Plate break after restringing

[Les Smith]

On Tue, 28 Oct 1997, Warren Fisher wrote:

> Dear List,
> 
> After restringing a Paul G. Mehlin & Sons upright serial # 21406 and in
> the process of bringing the strings up to 150 cents flat, I heard this
> loud bang and discovered a large crack in the left bottom of the plate
> where it curves around the corner from the bottom to the vertical.
> 
> I have several questions:
> 
> 1. What is my liability in this situation?
> 
> 2. How much does plate repair cost usually?
> 
> 3. I have over a thousand dollars worth of labor in this turkey
> already.  Will I be able to collect any of it if the plate can't be
> repaired.
> 
> 4. How would you handle the customer?
> 
> Thanks,

First of all, Warren, I'm sure you know that you have the sincere
sympathies of every tech on this list who's ever restrung a piano.
We all know that it could have been anyone of us, or that someday
it might be. As to how much you might be liable for, dollar-wise,
I think the answer lies in answering the question, "How much is
a 90+ year-old Mehlin upright worth? If the piano needed restringing
because it wouldn't hold a tune, or the strings were breaking, or
whatever, then the obvious answer is "Not very much"-- certainly less
than the cost of repairing the plate. ASSUMING that you DIDN'T do a
big job of over-selling the restringing job--you know, "Gee Mr. Cus-
tomer, They don't build them like this anymore. Paul Mehlin built
onf of the best uprights ever, so certainly it's worth the cost of
restringing it!"--you might be able to get off cheap, relatively
speaking. An almost century old Mehlin upright, assuming it was in
all-original condition, might be worth a few hundred dollars at most,
probably less, unless it had already had some major work done to it
like refinishing, rehammering, etc. Now the customer, of course, might
have a MUCH greater estimate of it's value, especially if it's been
in the family for a long time. Instead of offering the customer say
$300 or so for the piano and saying that that's all it was worth, you
might check with some of your local colleagues and see if one of them
could come up with a presentable upright that's tunable and playable
which you could get and offer to the customer for the same amount of
money. ($250-$300, maybe less).  

As for the $1000 worth of parts and labor you have Invested in that
"turkey", I afraid that you're most likely just going to have to kiss
it good bye. Above all, I don't think that you want to wind up in court
over this. Honesty is always the best policy, if there's no other way
out, so just be up-front with the customer about what happened, and make
him what you feel is an equitable settlement offer under the circum-
stances. Please let us know how all this turns out as anyone of us might
one day find himself in a similar situation. Again, our sympathies are
with you, Warren. GOOD LUCK!

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net