<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=rol= e_document face=Verdana color=#000000 size=3> <DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3= >In a message dated 2/24/05 3:47:27 AM Pacific Standard Time, A440A@aol.com writes:</FONT><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fef9b4" face=Arial color= =#000000 size=2>     A little advance communication with the de= aler would have made all this <BR>a no-brainer, you would have known who you were= working for before you began <BR>the work and they would have known they wer= e going to pay.  Now that you have <BR>made the investment of your time, = you will have to sell the dealer on accepting <BR>that it was in his best intere= st that you did that.  Was there a warranty?  <BR>What sort of dealer= is involved here?  One that simply sells product or one who <BR>cares abou= t how the instruments perform? <BR>    Some kind of agreement with t= he potential warrantor(?) will make these <BR>situations a lot easier to deal w= ith. </FONT></P> <DIV>Ed,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Sorry for not clarifying this better.  I did contact both the deal= er and the sales rep before going out.  Because I wasn't entirely sure wha= t the "sticky note" problem was before my visit, the sales rep wanted to wait = for my diagnosis of the problem in order to assess the company's level of responsibility.  And yes, there is a warranty.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The dealer <EM>would</EM> pay, I'm just not sure that this type of= regulation is his responsibility at this point.  The piano should funct= ion at a basic level when this fresh from the factory, at the very least, in my opinion. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The dealer is one who generally does minimum work--store tuning is abou= t it, most of the time, though I have on occasion done some real prep-work for= him.  Definitely more of a sales person than a piano person, but h= e has treated me extremely well in both word and deed.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As a side note, my conversation with the sales rep may indeed prove fruitful.  The company in question has had no technician to work w= ith directly in my area, and he seemed interested in using my services. </DIV></FONT> <P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dean May wrote:</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">"The customer contracted with you, he called you. He is therefore responsible for your bil= l and he can negotiate with the dealer or with the manufacturer for reimbursem= ent. If he had called the dealer first and the dealer had sent you out it would b= e a different story.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></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><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Now on the people= side of the equation, he will probably be pretty upset if you take that approach.= I would show him a bill with his name on it and tell him that you donā€= ™t think he should be responsible for it and you will try to get the dealer or the mfr t= o pay. But he knows that it is his name on the bill which sends the message th= at he is ultimately responsible. "</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> <FONT color=#000000 size=3>Dean, </FONT></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><FONT color=#000000 size=3>I generally like to be the go-between for my custom= ers with the dealer or manufacturer.   I always tell them that if any probl= em arise with the piano arise, call me. I feel that it cements long-term loyalty in my relationship with that customer.  If I'm certain that the= problem is the responsibility of the customer, that's a different matter.&nb= sp; Here, it's evident that this is not the case.</FONT></o:p></SPAN></FONT><FON= T face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></P></o:p></= SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Phil Bondi wrote:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Contact the manufacturer's service rep - let that person= know what's <BR>been done, then submit a bill with an explanation of what the symptoms <BR>were and how you solved it. That bill should not go to the deal= er or the <BR>owner..it should go to the manufacturer..with an explanation.<BR><BR>Manufacturers like explanations.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>Phil,</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>This is kind of where I'm headed.  I= 've got a fully detailed explanation of what the problem was and what I did to corre= ct it ready to send off to the proper address.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>Thanks to all.  Invaluable feedback,= as usual!</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>Dave S.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>