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comments interspersed.....<br><div><div>On Apr 11, 2008, at 9:47 AM, Ron Nossaman wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> <blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Andrew Anderson wrote:</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">"Not a customer I wanted to have"</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Not a technician I would want!</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Al Guecia</div> </blockquote><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Then don't call me either.</div></blockquote>Or me.<br><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> I try very hard to not promise more than I can deliver, either with minor repairs, or major remanufacturing. If I consider a piano to be too far gone to be rendered reliably usable by the indicated repairs, I'll suggest they spend nothing, or as little as possible, until they can locate a better instrument. If they insist, and it's possible, I'll do a few minimal repairs to make it work well enough to buy them time, but it's with the full understanding that it's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; ">cash down a rat hole</span>. I find the phrase<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; "> "I don't have money to throw away, and I presume you don't either"</span> tends to focus their attention fairly effectively.</div></blockquote>Wow. I use both of those phrases too. Very focusing.<br><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> Very often, people get offended and defensive, sometimes offensive, when I diagnose the piano as dead. It usually takes another 20 minutes of explanation before enough lights have gone on for them to understand, and they begin to realize I'm actually trying to help. What possible reason could a tech have to decline to do patch up work on an old beater, waiving the income that would result, unless he sincerely thought it was in everyone's best interest to do so?</div></blockquote>Precisely. And I'd love to have a video of the hundreds of times that the light has finally come through the window, and the client realizes I'm being an honest guy.<br><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> I'd personally have a lot less confidence in the tech who exuded optimism and confidence in outlining $500 worth of repairs on that piano the church gave away.</div></blockquote>No kidding. Weasels like that are shun, stun, done, and run.</div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Another, apparently unpopular perspective.</div></blockquote>Wrong.<br><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Ron N</div> </blockquote>David A.</div><br></body></html>