October, 2006
Dear Rod:
It’s now been a little over four months since the delivery of our new Charles R. Walter grand piano and, even at this late date, I wanted to let you know not only how much I am enjoying playing it, but also that the process of buying it from you and getting it here was a real pleasure.
Although I’ve been playing piano since I was a boy, when it came time to purchasing a grand I realized how little I knew about how a piano is built and what the materials are that are used to build a very good one. There followed a couple of months of pretty intense research – reading internet articles and books and talking to people in the know by phone – in order to finding out what to look for in a piano and which brands meet the most stringent quality requirements. I quickly discovered that a tier one piano was economically out of reach for me, but the very best of the available tier two pianos was without doubt the Charles R. Walter.
I carefully planned a visit to Vancouver to see the five pianos that ended up selecting, leaving the Charles R. Walter till last. I was not disappointed. I very much appreciated the tour of your piano refurbishing business and especially being left to play the Charles R. Walter in peace, something that some salesmen had difficulty doing. In fact you weren’t a salesman at all – the piano sold itself. I thought you gave us a great deal. You arranged the delivery in a way that was prompt and reassuring, and for that I thank you very much.
The delivery itself was quite amazing: the two gentlemen from the Piano Movers were fast, friendly and very careful in bringing in and setting up my new baby! You even paid for the first in home tuning.
As I said, I’m very much enjoying the new Charles R. Walter grand and, if I had to do it again, I’d do it in exactly the same way. So thanks Rod. You were terrific and the part that you played in helping me realize this particular dream is very much appreciated.
All the best,
Bruce Hipkin.