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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kinda reminds me of all the U-Haul =
trucks you see
broken down on the highway. They all have "An Adventure in Moving" =
written on
them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I like a challenge, too, and in one =
case I ended up
making some big bucks completely rebuilding/restoring a 1906 =
Hamilton
Upright for a Bed & Breakfast setting. The customer refinished it, I =
got her
decals from "Decals Unlimited" and the whole project turned out
wonderfully.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>On the other hand, the piano you quoted =
my
comments on was a fictional overdamper sitting in an =
unheated/uncooled
garage in New Orleans for 40 years. I might, in such a case, tell the =
caller
that I would charge a service call fee if we didn't end up =
tuning/repairing it.
I actually had a customer who had stored a piano in New Orleans as I =
described
but it was an old Gulbransen spinet. ALL of the flanges and whippen =
elbows were
made of that old plastic that crumbles to dust. Oddly, because it =
was
"Mom's Piano" they paid me to replace all the flanges and elbows and I =
now tune
it every six months--even though the piano certainly did not have enough =
resale
value to justify the expense.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I think it does make sense to see =
questionable
pianos (with the "service call fee" speech) because you never know, as =
these two
stories tell. Also, they may get a better piano and you get a new =
customer
later, etc. Or a referral.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It pays to be honest. But sometimes you =
can be too
honest, I think. Specifically: I've had a couple of occasions when I =
pointed out
deficiencies in pianos that the customer obviously did not want to hear! =
People
have all kinds of ways they assign "value" to their pianos, so I guess =
we have
to feel that out before we recommend, as I once did, that they push the =
piano
into their pond for fish-breeding cover. I can still see the shocked, =
pained
look on that lady's face ... all of her kids had practiced on that piano =
as they
grew up, you see ...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
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=cedel@supernet.com href="mailto:cedel@supernet.com">Clyde =
Hollinger</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> Thursday, July 18, 2002 =
6:44
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> When it's probably =
shot</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Friends,
<P>Do any of you condemn a piano without ever seeing it? There =
are times
when I feel like I probably should, but the client is looking for some =
professional input and hopefully a miracle.
<P>I got a call. A large family (eight kids) has a piano that =
was given
to them four years ago. It sounds tinny, some of the keys =
don't
work, and the former owner told them it can't be tuned to standard
pitch. The kids are taking lessons. Money may very well be =
tight;
I didn't ask. Such service calls can be an adventure, to say the =
least! Thoughts?
<P>Regards, Clyde
<P>"Alan R. Barnard" wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE="CITE"><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=-1>Someone =
buys it for
$100 (silly sap) calls you to come and tune
it.</FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>