Business Ethics Question

[WAYNE WILLIAMS]

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Dear Mickey<=0D
I am sorry to hear about your situation with your bassoon. I am a band
director as well as as piano technician. I have also taken two instrument
repair courses from the president of the instrument repair technicians gu=
ild
at Villinova University during the course of two summers.=0D
=0D
In short, I find it hard to believe that any repair technician would trea=
t
any client like that. I  realize that bassoons require a specialized
instrument repair technician. I would look for someone either through
another bassoonist or one who does work for a symphony orchestra. did thi=
s
technician have any such credentials.=0D
=0D
I would not hesitate to at least threathen to take him to small claim cou=
rt.
=0D
=0D
Sincerely,=0D
Wayne Williams=0D
Schroon Lake, NY 12870=0D
 =0D
-------Original Message-------=0D
 =0D
From: Pianotech=0D
Date: 08/11/05 12:18:55=0D
To: pianotech@ptg.org=0D
Subject: Business Ethics Question - Very Long Post (sorry)=0D
 =0D
I have a somewhat lengthy somewhat off-topic question; I only ask it to t=
his
group because everybody here is some way or other in the music business. =
I
am an Associate Member who doesn=92t do much piano work anymore (got a fu=
ll
time gig teaching college), but I know that the Guild expects a certain
level of professionalism from its members. I=92ve just run into a situati=
on
with another sort of musical instrument repair professional, and I=92d li=
ke to
know if I=92m in the wrong.=0D
 =0D
I=92ll try to convey the facts as objectively as I can. =0D
 =0D
After a layoff of over 30 years, I took up the bassoon again last year,
playing in an amateur orchestra. When our season was over I decided to ha=
ve
my bassoon overhauled by a professional =96 it had been in a closet for
decades; it seemed to play okay, but I felt it was due for some TLC. I
scouted around on the internet, got a few quotes, and made a decision bas=
ed
on nothing much more than instinct. The gentleman I chose for the job
submitted  in fact the highest quote I got =96 maybe I was thinking that =
that
meant quality; I don=92t know.=0D
 =0D
After some phone tag we finally made contact. I asked him how long of a
waiting list he had, and he assured me he could get to it right away. No
problem. A week or so later I shipped him my bassoon.=0D
 =0D
Three weeks or so went by and I heard nothing from him. I sent him a coup=
le
of emails, which went unanswered, and left a couple of phone messages. I
don=92t recall the exact sequence of events =96 maybe he answered one of =
my
emails and told he was just getting to it, or something like that. At the
time I wasn=92t worried, just missing all that practice.=0D
 =0D
In any case, we finally spoke, and he was very pleasant, said he was work=
ing
on it, that it was =93just fine, just fine=94 and that he=92d have it in =
transit
to me within about a week.=0D
 =0D
After about ten days I tried again to contact him. He didn=92t return my =
phone
calls. =0D
 =0D
Finally I got an email from him in which he asked for my address; he said
he=92d lost it. I was by this time (nearly two months had gone by) gettin=
g a
bit anxious, but I was glad to hear that the instrument was going to be o=
n
its way back to me soon.=0D
 =0D
About a week later I came home from work and found a FedEx notice on my d=
oor
 I was so excited about getting my bassoon back that I blew off a rather
important meeting that night and went instead to the local FedEx depot,
where I picked up the package. When I got it home and opened it up it tur=
ned
out to be the wrong bassoon. He had sent me somebody else=92s.=0D
 =0D
I contacted him right away by phone and email, and the next day got back =
an
email saying he=92d probably put the wrong shipping label on the wrong pa=
ckage
and that I should deduct the cost of shipping it back from my bill. The n=
ext
day I shipped it back to him. Remember that by this time, roughly two mon=
ths
had gone by since I originally shipped him my bassoon. When I didn=92t he=
ar
anything further from him, I sent him an email (and I think a phone messa=
ge,
too), advising him that for the summer, I would be in and out of town
sporadically, so it was imperative that he let me know when the package
(with my bassoon, this time) be shipped so I can be sure to be in town to
receive it.=0D
 =0D
About a week or so later I came home to find anther FedEx notice. Again, =
I
drove out to the FedEx depot and picked up the package. When I took it ho=
me
and opened it, it was in fact my horn.=0D
 =0D
The first thing I noticed was that the luggage tag I=92d put on the case =
with
my name and address was still there. Then I noticed that the four or five
business cards I=92d strewn around inside the case were still there. I
couldn=92t figure out how he could have misplaced my address.=0D
 =0D
Then I tried to assemble the instrument. He had replaced the corks on the
tenons, so I had to use a good bit of cork grease, but even then it was s=
o
hard to assemble I was afraid I was going to break a key. I finally got i=
t
put together. When I played it, I found that it was okay =96 nothing
extraordinary, but maybe it wasn=92t in such bad shape to begin with, so =
maybe
the changes wouldn=92t be so startling- except that I couldn=92t get the =
low b
flat, the lowest note on the instrument, to speak. I tried whittling my
reeds, dropping my embouchure, the few tricks I knew, and I could get it =
to
speak sometimes. I could play a chromatic scale down to low b, but when I
hit the b flat lever, it would just seize up.=0D
 =0D
When I tried to disassemble the instrument, I found in nearly impossible.
