The only reason I am commenting here is because having worked for another U.S. distributor of an Italian product I am pretty familiar with how things work in this area.

The manufacturer is just that, the manufacturer. It is required by each distributor that the responsibility of service and support is supplied by the distributor. If there is something that a distributor can't handle, then they will contact the next level up, typically the manufacturer and get the answer and then relate that to their customer, who is the retail dealer, not the end user. What I am getting at is this; When you have a problem or suggestion, if you think you are being smart by going directly to the manufacturer you are not. As some of you have noticed, it can be a rarity to get a response to an e-mail directed straight to the manufacturer originating from an end user. The BEST thing to do is to go to the dealer who sold you the product. Why? Because the dealer will contact the distributor rep for that brand who will then forward the info to the distributor who will then contact the manufacturer if necessary (who by the way will actually pay attention to an e-mail from a distributor and hopefully provide an answer or solution to the query). Yes this seems like a lot of being bounced around but it is the only way of insuring that your request will at least be seen by the manufacturer if need be. In short, if your e-mail is probably not going to be seen or responded to if sent directly to the manufacturer, why bother. Why not go to the person who is going to care, meaning the person who sold the instrument to you in the first place. If the dealer is unhappy they will not buy additional product, which will make the rep/distributor unhappy which will push somebody to work hard in getting an answer from the manufacturer.

Now of course the above is contingent on the rep and/or distributor being diligent in their duties to their dealer base and also the dealer in putting in the initial effort. Which as Tony Hughes mentioned, the small profit margins on keyboard products isn't exactly a big motivation to go the extra mile. But who is to blame for that? We can start with those who try to bargain down to the last penny and pit brick and mortar dealers against each other or worse, a free standing store against a website with the overhead of pocket change. And then the dealers themselves for not having the guts (or maybe knowhow) to hold to a reasonable profit. And its got nothing to do with the economy; there are plenty of people spending money.

Dave

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Wm. David McMahan
LearnMyKeyboard
JazzItUp Band
The Modulators