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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Hi Al,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Please forgive my chiming in, since you did ask for =
responses
from RPTs. (I'm an Associate at this time.) But I had to =
offer my
two cents.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>It's a touchy situation. You feel hurt by a =
customer
making an accusation that seems reasonable to her, but not to you. =
(Supposedly), another tech has offered his "opinion" of your
"incompetence", which in my opinion is ridiculous. =
You're stuck
holding the ball, wondering not only how did I get myself into this one, =
but
what do I do now.?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>If you're into analogies, you might =
want to
suggest that if she took her car to the mechanic to have new brakes put =
on her
car, and a few days later she saw that her rear bumper was about to fall =
off due
to rust, it wouldn't be the mechanic's fault who just repaired her =
brakes.
He put on new brakes, (just as he was told.) I'm assuming =
she called
to have her piano TUNED. (You didn't move the pitch THAT
far!!)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>You might suggest to her that there are things that =
happen to
pianos as a normal part of the life of an instrument. (How much =
detail can
depend upon her ability to understand.) Strings do break, =
mechanical parts
do fail, and eventually, a lot of pianos will have ribs coming loose =
from the
soundboard. You can make those types of repairs. You will be =
happy
to repair those things as you are able, but there will be a charge for =
the
repairs.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If you feel comfortable regluing all those ribs, I'd =
not have
a problem with it. But I'd not go in with the attitude that you =
caused the
problems. In my opinion, you didn't. I believe it's one of =
the goals
of good piano technicians to be 'problem solvers'. Approach =
it with
a desire to solve the customer's problems. You could tell her =
you're sorry
that her piano has some annoying problems, but let's see what we could =
do to
make things better. And then present her with an estimate of what =
it would
cost her to solve that particular problem.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Another thing I believe would be of help to you is =
to try to
get her to tell you the name of the other technician. Even if the =
guy is
just blowing smoke, it would still be nice to talk to him. Did he =
actually
'see' the piano with his own eyes? Did he really think that the =
ribs came
loose 'because' of the tuning? Does he have any 'credentials'
whatsoever? What would 'HE' recommend be done if 'HE' were the one =
who had
done the tuning? I've had to talk to other technicians from time =
to time,
some very knowledgeable, some not so. But an almost pleasant and =
cordial
conversation can give a new perspective. You might approach it =
with the
customer from an angle of: "In an effort to give you the best =
of
piano service, I'd like to talk to '<tech>' about the
situation..."... (And if there is no other 'tech', that puts =
her in
an awkward position. If she has to come up with a name, she might =
just
'drop' that part of the story, and may at that point be a little more =
receptive
to your estimate for rib repairs...)</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>That's my thought on the matter. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>(Although I feel for you on this one, I'm thankful =
for the
discussion.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Good luck,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Brian Trout</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Quarryville, PA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="mailto:btrout@desupernet.net">btrout@desupernet.net</A></FONT></D=
IV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 solid 2px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: =
5px">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>-----Original =
Message-----</B><BR><B>From:
</B>Al & Jody Williams <<A
=
href="mailto:bluefiddle@texoma.net">bluefiddle@texoma.net</A>><BR><B=
>To:
</B><A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> =
<<A
=
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR><B>Date:
</B>Saturday, September 04, 1999 9:58 PM<BR><B>Subject: =
</B>Liability
advice<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>I have been a RPT for the past =
19 years.
Last week I tuned a new customer`s Grand spinet piano. They had =
bought it
from their church where it had been in storage for no one knew how =
long. I
measured pitch with my Sanderson and found A4 15 cents flat of =
pitch,
the treble 25 cents flat, and high treble almost 1/2 step flat. =
Minimal rust
on strings and pins reasonably tight, so I raised it to standard =
pitch , was
paid, and left. A week later my customer calls complaining of a =
terrible
buzz throughout the piano, so back I go to investigate. I found =
every single
last rib had pulled away from the soundboard on both ends. I had a =
good
conversation with the husband explaining that this =
condition is
one of the pit falls of buying a used instrument without having it =
inspected
by a piano tech., and that normal maintenance such as a pitch raise =
and
tuning did not cause the problem. Several days later the Lady of the =
house
calls and explains that she has spoken with another =
tech.-qualifications
unknown- who told her that before any pitch raise the customer =
should be
warned of the irreparable structural damage that can occur during a =
pitch
raise.Since I did not give her fair warning as to what could =
happen,
she feels that I am liable for the damage to her piano`s ribs. Her =
thinking
is that it worked fine before I tuned it and now it is broke. =
So what
do you all think? I plan to present her with all the responses =
I
receive to this post and she can decide if I am liable, a crook,a =
con artist
or what ever.RPTs,give me your thoughts, privately if you like at =
><A
href="mailto:bluefiddle@texoma.net">bluefiddle@texoma.net</A>.< =
Thanks,
Al Williams.</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>