>It will never be a legal case but I will be dogging them. Gene - I wouldn't conclude that it would "never be a legal case", I just don't think you're there yet. And I have to say that, as full of maturity and wisdom as most of the comments have been, I would not be prepared, at this point, to just chalk it up to experience and walk away, but, again, based upon the information and the time frame, you're not there yet. The fact remains, based upon your story, that you might find a check in your mailbox tomorrow. Or the day after. But you don't want to live in that state of perpetual wonderment, nor should you have to. The only reason to eat it is if the organization folds, not because someone with no conscience thinks you an easy mark. The various forms of advice pointing to the high road are important for you health, but do not preclude your perseverance. >This symphony knew when they wanted my services that they could not >pay me and did not have the fortitude to inform me or ask for donated service Is this your suspicion, or do you know that this was their intent? Again, make sure you are talking to a person who can actually do something. Then get personal, in a genial way. Ask specifically what your getting paid depends upon. Ask for a timetable of communication that fits the time frame you are being asked to consider. Any "maybe" 's require a deadline. There should be an agreed upon time frame, after which, your counterpart at the organization should understand you would be prepared to take further measures. (If you have any legal friends or family, you might want to talk over what, besides actually suing, might be available to you.) This should not be presented as a threat, but rather, some combination of pure business and the way you need to protect yourself from self destructive emotions. As to the question of whether or not to divulge the name of the organization here, on a public list, you would have to first explain the benefit to yourself of doing so. There is none, right now. It would only indulge yourself, and us. I asked you earlier today - are there any further piano deployments for the remainder of their season? To me, this would be a key question. It sounds like it's too far for you to even want to go, just for a tuning, but it presents a dilemma. If you found out that someone else did the work and did get paid, you'd be furious. On the other hand, if you were to learn that a fellow technician ended up getting stiffed, you might feel a bit guilty for not having spoken up. At some point, a pattern of abuse becomes so flagrant that it would seem impossible to commit slander, but you're not there yet. Come up with the best plan you can, then go about being alive and let the plan worry about itself. What do you want for 3 AM? David Skolnik Hastings on Hudson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100506/bdd9937a/attachment.htm>
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