Dean,
I would chalk this one under the heading of "Experience" and in the words of John & Paul "Let it be." Or if you rather Monty Python... "RUN AWAY!" One has to weigh the amount of effort against the as they say in NY, "The agita factor"
That is the stressing brought upon you by you over the debate of who or whom is right.
Again I'd just leave it alone as you have little to gain.
If you're concerned about her Lawyer, which I perceive to be just saber rattling, start a paper trail by documenting everything and put in in a file then after some time just shred it.
Been there...Done That...
Gerry Cousins, RPT
From: pianotech-request at ptg.org
Subject: pianotech Digest, Vol 1, Issue 30
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:32:24 -0800
Send pianotech mailing list submissions to
pianotech at ptg.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
http://ptg.org/mailman/listinfo/pianotech_ptg.org
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
pianotech-request at ptg.org
You can reach the person managing the list at
pianotech-owner at ptg.org
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of pianotech digest..."
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: deanmay at pianorebuilders.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:28:12 -0500
Subject: [pianotech] gluing on sharps
Greetings allA few months ago I posted a problem I had with a new set of
sharps I installed that had several coming off. I received several helpful
hints on things I could do differently, but the basic protocol was: get clean
surface, use PVC-E glue, which is what I had done. The situation is now
resolved and I wanted to share what I found to be the problem. To wit, the new
sharps from Schaff come with a very shiny glue surface, unlike sharps from the
past that were rough giving the glue something to bite. These new sharps from
Schaff need to have the bottom side sanded first with something like a 150
sandpaper to provide a suitable gluing surface
In keeping with the axiom of no good deed will go
unpunished, this sharp replacement job was an extra freebie that I had done on
this piano in conjunction with some other work and it turned into a nightmare. Originally
I had agreed to shoot some lacquer on the original sharps to spruce them up at
no charge. But they had some kind of coating on them that, even after extensive
sanding, made the new paint a gummy mess. So I told the customer I would install
new ones at no charge. To complicate things the customer lives about 45 miles
from me. After installing the action the customer was very happy. On returning
home I had a call from a very distraught customer that the sharps were coming
off, I had ruined her piano, and she insisted I return immediately. Because of
other commitments it was not possible for me to return for a few days. In the
meantime she contacted a respected piano supplier many on this list use. This
supplier told her (I am getting this second hand, of course, and not directly
from the supplier) that her keys were ruined, but not to worry they could make
a new set for her for around $2k. The customer did not want me to touch her piano and
contacted her attorney. She wanted me to pay for a new set of keys from this
supplier. It ended up, long story short, I hired another mutually agreed upon
rebuilder who replaced the sharps. He verified that the keys were not ruined
and also spotted the original problem of shiney glue surface.
In 25 years this is a first for me, having a problem that I
was not able to resolve directly with the customer. What is particularly
bothersome, however, is what I would deem the very unprofessional conduct of this
piano parts supplier, giving a sight unseen diagnosis over the phone with no
prior knowledge of the circumstances. Their conduct has cost me several hundred
dollars and a lot of goodwill. How do you all think I should respond? Dean
Dean May
cell 812.239.3359 PianoRebuilders.com
812.235.5272 Terre Haute IN
47802
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: AlliedPianoCraft at hotmail.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:10:48 -0500
Subject: Re: [pianotech] gluing on sharps
Dean,
A very sad story, but in my option many mistakes made
here.
First, a lesson learned here. NEVER do any work for
nothing. It tells the customer what you think your time is worth.
Secondly, I would have contacted the supplier
directly to find out what they have to say about what
happened.
Thirdly, you should have let her take you to court.
You could have represented yourself and the court would always give you the
opportunity to rectify the problem before there were any fines or cost to you
and the supplier would have to appear in court to prove that the keys were in
fact ruined.
Sorry this happened to you.
Just my 2 cents.
Al Guecia
From: Dean May
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 3:28 PM
To: 'Pianotech List'
Subject: [pianotech] gluing on sharps
Greetings
all
A few months ago I posted a problem
I had with a new set of sharps I installed that had several coming off. I
received several helpful hints on things I could do differently, but the basic
protocol was: get clean surface, use PVC-E glue, which is what I had done. The
situation is now resolved and I wanted to share what I found to be the problem.
To wit, the new sharps from Schaff come with a very shiny glue surface, unlike
sharps from the past that were rough giving the glue something to bite. These
new sharps from Schaff need to have the bottom side sanded first with something
like a 150 sandpaper to provide a suitable gluing surface.
In keeping with the axiom of no good
deed will go unpunished, this sharp replacement job was an extra freebie that I
had done on this piano in conjunction with some other work and it turned into a
nightmare. Originally I had agreed to shoot some lacquer on the original sharps
to spruce them up at no charge. But they had some kind of coating on them that,
even after extensive sanding, made the new paint a gummy mess. So I told the
customer I would install new ones at no charge. To complicate things the
customer lives about 45 miles from me. After installing the action the customer
was very happy. On returning home I had a call from a very distraught customer
that the sharps were coming off, I had ruined her piano, and she insisted I
return immediately. Because of other commitments it was not possible for me to
return for a few days. In the meantime she contacted a respected piano supplier
many on this list use. This supplier told her (I am getting this second hand, of
course, and not directly from the supplier) that her keys were ruined, but not
to worry they could make a new set for her for around $2k.
The customer did not want me to
touch her piano and contacted her attorney. She wanted me to pay for a new set
of keys from this supplier. It ended up, long story short, I hired another
mutually agreed upon rebuilder who replaced the sharps. He verified that the
keys were not ruined and also spotted the original problem of shiney glue
surface.
In 25 years this is a first for me,
having a problem that I was not able to resolve directly with the customer. What
is particularly bothersome, however, is what I would deem the very
unprofessional conduct of this piano parts supplier, giving a sight unseen
diagnosis over the phone with no prior knowledge of the circumstances. Their
conduct has cost me several hundred dollars and a lot of goodwill. How do you
all think I should respond?
Dean
Dean
May
cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com
812.235.5272
Terre
Haute IN 47802
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: m_spreeman at hotmail.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:32:19 -0700
Subject: Re: [pianotech] gluing on sharps
Dean,
I'm not certain what you would expect to accomplish by responding to "the supplier"; setting things right with them, clearing your conscience, chastising them for something you may never know all the facts to? The piano problem is resolved and you've done your part to rectify the situation. Sometimes you just have to take your lumps, or realize that you won't be able to make everyone happy, learn, and move on.
If you deem it necessary to communicate with the supplier, my advice would be to try to get the facts. You state that "(I am getting this second hand, of course, and not directly from the supplier)". There are a myriad of possibilities as to what the communication was between said supplier and the customer. The customer may have insisted the keys were ruined and in need of replacement to the supplier, who then simply quoted the cost for replacement. It wouldn't be unusual for the customer to then relate to you that the supplier said the keys were ruined, blah, blah, blah. Don't enact the guilty verdict on the supplier unless you know exactly how the whole thing went down, which you will likely never know for sure.
Michael Spreeman
www.RavenscroftPianos.com
Color coding for safety: Windows Live Hotmail alerts you to suspicious email. Sign up today.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20081112/fb026962/attachment-0001.html>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC