Right on - And though I don't feel that there are litigious people lurking out there waiting to get me, I do feel we must always think ahead as to how our presence in the home might look to others. When a juvenile answers the doorbell, (even if its the home of a regular client) I announce myself and ask "is your Mother home? - she's expecting me." And I wait outside until I get a positive response. ---------- From: owner-pianotech@byu.edu on behalf of A440A@aol.com Sent: Friday, May 02, 1997 6:38 AM To: pianotech@byu.edu Subject: Victims Greetings, Jim posts, in reponse to the thread on going to homes where there is a young girl or boy alone; > Conduct your business ethically and yourself >professionally and morally. With these attributes, along with common sense, >you will be able to conduct your business and life with little fear of being >falsely accused. And you will be able to go into any surroundings with >confidence that your record and reputation will provide all the references >you would ever need. To some degree, I have to disagree. Eve in the Boy Scouts, we leaders now must always have two adults present. The legal ramifications of young boys accusing a solitary adult leader of abuse were too great to allow. The same holds true of the adults going into homes. If there is a 13 year old, having a bad day, and they accuse you of raping them while you were in the home with them, you have just spent a fortune, (perhaps your life savings!) to pay for the legal defense that you will need, regardless of your innocence. This is a tremendous liability. I will never put myself in a position of risk. If there is an under 18 child in the house alone, I will not schedule a first time tuning at the same time. It hasn't cost me any work, and I am never in jeopardy of a real mess that can arise. ( My father is a judge, and has seen the ruination caused by poor foresight in a case like this.) I hate it, but I am also determined not to be placed in an indefensible position. Regards, Ed Foote
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