ethics question

[Avery]

Tom,

I agree. I would at least give the dealer a "chance" to make it 
right! If he won't, then I'd
be calling Steinway, NY!

Avery

At 01:35 PM 12/29/2006, you wrote:
>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
>BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE!
>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
>>
>>
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