<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2963" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sounds to me like you did exactly the correct thing Dave. Sometimes, when they really really insist on a price estimate, I will give them quotes for a good, better and best approach (assuming the piano can be made decent with something less than a complete remanufacture) - but let me tell ya, when I do that - when the piano would serve much better in the dump - I don't shy away at all from recommending proper fixes along with proper compensation (and a premium added for all the unknowns that are bound to pop up!).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I also make it a point of educating them about how much better the average 20-year old residential $900 piano will sound, look and play. And of course, they can do much better with a larger expenditure - so many more efficient possibilities for less than they would otherwise dump into the old PSO. Almost always they see the light. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Almost always.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I like car analogies. "Pianos wear out like cars. There are more moving parts in your piano than in your automobile. Even though Mercedes Benz is a high quality automobile manufacturer, if you have a 1962 MB with 950,000 miles on it in original condition, its likely you won't be able to trust it to get you to the corner grocery store and back - let alone to work. The piano has more parts and every one of them over time either warp, get hard, wear out, have glue joints fail, deform, get brittle, etc."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I also like to explain to them (appropriate in most cases - not all) that even with $1K of work done to their old upright, what they will then have is a worn out, poor sounding, poor playing, old piano with a bunch of band-aids on it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Most people get it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I spent almost an hour with a family with an 1917 old upright of questionable worth.  They had spent 200$ for it and had already developed a family heimloom type attachment.  "Fix it -  make it sing again - dont worry about the cost -  as long as we can pay for it in installments."  I believe the previous technician was maybe more salesman than tech.  He had told them that once he was done, they would need a rider on their home owners insurance policy. for the piano.  The previous tech had replaced a few broken strings, fixed a few broken hammer shanks and "TUNED" the piano  He also had suddenly left town, and they called me.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>These were really nice people and I wanted to help them, but.......The piano was over one and a half notes flat, most hammers bobbled, blow distance was at least a half inch too much, etc.  Hammers hard as rocks, and dampers shot.  The sustain indicated that the sb was ok but marginal.  I tried to explain that the piano was old and tired, and that although I could certainly improve it, that it wasn t a good investment.    Needs hammers, dampers, regulation, key bushings, and probably  numerous yet undiagnosed action parts fixed.    They asked me why I was so negative, and I said that I just wanted to be realistic about the outcome after they spent all this money.  Recommended they consider a new or at least newer piano.    But their zeal won me over.  I agreed to do an estimate and come back later this week to to multiple pitch raises and a tuning, hopefully not breaking multiple strings in the process.   I received a call late this evening from the mother, saying that they had talked it over and decided that they thought I might be too negative on their piano.  I said I understood, and recommended that they call other techs in the area, including Mr Bondi for a second opinion.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I would have liked to try to make this piano better, but I didnt want to disappoint.  Reputation over $$?    Can anyone out there make me feel either better or worse for "losing this business"?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dave Smith</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>SW FL</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>