This time I was really sure I was going to break something. Finally I got=
 it
apart (at one point I thought I would have to use a strap wrench, but bru=
te
strength got me through).=0D
 =0D
Because of time commitments it was another day or so before I could try i=
t
again. I put on more cork grease, had nearly the same trouble, and, using
several different reeds, still could not get the low b flat to speak with
any kind of reliability. Did I mention that before sending it to him the
note worked fine?=0D
 =0D
So I emailed him. I told him about the problem note. I figured I would ha=
ve
to cope with the tight fit myself; maybe, I thought, the cork needed to b=
e
worked in or something.=0D
 =0D
His response was that when I hit the low b flat key, the low b key probab=
ly
eased up just enough to leak slightly. His advice was to glue a tiny sliv=
er
of cork onto the key=92s spatula.=0D
 =0D
I wrote him back telling him that I found that unacceptable. I compared i=
t
to getting your car back from a mechanic, finding that it stalled at ever=
y
red light, and being told to just take a screwdriver and turn a screw on =
the
fuel injectors half a turn to the right. =0D
 =0D
In the same email I told him of my problems assembling and disassembling =
the
instrument, and I said I had to question whether or not he=92d actually t=
ested
the thing after doing the work. I also told him, as politely as I could,
that his quote was the highest I had received but that I=92d gone with hi=
m
anyway, more or less on faith, and that I felt that we needed to work
something out.=0D
 =0D
Please understand, I was firm in my email, but I wasn=92t trying to insul=
t him
 I pointed out the problems and asked for a resolution of some kind.  I
expected that he would respond with anything from further advice on how t=
o
fix the problems, a statement to just give it time and it would work itse=
lf
out, maybe an offer to discount the bill at least somewhat, maybe somethi=
ng
that implied it was my fault =96 anything but what I got.  =0D
 =0D
What I got was an email stating the he =93disagreed with everything!=94 I=
 said,
and if I felt that way I should just keep my money. His wording was stron=
ger
 though not obscene. He was clearly furious =96 with me.=0D
 =0D
About an hour later he sent another email saying that on second thought h=
e
wanted the cost of one part that he had  installed at my request ($36).
Again, his anger - at me - came through quite clearly.=0D
 =0D
I thought about it over the weekend and decided that I should at least pa=
y
him a reasonable fee for parts and labor. A full set of pads and corks fo=
r a
bassoon costs about $50 retail, and I know that a skilled craftsperson ca=
n
do a complete repad job in a couple of hours, and I also knew that he had
done some other work, so I sent him a check for $300 =96 half what he was
going to charge me originally. I figured he=92d either take it and that w=
ould
be the end of the story, or he would get back to me, say that he=92d writ=
ten
in haste and reconsidered and wanted the whole amount, or he would
counter-offer in some way. Just to protect myself, I wrote on the bill (n=
ot
on the check) that this was payment in full: full price less shipping of
wrong bassoon and estimated bill to fix low b flat and adjust tenon corks=
=2E I
suppose that work wouldn=92t really cost $300, but again, I figured that =
if he
wanted,  he could respond in some way that would leave room to work thing=
s
out.=0D
 =0D
Instead, a week later, I got an envelope in the mail. It contained my che=
ck,
torn to shreds, and a piece of his stationary with the words =93F**k you!=
=94
scrawled across it.=0D
 =0D
Did I deserve that? Am I in the wrong? Would there have been a better way
for me to handle the situation?=0D
 =0D
The more I think about it, the more I=92ve convinced myself that I did no=
thing
wrong, and nothing to deserve that kind of response. I=92ve been in busin=
ess;
I know that customers frequently have complaints, some reasonable, some n=
ot,
but that as a business person I have to deal with them and try to come to=
 a
win-win solution. Again I ask: am I wrong?=0D
 =0D
Should I just chalk it up to one guy=92s lack of anger management? Would =
the
stand-up thing be to send him a check for the full amount of his bill? (I
mean, he did do work on the instrument.)  I feel pretty bad about the who=
le
affair, and at this point it=92s like a sort of bad karma that takes a wh=
ole
lot of fun out of playing has invaded my instrument.=0D
 =0D
Sorry for the length of this, but I=92ve tried to give all pertinent deta=
ils.
You are all professionals I respect. I=92d sure appreciate some thoughts =
from
this group. =0D
 =0D
Mickey Kessler=0D
=20
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