ethics question

[Pianoman]

Hi Tom,
I would call the owner of the store direct and tell him what you have found 
and the lack of response from his employee.  He, as well as you, should have 
the piano owners interest at heart.
James
James Grebe   Piano Tuning & Repair   Member of Master Piano Technicians.
Registered Piano Technician of the Piano Technicians Guild for over 30 
years.   "Member of the Year" in 1989
Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups, Piano Benches, Writing 
Instruments,Table Timepieces
 (314) 608-4137   1526 Raspberry Lane   Arnold, MO 63010
Researcher of St. Louis Theatre History
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pianoman at accessus.net
Jimpianowood at yahoo.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Sivak" <tvaktvak at sbcglobal.net>
To: "pianotech" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 1:31 PM
Subject: ethics question


> List
>
>  What to do, what to do...
>
>  A client has a new Essex grand, purchased less than a year ago.  The 
> local Steinway dealer assigned me the freebie first tuning on the piano 
> which I performed almost 6 months ago.  At this point, the client is now 
> mine.
>
>  At that first tuning I was alarmed to find that most of the tuning pins 
> were way too loose.  I'm not being picky here; I wasn't sure if the piano 
> would even hold the tuning when I left.  So I called the head of the tech 
> dept. at the dealer to inform him about the loose pins.
>
>  He told me that I needed to measure the torque with a torque wrench so 
> that they had some concrete figures to back up my assertion.  He wanted me 
> to get some measurements without alarming the client, which I was able to 
> do.  He seemed to indicate that he would have the piano replaced if the 
> torque readings were unacceptable.
>
>  All the pins measure less than 25 pounds of torque.  Many were less than 
> 15 pounds.  I reported back to the head techie at the dealer and did not 
> hear of any further developements.  I did not share any of this with the 
> owner.
>
>  Last week the owner of the piano called to get it tuned again, so I went 
> yesterday and retuned the piano.  My last tuning actually held just fine. 
> The piano was about 10 to 15 cents low, not at all unusual at this time of 
> year, let alone on a new piano with stretching strings.
>
>  The pins are just as loose as ever.  You can't overpull a string and ease 
> it back down, because it'll just slip all the way down a half step or so. 
> You have to pull it up to pitch and let go  V  E   R   Y       G   E   N 
> T   L  Y.   This is a technique that we have all perfected after years of 
> working on 75 year old Gulbransens, not pianos less than a year old.
>
>  So my ethical dilemma is this:  Should I tell the client that the tuning 
> pins are too loose for a new piano?  The dealer may have given me the 
> client, but the client is mine now.  I feel that I owe them my honest 
> opinions on things, and my opinion is that this piano is defective.  Of 
> course, no one has actually asked for my opinion about the piano, so I'd 
> be the one who started all this trouble if it comes to that.  (I don't 
> really do much work for the dealer any more, so I don't think I have that 
> much to risk, personally, business-wise, but of course, I'd rather not 
> alienate the only Steinway dealer in Chicagoland!)
>
>  And after all, the piano is fine right now.  It will hold a tuning, even 
> if I have to be a little careful while doing it.  How many years will it 
> be before these loose pins become so loose that it won't hold a tune?  I 
> don't know, but certainly much sooner than any new piano should.  It seems 
> unethical to allow the client to be blissfully unaware that in a year, or 
> two or ten, this piano may need a new pinblock.  They have a warranty now, 
> and since this situation is only marginally acceptable now and will only 
> get worse, they should take care of it sooner rather than later.
>
>  There is a new head of the tech department at the dealer.  I have called 
> him twice and he hasn't returned my calls yet.  Of course, I won't do 
> anything until I talk to him, but in the meantime, the ethics of the 
> situation seemed worthy of discussion.
>
>  What do you all think?  What would you do?
>
>  I look forward to your sage advice,
>  Tom Sivak
>  Chicago
>
>
>