Fair fees

[Stephen F Schell]

Dear Lance and List,


                                                                      You
have my sympathy in regard to the disintegrating church piano. I have drifted into and out of numerous similar situations over the years. The
piano technician is stuck in the middle between the owner, dealer, and
manufacturer; he/she is the one  who must dispense the bad news to,
negotiate with, take the heat from, all involved.

                                                                     Paul
Klipsch, the legendary loudspeaker designer, began experiencing
"warranty" returns of his very robust loudspeakers in the 1960s, when
powerful solid state amplifiers came on the market. Some drivers had
overheated so badly that their attached plastic horns had melted into a
new shape. He would answer such claims for warranty replacement with the
statement:


                 "Any mechanical or electrical device can be overdriven
to the point where failure must occur."



                                         He would then deny warranty coverage, as those speakers had obviously been driven well past their
published maximum power handling limit.


                         It is perhaps a bit more ambiguous with pianos,
as it is difficult to quantify the force with which one plays a piano, except to use terms like "forceful", or "abusive", or "shreds". Common sense would dictate, however, that there must be limits.


     I've never known the people at a church to accept responsibility for
string failure. They will respond with explanations like "we used to have
an old upright that never had these problems". It makes one wonder why
they had to replace it with a new piano. Truth is, the piano is failing
because it is being overdriven (Klipsch's law). It seems to me that the
responsibility for repairs should rest with the pianist, or the church,
unless they could successfully argue that the piano was warranteed to
withstand such hostile conditions of use. Anyway, the prospects for the
piano technician to develop the situation into a stable and profitable
account are bleak.

                                                Lance, in regard to the
payment of your services, I believe you erred by not being clear in
advance with all involved as to who was to pay for what, and how much it
would cost. Manufacturers will usually pay only for repairs they have
authorized, at an agreed upon amount or rate. A dealer likewise has the
right to know what is happening, and the right of prior approval of any
work  they will have to pay for. No one likes to receive a surprise
bill. The old Dale Carnegie principle of putting yourself in the other
person's shoes applies here.


                                                               Replacing
the wound strings, even with a revised scale, may not remedy the problem
for long if they keep the pounding it  (they will). A friend of mine
maintains an account in a theme park where an upright piano is played in
loud ragtime style for hours a day. He services this piano nearly every
day, and it is not unusual for both strings of a bass unison to break
even though he has installed factory replacements  a week earlier. At
least in this situation all parties recognize and accept that this is
the way things are and are willing to pay him to make continual repairs.


                                               Lance, despite all of the
above doom and gloom, I wish you luck in this situation.


Steve Schell

stfrsc@juno.com