Ethical quandry

[Tom Cole]

Dear List,

Thank you to all who have responded so far. A lot of food for thought and I coming to
some conclusions about what it is that I can live with (ethics) as well as what are some
elements of good business (morals?). If I think, in my own case, that if I have served the
customer in the best possible way, then I am operating within my own ethical
boundaries. It is a separate point, however, that how the customer perceives my ethics
may be an entirely different view and, yes, my reputation is worth protecting.

Newton, I don't understand why the return of the appraisal fee would necessarily result
in a happy customer. If you refuse the money then do you also recommend another
technician to do the appraisal? I'm seeing that the problem is rooted in agreeing to take
commissions in the first place. How can I ever be expected to provide reliable
information about pianos to potential customers if there are dealers out there who offer
me commissions? If I am in the business of selling my advice about pianos, then I don't
see how I can be in the piano sales business.

So, I've decided what I'm going to do about the future. What remains is what to do about
the current situation. The piano is bought. Commission and appraisal checks are
already in the mail. I gave the buyer reliable information. I had long forgotten about the
commission deal I made with the dealer. The last few evaluations I had done there
resulted in my advising against buying.

Since I know that I have done right by my customer, I'm concerned that if I try to _fix_
anything, I might cause more problems than were solved. I earned the appraisal check,
and. under the circumstances, the commission check I view as an unexpected tip.
However, I _can_ see the potential for harm in the future so I have formed a new policy of
not receiving commissions from anyone.

Barb Barasa brings up a good point about the customer knowing about the commission. I
think full disclosure would be the right thing to do.

Thanks, again, for helping me think this through. I'm still open for futher comment.


--
Thomas A. Cole, RPT
Santa Cruz, California