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<DIV><FONT size=2>With out any of us seeing how this particular shop =
operated it
may have been a good thing they were forced out of business. I'm =
not
saying this with any ill regard to anyone trying to make a living for
themselves. Lord knows we're all self employeed (or most of =
us) and
understand how much time and effort goes into running a business let =
alone
keeping it an ongoing concern.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Perhaps this plating shop continually skirted EPA =
laws which
help to protect you, I, and our environment and more importantly =
any
employees (or owners) directly in contact with some very nasty
chemicals. Yes, I totally agree that some of these =
environmental and
safety standards that have to be met for shops like this are costly and =
a pain
in the butt for the business owner. But I really think not =
having at
least some standards in place is far more expensive to everyone =
then having
noncompliers forced out of business.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Once again, I don't know the particulars of the shop =
that was
"forced" out of business and the above statements may not apply to =
that
shop. It is truelly sad that lively hoods are lost in this =
process, but
the fact is there are other shops that remain open. Draw your own
conclusions, just like I'm doing :) </FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Frank mentioned that Acme charged a very fair price, =
perhaps
they weren't willing to spend the money to comply with EPA and OHSA =
standards to
stay in business, thus keeping their costs down and price to the =
customer
down. This is a big decision for any business owner. Spend =
the bucks
(which usually means loan time) or close the doors. Other shops =
have
complied and remain in business.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Doug Mahard</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:rrg@nevada.edu" title=rrg@nevada.edu>robert =
goodale</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, April 04, 2000 =
12:54
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Plating piano =
parts</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Frank Weston wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE="CITE"> <FONT color=#000000><FONT =
size=-1>The company
who have done my plating work in the past (Acme in Baltimore) closed =
their
doors for business. The owner says he got tired of bureaucrats =
with
badges showing up unannounced and making ridiculous demands. =
Too bad,
because they did a good job and charged a very fair
price.</FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>I would send the agency, (EPA, OSHA, or whatever other stupid out =
of
control organization), a carefully pointed letter informing them how =
happy you
are to see that they are killing peoples rights to make a =
living. In
closing inform them that you plan to come over on the weekend to =
inspect their
garage to see if they are housing any hazardous chemicals. Of =
course YOU
get to define what "hazardous" means. After all, they do.
<P>Rob Goodale, RPT <BR>Las Vegas, NV </P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>