RE Litigation

[Jim_Harvey@yca.ccmail.compuserve.com]

     >> PS -- It's really pathetic to think that only fear of litigation
     would motivate a business to make a piano safe.

     It's true Ken, but then you did mention bars/lounges, no?

     Last week, I tuned and replaced some strings (no surprises here) on an
     obscure-named toy grand in a bar/restaurant. The piano had six legs,
     but was NOT an ex-reproducer. All the legs had been repaired in the
     past, but I still kept my knee under the keybed for my own safety. In
     spite of marginal tuning pin torque, _any_ hammer movement would cause
     the piano to move like a bowl of Jello.

     Before the work, I informed the owner that the piano was _past_ due
     for replacement (not reconditioning) -- for many reasons.

     During the work, I submitted that the piano was dangerous to the
     player and to customers, because of the legs.

     After the work, I told the owner that the piano was a prime candidate
     for land fill. It was not until I got to the part about the likelihood
     of his establishment being sued that I got a reaction. He asked about
     repairing the legs. I pointed out that in addition to failed glue
     joints, chunks of wood were missing from the leg assemblies, further
     compounding the problems; that extant repairs had been done poorly,
     and that I would not suggest another repair effort. (In this instance,
     I was covering ME!) I did suggest, in my own style, that if he were
     not going to replace the instrument, he should consider lag-bolting
     the beast to the wall, and place caution signs on/around the piano.

     When I worked for Los Angeles City Schools, anything that had to do
     with piano stability (casters, toe blocks, etc.) took precedence over
     _anything_ else. This was not a judgement call by the technician,
     rather mandated by the district. To further dramatize this, if we were
     called to tune for a performance, and happened to spot (even another)
     piano that was unstable on the floor, the unstable piano took priority
     over the tuning. I once shut down a kindergarten room because of this,
     until repairs could be made.

     /Jim Harvey