13th March, then 3rd April, 17th April and now he finds he's short-staffed and has pushed it onto 22nd May. I have let him know that I am extremely pissed off, not least because the piano's dampers still aren't as they should be (some of them allow notes to continue just a fraction of a second too long) and there are one or two slightly "tinny" notes in a piano which otherwise has a beautifully mellow tone. Also, the terms of the 5 year guarantee are that it is tuned not less than every 6 months, by a tuner recommended by them, with a first tuning recommended at 3 months. When he came in November, which was about 7 weeks after it was delivered, it didn't need tuning, and it's not badly out of tune now - apparently Blüthner pianos have excellent stability - but it comes to something when the man himself finds he can't meet the terms of his own guarantee. He has also griped that it is a very long way to come - well, the distance between Oxford & Southend hasn't become any greater since he sold the bloody thing to me. His website boasts of a customer near Lands End. I wonder what sort of after-sales service that guy got?
He has given me dispensation to get another tuner in, so I will contact Val Hodgson, who last tuned my Bechstein before it went to Maidstone.
The conclusion I have drawn is that Roberts Pianos of Oxford sell wonderful pianos but that they are really shit at after sales service.