advice today please!

[Farrell]

I'll second what you have already said and what Phil Bondi said. I've done a few at dealers - even a new piano once that the customer rejected based on my inspection (cracks in bridge cap at most every bridge pin and tons of false beats). My general rule is to talk only to my customer. If the dealer/seller is also there and my customer does not mind me speaking in front of them, then I do so - but I only relate negatives in front of the dealer/seller. At times I have inspected pianos that were too good to be true - I only relate that fact to my customer in total privacy!

I think that if you stick to factual observations that you make to the best of your ability, you need not worry too much about liability issues - but then I'm not an attorney!   :-)

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Tvak@aol.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2003 4:07 PM
Subject: advice today please!


> List
> 
> Tomorrow I go into the den of iniquity, i.e., Biasco Piano, to examine a 
> piano on a client's behalf.   It is a pre-owned U1, serial #725700.   Biasco is 
> expecting me to come tomorrow to check it out and have agreed to let me see it.  
>  Now, he has already put money down on this piano so I'm not sure if the deal 
> can be nixed at this point, no matter what I find, but what general advice 
> would you have for someone in this situation?   I've never been called on before 
> to examine a piano at any dealer before, let alone at Biasco.   I'm not 
> looking for advice on what aspects of the piano to check; I can in all modesty say 
> that I am fully qualified to examine this piano for its integrity, quality 
> and/or any potential problems.   
> 
> It's the ethical/business aspects that I ask advice on.   For starters, I 
> plan on saying nothing to the folks at Biasco about what I find.   The client is 
> paying me for advice and I will give it to him directly.   But if I find 
> something that is truly wrong (and being Biasco...this could be possible) can I be 
> held liable in some way if the client decides to back out of the deal?   
> 
> I've already warned him of gray market Yamahas, but he's not particularly 
> concerned.   He already owns another Yamaha and thought he could provide the 
> serial number to that piano if any parts were needed for this piano.   I had to 
> admit that most of the parts would probably be interchangeable.   Not an ethical 
> way to deal with a problem, but since the problem at this point doesn't 
> exist, I chose not to address it. 
> 
> So, any advice will be appreciated.   I don't want to get myself into any 
> trouble over this.   I really don't expect to find anything radically wrong with 
> this piano.   I think it's just going to be another one hour service call, but 
> I'm sure many of you have been here before and will have some great advice.   
> 
> 
> If I can avoid stepping in it, I'd gladly walk around it!
> 
> Tom Sivak
> 
> 
>