After the Appraisal

[PianoBook@aol.com]

On Dec. 1, Jeff Stickney wrote:

       "I recently asked for input on the appraisal of a Steinway L.  Now
that the appraisal is done, I have gotten calls twice from prospective
buyers.  One was actually referred to me by the seller, since I am "intimate
with the piano".  I am of the opinion that the seller has paid for my
services and therefore has the sole rights to that information.  On the
other hand, I don't want to play both sides of the fence by saying, "If you
want my opinion you need to pay me for an evaluation".  So, if they were not
referrd by the seller, do you simply tell tham to hire someone else to
evaluate the piano?  Even if the seller has referred them do you still send
them elsewhere?

"Another aspect is, the piano needs some work.  If I act as
"consultant" with a potential buyer as the technician who is "intimate with
the piano" it would likely lead to work in the event of the sale (that's a
crucial word, too - likely).  I have tried to be honest with the callers and
tell them up front that this puts me in an akward position, but they just
say they understand and go on with their questions.  Any hard and fast rules
here, or is this a caller by caller judgement call?"
***********************

The first question is a perennially sticky problem.  I do several hundred
phone consultations a year with potential buyers, for which I am fortunate
enough to be paid (thanks in large part to the support of so many of you who
support my work!).  The particular kind of conflict described above doesn't
usually happen because I am not doing on-site appraisals and most of my
customers are buying new pianos, but sometimes the selling dealer will call
me and offer to send me a customer for a consultation, but first wants to
know what I will say about the piano.  I have had to think a lot about the
ethics and mechanics of these situations, so at least let me take a stab at
it:

There are two problems here.  One is your agreement with, or commitment to,
the seller.  The other problem is that the seller is referring people to you
for free consultations, which was presumably not part of the bargain and is
taking up your valuable time.  A certain amount of the latter problem is
inevitable in this business and must be charged off as a cost of doing
business, but it should be limited if possible.

Here's an idea: When you give the written appraisal to the seller, tell him
or her that the report belongs to them and they can give it to potential
buyers, or not, as they choose.  You will not share the information with
others without their permission.  Ask if they wish to give you permission to
share it with others.  Tell them that if they do give permission, or if they
refer potential buyers to you, you will sell the potential buyers the report
at a reduced rate (because you don't have to go out to inspect the piano
again), which will also include a telephone consultation after they've read
the report.  If you do not have permission, you will have to send potential
buyers elsewhere after explaining why (of course, this will raise suspicions
about the piano).  If you don't know if you have permission, either send
potential buyers back to the seller or call the seller and ask.  Important:
Make it clear to the seller that if you have permission to deal with
potential buyers and the buyers pay you for the report and phone
consultation, that the advice you give will be whatever is in the best
interest of the buyer, not the seller.  The advice will depend on many
variables, including the condition of the piano, the price asked, the
particular playing (and other) needs of the buyer, and the buyer's other
options, and you cannot guarantee that the outcome will be favorable to the
seller (this is true even if you like the piano because even a great piano is
not necessarily the appropriate one for every buyer).

The above idea will not handle every possible situation, but it will handle
many.

As far as your second question, the best you can do is make clear to the
potential buyer the possible conflict of interest and suggest that they may
wish to engage the services of another technician for a second opinion or
repair estimate.  Another option, much less desirable in my opinion because
of the financial implications, but sometimes done, is to declare at the
outset that you will not perform any repair work on a piano for which you
have done an appraisal, thus eliminating any potential conflict of interest.

I would like to see more classes at seminars devoted to discussion of these
ethical problems.  We could all stand to be more aware of them and would
benefit by sharing ideas on how to deal with them.

Larry Fine