President's message

[Dean May]

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of Phil Bondi
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2005 6:31 AM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Re: President's message


<<I am more than just a little tired of allegations without numbers
being 
put into text..being made public on a world-wide list of respected 
professionals..which is what I am losing when I read stuff like 
this..respect.

no flame suit required.

-Phil Bondi(Fl)>>


Phil,

I don't think anyone is going to do a survey which is the only
instrument I know of that will give actual hard numbers. But it has
sparked a pretty lively discussion with a fair number of posts from both
sides. Since we know more people just read than post (and some should do
more reading than posting, present company excepted, of course) it seems
to me pretty safe to assume that there are large numbers on both sides
of the issue. 

No flame intended.

Personally, I always try to do follow-ups when requested. But depending
on the circumstance I may not or may choose to wait until I am in the
area again. I had one 45 miles away that I never did go back to. It was
a sorely neglected short console, 150 cents flat, with very stiff hammer
centers. The man did not play and had a grandchild that came over
occasionally to play. Not wanting to sell him more than he needed I did
the pitch raise and squirted copious amounts of Goose Juice. The results
were amazing. The piano became playable. There were still 3-4 hammers in
the extreme treble that were a little sluggish. I pointed out to him how
severe the problem was at the beginning and that my fix was the easiest
and cheapest approach. If the results were not satisfactory we could do
more to reduce friction levels but it would cost more. I also pointed
out that the tuning would not be real stable. The next week he called
complaining. It seems his neighbor who is a pianist came over, told him
the tuning didn't sound good in places and pointed out the few sluggish
keys remaining. He wanted me to come back and fix it for free. I
declined. I had given him full disclosure ("I can do more to make this
piano better, but it will cost more, and I really don't think you will
need it considering its usage.") and made dramatic improvements to the
piano, giving him full value for his money spent. 

But normally I will make the return. I've done it lots of times and had
good results. I'm just not inclined to do so when I feel it will be a
losing situation. 


Dean May