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<DIV><SPAN class=875283717-01072006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Good
point. Thanks for the reminder.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=875283717-01072006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=875283717-01072006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>--
Geoff</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>ed440@mindspring.com<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, July 01, 2006 4:17
AM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Subject:</B> RE: piano evaluation
checklist<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Geoff-</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You will want to know if this is a grey market import. </DIV>
<DIV>Call Yamaha, tell them the serial number and find out if they will supply
replacement parts.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Ed Sutton<BR><BR><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid">-----Original
Message----- <BR>From: Geoff Sykes <THETUNER@IVORIES52.COM><BR>Sent: Jun 30,
2006 11:28 PM <BR>To: 'Pianotech List' <PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG><BR>Subject: RE:
piano evaluation checklist <BR><BR><ZZZHTML><ZZZHEAD><ZZZMETA
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<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006>Brian --</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006>Thank you for your thoughts and ethical
concerns. Indeed, what you are describing is exactly how I would handle the
situation if I was doing the evaluation for the person that already owned
the piano. I would hope that delivering honesty and developing trust in a
potential client with whom one wants a lasting relationship is ultimately
the goal of all tuner technicians. It's certainly mine.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006>In this instance I was asked by a
potential buyer to evaluate an old Yamaha UX on a dealers floor. Fortunately
this is not a dealer I already have a relationship with, so my obligation is
to the buyer, who is paying me for my skills and time. (If I did have a
relationship with the dealer I probably would not have accepted the job due
to conflict of interest.) My objective is really only to determine if the
piano is worth buying, and to advise my customer, the buyer, of possible
problems and repair costs should they decide to buy. I believe that the
price, unless it is outrageous, is ultimately whatever the buyer and the
dealer decide on and I don't think it would be my place to intervene.
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006>Your observations on customer relations
is well thought out and very good. Thank you for sharing it with me and the
rest of the list.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006>-- Geoff Sykes</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006>-- Assoc. Los Angeles</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=531180803-01072006></SPAN> </DIV>
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<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf
Of </B>BRIAN GRIST<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 29, 2006 11:57
PM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Cc:</B> MARY; Andrea Sed; slgrist
Grist; bng0809@msn.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: piano evaluation
checklist<BR><BR></FONT></DIV><ZZZ!--[GTE IE 5]><ZZZ![ENDIF]-->
<DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Geoff,</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> It seems as if you have
received several forms and lots of good advice on your evaluation
journey. I would like to share with you my ethical and professional
business opinions at no cost and expect only that you will value
them accordingly. </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> In practical terms, your
customer has asked you for an evaluation of their instrument and you are
eager to demonstrate your ability to perform this evaluation. However,
what your customer is really asking of you is to satisfy their musical
needs and desires. They have invited you into their home to find out if
you can help them reach this personal musical goal and how much it will
cost them to do so. Therefore, it is critical to clearly understand
their specific needs and desires before starting any of the technical
aspects of this evaluation. Perhaps if you approached it in a
fashion that you might utilize to determine if the young man that has
just crossed your threshold is worthy of dating your daughter; my advice
might resonate more clearly for you.</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> What are the customer's
intentions for their piano? How much do they value their piano right
now? What kind of relationship do they have in mind for their piano?
Who will be playing the piano and how often will it be
played? What is their musical skill level and how often do they
intend to service and tune it in the future? Are they willing to make a
long term commitment to their piano or are they perhaps intending to
play it only for a short while and then sell it and move on to another
instrument? I think you get what type of questions I ask at the
beginning of the evaluation and also (in a different but
related topic) what I put the young man that recently married my
daughter through. </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> The primary thing you
are selling them is a relationship with you. Understanding your
customer's needs will allow you to customize the information in an
evaluation to satisfy them. They will be happy to have chosen you to
evaluate their piano and you will have satisfied the most basic pretense
of all business; you will have sold yourself .All of the technical stuff
will fall into place after you develop an understanding of their
needs. They will be happy to pay you for getting the results they
may or may not have known they had to begin with. They will tell their
friends what a great listener their piano tuner is (pun
intended). </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> Try using a piano tuner's
most valuable asset; your ears. Listen to your customer to understand
before beginning the technical aspects of the evaluation. I trust
this will make your experience far more rewarding for all involved
and may very well result in some valuable referrals for additional
business. What more gratifying profession could one ask for? How
many people get the opportunity to bring musical joy into other people's
lives on a daily basis and then be blessed by them once again with
payment for having done so?</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Brian Grist</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><A title=mailto:bng0809@msn.com
href="mailto:bng0809@msn.com">bng0809@msn.com</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>From:</B> <A
title=mailto:thetuner@ivories52.com
href="mailto:thetuner@ivories52.com">Geoff Sykes</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=mailto:Pianotech@Ptg.%20Org
href="mailto:Pianotech@Ptg. Org">Pianotech@Ptg. Org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 29, 2006 3:17
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> piano evaluation
checklist</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=781000822-29062006>Greetings all
--</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
class=781000822-29062006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=781000822-29062006>I have never done a
piano evaluation before but I have been called upon to do one. In
preparation I have been re-reading Larry Fine. So many things one never
really thinks about when simply tuning and maintaining the beasts.
Anyway, s</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
class=781000822-29062006>everal months ago I remember, or perhaps
imagined, that someone here posted a rather detailed piano evaluation
checklist. I have already searched the archives and can't find it. Does
someone here have something like this they would be willing to share,
or should I just go ahead and reinvent it? </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
class=781000822-29062006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=781000822-29062006>-- Geoff
Sykes</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=781000822-29062006>-- Assoc. Los
Angeles</SPAN></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></ZZZBODY></ZZZHTML></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>