<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2719.2200" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Observe as you set up to tune and as = you start to tune. Talk to the customer about concerns and even worst case scenarios. = Then if they want to proceed, they have been warned. Everytime I pitch raise I = warn about broken strings. Its the one time I don't that I actually end up = breaking one. But I can't say that anyone has blamed me for accidental damage. = After an honest explanation of the situation, most people are very reasonable. I = don't think anyone has ever given me trouble on something like this. I don't = think you need anything in writing.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>On the subject of liability, I do = believe in my business being heavily insured. I am covered up to a million dollars for = just about anything that can happen. You could heat a shank and burn down the = house. You could back over a kid in the driveway. After watching my daughter = have a very close call on an auto insurance claim against her, I have come = to conclusion that you cannot have too much insurance for situations that = could wipe you out for life (I'm not talking about extended warrantys and = such, which are usually a rip off). One time I was sitting on a customers floor = doing some elbows when a baby that I didn't even know was in the house had crawled = over to my tool case. She put her hand on it and the heavy pallet laiden lid = came down on her fingers. I was surprised nothing was broken and the mom took the = blame for not watching junior. It could have come down in a much different = way. If you are in business long enough something is bound to happen. This insurance = is not that expensive. End of rant.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dave Bunch</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=keys88@hotmail.com = href="mailto:keys88@hotmail.com">keys88</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, January 29, = 2003 7:48 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Newbie tuning = liability question</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I regards to the recent self = destructing piano post, It brought to mind a question about a tuners liability = overall.  When I get the experience and confidence one of these days to make my = first tuning /service call, how do you deal with things that are beyond your = control with the customer?  So many bad conditions can exist in a = customers piano, such as extremes as the cracked harp, broken bridges, loose = tuning pins that won't hold, rusty strings that break, and so on.  Not to = mention the piano in such ill repair that it cannot be tuned properly without = further repair, that the customer may not won't to pay for at the moment.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>  My question is if anyone has = an invoice that they have the customer initial, that you clearly explain your = terms, so there is no misunderstanding.  Such as, you won't be held = responsible for "such and such" base on the condition of your piano, or that a large pitch raise is done at the customers own risk, due to the = age of the piano, or so on.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>  Thanks very much</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tom</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Patiently waiting for membership info = from the PTG</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial = size=2></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>