Liability advice

[Brian Trout]

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Hi Al,

Please forgive my chiming in, since you did ask for responses from RPTs. =
 (I'm an Associate at this time.)  But I had to offer my two cents.

It's a touchy situation.  You feel hurt by a customer making an =
accusation that seems reasonable to her, but not to you.  (Supposedly), =
another tech has offered his "opinion" of your "incompetence", which in =
my opinion is ridiculous.  You're stuck holding the ball, wondering not =
only how did I get myself into this one, but what do I do now.?

If you're into analogies, you might want to suggest that if she took her =
car to the mechanic to have new brakes put on her car, and a few days =
later she saw that her rear bumper was about to fall off due to rust, it =
wouldn't be the mechanic's fault who just repaired her brakes.  He put =
on new brakes, (just as he was told.)   I'm assuming she called to have =
her piano TUNED.  (You didn't move the pitch THAT far!!)

You might suggest to her that there are things that happen to pianos as =
a normal part of the life of an instrument.  (How much detail can depend =
upon her ability to understand.)  Strings do break, mechanical parts do =
fail, and eventually, a lot of pianos will have ribs coming loose from =
the soundboard.  You can make those types of repairs.  You will be happy =
to repair those things as you are able, but there will be a charge for =
the repairs.

If you feel comfortable regluing all those ribs, I'd not have a problem =
with it.  But I'd not go in with the attitude that you caused the =
problems.  In my opinion, you didn't.  I believe it's one of the goals =
of good piano technicians to be 'problem solvers'.   Approach it with a =
desire to solve the customer's problems.  You could tell her you're =
sorry that her piano has some annoying problems, but let's see what we =
could do to make things better.  And then present her with an estimate =
of what it would cost her to solve that particular problem.

Another thing I believe would be of help to you is to try to get her to =
tell you the name of the other technician.  Even if the guy is just =
blowing smoke, it would still be nice to talk to him.  Did he actually =
'see' the piano with his own eyes?  Did he really think that the ribs =
came loose 'because' of the tuning?  Does he have any 'credentials' =
whatsoever?  What would 'HE' recommend be done if 'HE' were the one who =
had done the tuning?  I've had to talk to other technicians from time to =
time, some very knowledgeable, some not so.  But an almost pleasant and =
cordial conversation can give a new perspective.  You might approach it =
with the customer from an angle of:  "In an effort to give you the best =
of piano service, I'd like to talk to '<tech>' about the =
situation..."...  (And if there is no other 'tech', that puts her in an =
awkward position.  If she has to come up with a name, she might just =
'drop' that part of the story, and may at that point be a little more =
receptive to your estimate for rib repairs...)

That's my thought on the matter. =20

(Although I feel for you on this one, I'm thankful for the discussion.)

Good luck,

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Al & Jody Williams <bluefiddle@texoma.net>
    To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
    Date: Saturday, September 04, 1999 9:58 PM
    Subject: Liability advice
   =20
   =20
    I have been a RPT for the past 19 years. Last week I tuned a new =
customer`s Grand spinet piano. They had bought it from their church =
where it had been in storage for no one knew how long. I measured  pitch =
with my Sanderson and found A4 15 cents flat of pitch, the treble 25 =
cents flat, and high treble almost 1/2 step flat. Minimal rust on =
strings and pins reasonably tight, so I raised it to standard pitch , =
was paid, and left. A week later my customer calls complaining of a =
terrible buzz throughout the piano, so back I go to investigate. I found =
every single last rib had pulled away from the soundboard on both ends. =
I had a good conversation  with the husband explaining that this =
condition  is one of the pit falls of buying a used instrument without =
having it inspected by a piano tech., and that normal maintenance such =
as a pitch raise and tuning did not cause the problem. Several days =
later the Lady of the house calls and explains that she has spoken with =
another tech.-qualifications unknown- who told her that before any pitch =
raise the customer should be warned of the irreparable structural damage =
that can occur during a pitch raise.Since I did not give her fair =
warning as to what could happen,  she feels that I am liable for the =
damage to her piano`s ribs. Her thinking is  that it worked fine before =
I tuned it and now it is broke. So what do you all think?  I plan to =
present her with all the responses I receive to this post and she can =
decide if I am liable, a crook,a con artist or what ever.RPTs,give me =
your thoughts, privately if you like at >bluefiddle@texoma.net.< Thanks, =
Al Williams.

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