More advice needed

[PAT A RALPH]

I HOPE YOUR ARE BEING FUNNY!!!???  The cost of a screwdriver maybe, but like
big equipment, for business, is amortised over its life so the SUV and the
tilter will be used for MANY customers over their life.

Ken Gerler

----- Original Message -----
From: Clyde Hollinger <cedel@supernet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 01, 2000 7:34 PM
Subject: More advice needed


> Friends:
>
> I have gained so much from this list that I put a lot of weight on
> advice I receive here, but recently it got me in a peck of trouble.
> Some time ago someone wrote saying that they needed a particular tool to
> repair a piano.  This person was advised to just add the cost of the
> tool to the final bill.
>
> A client of mine has a "Grand" spinet (no way to tell the age, but
> probably made in the 70's) that groaned every time you used the sustain
> pedal, and upon investigation I realized that the bottom board screws
> were loose.  I didn't have a piano tilter, so I tuned the piano, then
> made an appointment  to come back in about four weeks to fix the groan
> after I had time to buy a tilter.
>
> I ordered a tilter from Schaff, but when it came I couldn't get it in my
> car!  After fuming a while I finally decided to buy an SUV to haul it
> in, then went to fix the piano.  After tilting the piano, my screwdriver
> (which had considerable wear on it) just stripped out the rusty
> Phillips-head screws, so I had to go to the hardware store for a new
> one.  I got the piano fixed and had the client check it out.  She was
> pleased, so I went home and sent her the bill.
>
> That's when my trouble started.  The next day I got this awful phone
> call from her about the charges.  But I only did as I read on this list,
> adding to the charge the things I needed to fix the piano.  The repair
> was $40.00,  plus $9.95 for the screwdriver, $243.29 for the tilter
> (with shipping), and the SUV (which cost considerably less than normal
> because I traded in my car).  So why is this lady upset with my bill of
> $18,585.01?  And what do I do now?  If she doesn't pay, I'll have to
> sell the SUV and go through this whole headache again the next time I
> need to use the tilter.  Help!!
>
> Regards,
> Clyde Hollinger
>
>