Old upright-Honesty-Lost business= ok?

[Avery]

As a tech friend of mine here in Houston said, "sometimes our 
reputations depend on what we turn down. Not what
we "fix"." Unless we can do it the way it ought to be done!

Avery

At 09:13 PM 9/25/2006, you wrote:
>I spent almost an hour with a family with an 1917 old upright of 
>questionable worth.  They had spent 200$ for it and had already 
>developed a family heimloom type attachment.  "Fix it -  make it 
>sing again - dont worry about the cost -  as long as we can pay for 
>it in installments."  I believe the previous technician was maybe 
>more salesman than tech.  He had told them that once he was done, 
>they would need a rider on their home owners insurance policy. for 
>the piano.  The previous tech had replaced a few broken strings, 
>fixed a few broken hammer shanks and "TUNED" the piano  He also had 
>suddenly left town, and they called me.
>
>These were really nice people and I wanted to help them, 
>but.......The piano was over one and a half notes flat, most hammers 
>bobbled, blow distance was at least a half inch too much, 
>etc.  Hammers hard as rocks, and dampers shot.  The sustain 
>indicated that the sb was ok but marginal.  I tried to explain that 
>the piano was old and tired, and that although I could certainly 
>improve it, that it wasn t a good investment.    Needs hammers, 
>dampers, regulation, key bushings, and probably  numerous yet 
>undiagnosed action parts fixed.    They asked me why I was so 
>negative, and I said that I just wanted to be realistic about the 
>outcome after they spent all this money.  Recommended they consider 
>a new or at least newer piano.    But their zeal won me over.  I 
>agreed to do an estimate and come back later this week to to 
>multiple pitch raises and a tuning, hopefully not breaking multiple 
>strings in the process.   I received a call late this evening from 
>the mother, saying that they had talked it over and decided that 
>they thought I might be too negative on their piano.  I said I 
>understood, and recommended that they call other techs in the area, 
>including Mr Bondi for a second opinion.
>
>I would have liked to try to make this piano better, but I didnt 
>want to disappoint.  Reputation over $$?    Can anyone out there 
>make me feel either better or worse for "losing this business"?
>
>Dave Smith
>SW FL
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