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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Notice that the complaining is not =
directed at the
customer. It is an attempt to understand how certain people
</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>can be so willing to spend so much =
money on all
kinds of expensive state-of-the-art stuff for themselves yet cheap =
out in
the worst way when it comes to their kids' interests. The =
incongruity of
the situation is enough to annoy most readers on this list, especially =
when the
cheap-out involves what we love working on the most.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I personally think this is yet another =
case of an
owner who understands and knows what to expect from the other material =
goods
listed in the post, but hasn't a clue about how a piano should function =
and is
not willing to spend the money to find out. It's the same scenerio =
as the
fancy exclusive club (or some other wealthy establishment) that buys =
only the
cheapest piano available and expects the various pianists it hires to =
play the
thing without complaint ... because the manager in charge of the thing =
knows
nothing about and probably doesn't care about knowing anything =
concerning
pianos. The pianists can all be children for all they =
care.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now the challenge is to convince the =
customer to
upgrade to a better instrument for the kids, and some customers in this =
position
can be incredibly stubborn for reasons we technicians have trouble
understanding. There's also the question of how best to keep the =
junkers
out of circulation unless they were rebuilt into serviceable
instruments.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Z! Reinhardt RPT<BR>Ann =
Arbor MI<BR><A
href="mailto:diskladame@provide.net">diskladame@provide.net</A></FONT><=
/DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Billbrpt@AOL.COM =
href="mailto:Billbrpt@AOL.COM">Billbrpt@AOL.COM</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, February 10, 2002 =
12:16
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Junk Pianos</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><BR></DIV><FONT =
face=arial,helvetica><FONT
size=2><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"
TYPE="CITE">End of rant..............for now. <BR><BR>Terry
Farrell</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=3
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"> <BR>Terry, it doesn't do any good to complain =
about this
kind of situation here. We've all seen it and we've all dealt =
with it.
If you have enough work to do, then just tell them the facts, =
the piano
is not suitable because it is unserviceable. Yes, you'll often =
get the
look of great disappointment and disbelief and also not get any money =
either
(or perhaps only a small service call fee). <BR><BR>You can more =
easily get a
service call fee in such a situation if you spend less time fuming =
over and
condemning the piano and the last tuner if you take the time to spell =
out,
illustrate and demonstrate the facts and talk to them seriously about =
the
benefits of new piano ownership. (You may also get a healthy =
commission
from a dealer if they buy based on your recomendation). It will =
outlast the
SUVs and all the other expensive consumer goods. It can go to a
grandchild when that time comes. It is salable and sometimes at =
a gain
rather than loss if the kids just don't take to it. <BR><BR>On the =
other hand,
there is very little which can't be fixed, including all of the items =
you
mentioned. During my rebuilding days, I got an Aeolian piano for =
free
that was deemed worthless from smoke and moisture damage. I =
refinished
it, cleaned it out, repainted the plate and restrung it including a =
rescaling
job. I sold it to a dealer for a price that suited me and the =
dealer
sold it to a customer as a "good deal". That was in the mid =
1080's and I
still tune that piano every year. It is in a nice, suburban home =
where
they also have expensive stuff. <BR><BR>I don't like Aeolian pianos =
any more
than you do and very rarely, you'll find one that is really too far =
gone to be
worth repair. You can practice restringing skills, hammer and =
action
replacement skills, key leveling and other regulation on a piano such =
as this
and when you get to do the same with some really fine instruments, =
you'll have
good skills. But just complaining about all the "junk" pianos =
out there
won't get you anything. <BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000
size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Bill Bremmer RPT <BR>Madison, Wisconsin =
<BR><A
href="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b =
r e m m e r
. c o m =-</A> </FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>