<HTML xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><HEAD> <META charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 11/16/2007 7:43:04 PM Pacific Standard Time, deanmay@pianorebuilders.com writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'">>>They have paid for something they didn't get.</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Actually, they got everything they paid for. They awarded the bid to a cheap price and that is precisely what they got. Don’t place all the blame on the tech. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Dean, </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">It isn't a matter of blame, but of responsibility. We have all done work for which we were not ready. It's a way to gain experience, but we pay a price one way or another; either in extra time on the job, having to re-do the work, having to hire an expensive consultant to help us, or, worst, in damage to reputation. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Price competition is the basis of our economy. If I charge more and don't differentiate my work from the person who works for less, I'm going to lose the job. I'm sure the tech didn't say, "I'll charge $x,xxx and return an action that doesn't match either the original design, objective manufacturer's specifications, or subjective performance qualities that your musicians expect, and that other technicians can produce." He might have done his absolute best, but it doesn't appear to fulfill either the explicit or implicit requirements of this job. The school may have learned the same lesson that we as techs learn when we buy a cheap tool, expecting it to perform like a more expensive one; but I still suspect they were promised more than they were provided. This is not a case where tiny details of regulation are a matter of preference; it appears to be a case where objective criteria of function were not met.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Finally, I really don't mean this as a lambasting of the technician. When we work for accomplished musicians who require a machine matching their skill level, we meet their expectations or we don't. If we don't, we pay. No moral judgment here; it's just one of the realities in any skilled profession.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Cordially,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Bob Davis</FONT></DIV><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's new at <A title="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" href="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" target="_blank">AOL.com</A> and <A title="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" href="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" target="_blank">Make AOL Your Homepage</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>