This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment List, This week I experienced my first cracked plate. It's not an experience = I would like to have again. The piano was a Kimball console which, = according to the customer, had not been tuned in 18 years by the = previous owner. The current owners had recently acquired it for $300 = and wanted it tuned up so the wife could play Christmas music. I opened = the piano up and found a dead mouse and several mouse droppings (the = mouse was mostly decayed), which, in my opinion shows that the piano = hadn't been tuned recently and probably not played in several years, = either. I noticed no other problems besides a few broken Schwander butt = springs, so I got out my SAT III and checked the pitch. The piano was = 185-200 cents flat. I did the first pitch raise with no overshoot and = then checked pitch again. The SAT III reading now was about 35-40 cents = flat, so I programmed in a 25% overshoot and began tuning the piano at = A0. As I crossed the bass/tenor break, I heard a LOUD "bang" which was = much louder than any string breakage I'd ever heard, so, fearing the = worst, I got down under the keybed and looked at the plate. The plate = had cracked right through the hitch pin area. The crack was all the way = through the plate and I called the customer over and informed her of the = plate breakage and that it was probably not feasible to repair the = plate, and even if it was, there could be no guarantees of success on = such a repair. She understood that the piano was a complete loss, I = collected a minimum service call fee and left. Two days later, her husband calls me up demanding that I reimburse him = for $300 or provide him with an acceptable replacement. I informed him = that I had no intention of doing so, because the plate cracked due to = lack of structural integrity. He informed me that his opinion was that = the plate cracked due to my incompetence and/or negligence. I then = explained the pitch raise procedure that I performed and told him that = to the best of my knowledge, I had exercised due professional care and = was not responsible for the demise of his piano. As a parting comment, = the customer said he would just have to take me to small claims court = and recover his money. He could be bluffing, but then again, he seemed = pretty adamant about collecting his $300. So, that brings me to the questions - Have you or anyone you know been = sued because of a cracked plate? If so, how did you defend yourself in = court and what was the ultimate outcome? Todd L. Mapes Associate Member PTG Fort Smith, AR ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/a1/2d/2f/37/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC