<H4 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in right 6.0in"><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'">Our job, as professional piano technicians, is to evaluate a piano as a musical instrument, capable of producing a pleasant sound when played in a normal manner. We also have to be aware of the value of comparable pianos and what is involved in restoring the instrument. We have to keep, as it states in our Code of Ethics, the best interest of the client in mind. In other words, we need to look at a piano for what it can do for the customer. We need to look beyond our supposed capabilities, thinking we can fix anything, and ask, "</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'">is this piano really worth fixing</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'">?" We need to be able to say to our customers, "</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'">this piano is dead,"</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'"> regardless of what the customer thinks of the piano. The customer might not like what you said, but it is more ethical to tell the truth, than to let her continue to believe the instrument is worth restoring.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>That, in my opinion, is the ethics of appraising a piano. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></S PAN></H4><br> A quote from my book. <br> <br> <div style="CLEAR: both">Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<br> Piano Tuner/Technician<br> Honolulu, HI<br> 808-349-2943<br> www.bleespiano.com<br> Author of <br> The Business of Piano Tuning<br> available from Potter Press<br> www.pianotuning.com</div> <br> <br> -----Original Message-----<br> From: Garret Traylor <hpp@highpointpiano.com><br> To: 'Pianotech List' <pianotech@ptg.org><br> Sent: Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:46 am<br> Subject: The ultimate fate of "Piano Boomer" generation.<br> <br> <div id=AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8> <STYLE> @#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}@#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;} #AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 p.MsoNormal,#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 li.MsoNormal,#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";}#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 a:link,#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 a:visited,#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; text-decoration:underline;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 p.MsoPlainText,#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 li.MsoPlainText,#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 div.MsoPlainText {mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-link:"Plain Text Ch ar"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";}#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 span.EmailStyle17 {mso-style-type:personal-compose; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:windowtext;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 span.PlainTextChar {mso-style-name:"Plain Text Char"; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-link:"Plain Text"; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";}#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}@#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1698011d-a586-4cf4-8577-0de08d44d5a8 div.Section1 {page:Section1;}</STYLE> <div class=Section1> <div class=MsoPlainText>Ron N. posted me an edited version of a newsletter article he wrote some time ago "It ain't the fall I mind, so much; it's the sudden stop."  The article reminded me that I deal with the broader question I deal with more and more probably four times a week; a question that will likely increase and not decrease as the "Piano Boomers" near their ultimate fate.  </div> <div class=MsoPlainText> </div> <div class=MsoPlainText>When someone is trying to clean out their house, or another person is seeking a piano for their children to learn on; what advice do you give provide the initial callers as a choice between the (not) fixer-upper “Piano Boomer” and a better piano?  Use professional mover to haul to the Dump? Service? Repair? Destroy? Rebuild? Newer Used? Digital?</div> <div class=MsoPlainText> </div> <div class=Mso Normal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Kindest Regards,</SPAN></div> <div class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">Garret</SPAN></div> </div> </div> <div id='u8CABEEB7A87D76E-E04-2A5' class='aol_ad_footer'><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">The Famous, the Infamous, the Lame - in your browser. <A title="http://toolbar.aol.com/tmz/download.html?NCID=aolcmp00050000000014" href="http://toolbar.aol.com/tmz/download.html?NCID=aolcmp00050000000014" target="_blank">Get the TMZ Toolbar Now</A>!</FONT> </div>