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<font size=3>Tom, <br><br>
I agree. I would at least give the dealer a "chance" to make it
right! If he won't, then I'd <br>
be calling Steinway, NY!<br><br>
Avery<br><br>
At 01:35 PM 12/29/2006, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Hi Tom,<br>
I would call the owner of the store direct and tell him what you have
found and the lack of response from his employee. He, as well as
you, should have the piano owners interest at heart.<br>
James<br>
James Grebe Piano Tuning & Repair Member of
Master Piano Technicians.<br>
Registered Piano Technician of the Piano Technicians Guild for over 30
years. "Member of the Year" in 1989<br>
Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups, Piano Benches, Writing
Instruments,Table Timepieces<br>
(314) 608-4137 1526 Raspberry Lane Arnold, MO
63010<br>
Researcher of St. Louis Theatre History<br>
BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE!<br>
pianoman@accessus.net<br>
Jimpianowood@yahoo.com<br>
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Sivak"
<tvaktvak@sbcglobal.net><br>
To: "pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org><br>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 1:31 PM<br>
Subject: ethics question<br><br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">List<br><br>
What to do, what to do...<br><br>
A client has a new Essex grand, purchased less than a year
ago. The local Steinway dealer assigned me the freebie first tuning
on the piano which I performed almost 6 months ago. At this point,
the client is now mine.<br><br>
At that first tuning I was alarmed to find that most of the tuning
pins were way too loose. I'm not being picky here; I wasn't sure if
the piano would even hold the tuning when I left. So I called the
head of the tech dept. at the dealer to inform him about the loose
pins.<br><br>
He told me that I needed to measure the torque with a torque wrench
so that they had some concrete figures to back up my assertion. He
wanted me to get some measurements without alarming the client, which I
was able to do. He seemed to indicate that he would have the piano
replaced if the torque readings were unacceptable.<br><br>
All the pins measure less than 25 pounds of torque. Many were
less than 15 pounds. I reported back to the head techie at the
dealer and did not hear of any further developements. I did not
share any of this with the owner.<br><br>
Last week the owner of the piano called to get it tuned again, so I
went yesterday and retuned the piano. My last tuning actually held
just fine. The piano was about 10 to 15 cents low, not at all unusual at
this time of year, let alone on a new piano with stretching
strings.<br><br>
The pins are just as loose as ever. You can't overpull a
string and ease it back down, because it'll just slip all the way down a
half step or so. You have to pull it up to pitch and let go V
E R Y
G E N T L Y. This
is a technique that we have all perfected after years of working on 75
year old Gulbransens, not pianos less than a year old.<br><br>
So my ethical dilemma is this: Should I tell the client that
the tuning pins are too loose for a new piano? The dealer may have
given me the client, but the client is mine now. I feel that I owe
them my honest opinions on things, and my opinion is that this piano is
defective. Of course, no one has actually asked for my opinion
about the piano, so I'd be the one who started all this trouble if it
comes to that. (I don't really do much work for the dealer any
more, so I don't think I have that much to risk, personally,
business-wise, but of course, I'd rather not alienate the only Steinway
dealer in Chicagoland!)<br><br>
And after all, the piano is fine right now. It will hold a
tuning, even if I have to be a little careful while doing it. How
many years will it be before these loose pins become so loose that it
won't hold a tune? I don't know, but certainly much sooner than any
new piano should. It seems unethical to allow the client to be
blissfully unaware that in a year, or two or ten, this piano may need a
new pinblock. They have a warranty now, and since this situation is
only marginally acceptable now and will only get worse, they should take
care of it sooner rather than later.<br><br>
There is a new head of the tech department at the dealer. I
have called him twice and he hasn't returned my calls yet. Of
course, I won't do anything until I talk to him, but in the meantime, the
ethics of the situation seemed worthy of discussion.<br><br>
What do you all think? What would you do?<br><br>
I look forward to your sage advice,<br>
Tom Sivak<br>
Chicago<br><br>
<br>
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