Just like concert pianist on stage does not have a music desk in place, so too does a piano teacher client of mine! JUST yesterday, (he has two yamaha grands side by side in his studio) I tuned both pianos which had the music desk OUT, stored in his closet. he said he routinely removes them when he is practicing on his own . And I must correct a well meaning post: <<Bottom line, Terry, as hard as it is to swallow, is that if you hadn't left the music desk out, this would not have happened>> Actually, If the maid had not tried to put the music desk back incorrectly, "this would not have happened". The desk was causing no harm sitting onthe floor under the piano. Bottom line is, I WILL take care of it. Terry Peterson ----Original Message Follows---- From: Mark Potter <bases-loaded76@sbcglobal.net> Reply-To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> Subject: Re: who's responsible? Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 13:07:32 -0800 (PST) Bottom line, Terry, as hard as it is to swallow, is that if you hadn't left the music desk out, this would not have happened. Ergo, fault. A similar thing happened to me about 5 years ago with an unknown broken caster and a nice wood floor. No way I could know it was poised and ready for destruction when I went to move the piano away from the wall. S-c-r-a-t-c-h....ouch! And sorry, but the refrigerator analogy doesn't hold well for me. Virtually every owner of a frig has to take out the shelves from time to time, but for what reason would a piano owner remove their music desk from time to time? I would venture to guess that less than 1% of my clientele in 28 years has ever removed their music desk. Susan's right. Fix it and get it behind you. It's a jungle out there.... Mark Potter pianolover 88 <pianolover88@hotmail.com> wrote: Ok, here is what I feelis a good analogy. A refrigerator repairman has spent a few hours servicing a fridge, cleaning out the motor compartment, installing a new compressor,etc. He removes all the glass shelves from the inside (the food had already been removed by the owner, who is not home...same scenario) so he can fix a bad connection in the light switch. He puts everything back together, except a glass shelf; simply an oversight. Later, the housekeeper spots it and decides to put it back inside the fridge. Even later the owner comes home, opens the fridge and the glass shelf, having not been put properly on the tracks, comes crashing down and shatters into a million pieces! Who's fault is that??? SAME THING. A music desk on a grand is COMMONLY removed and replaced by piano owners, as is a fridge shelf. I just don't see how I can be responsible for the housekeeper's actions. Again, if there was ANY question as to putting it back CORRECTLY, they could have simply called me, but the housekeeper took it upon herself to "wedge" the desk under the top lid apparently just to get it off the floor! Don't you think she should have at LEAST informed the owner that MAYBE she did not put it in the right way, and to MAYBE be cautious when opening the lid???? Does she bare ZERO responsibility? Terry Peterson ----Original Message Follows---- From: Greg Newell Reply-To: Pianotech To: Pianotech Subject: Re: who's responsible? Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 08:13:43 -0500 My thoughts are, Yes, you are responsible. Too bad it worked out this way but that's what insurance is for. Greg Newell At 12:25 AM 12/15/2005, you wrote: >Inadvertantly forgot to replace customer's music desk in her Weber grand. >I'd been there for about 3 1/2 hours doing a major "technical" cleaning, >big pitch raise, tuning, and finally made a pattern for a custom string >cover, which I sold during the visit. The customer had to leave just after >I got started, but her housekeeper was there for the duration of my visit. >Upon completion, I closed the lid and flyleaf and played a couple pieces on >the piano, enjoying what I felt was job well done. At just about this time >I received a call on my cell. I told the caller that I would call her back >in a few moments, then proceeded to pack my tools and move on to the next >job. > >As stated in the outset, I forgot to replace the music desk, (a first for >me, but hardly the end of the world, right?) which I had placed out of >eyeshot, under the tail section of the piano. While speaking on the phone >several hours later to the customer from my home, informing her when her >new string cover would be ready, I heard a loud crashing sound, which she >told me, to her shock, was the music desk falling OUT OF THE PIANO, >resulting in some case damage to the piano! She told me that the music desk >appeared to have been "sitting just inside the piano under the top lid but >apparently NOT installed properly". She said that when she tried to lifit >the music desk UP it crashed to the ground, hitting the piano in a couple >areas causing the damage. > >Here is what MUST have happened: After I left, the housekeeper noticed the >music desk was still on the floor, and attempted to put it inside the >piano, but did not slide it onto the tracks! When the customer returned >home that evening, she lifted the flyleaf back, then lifted the desk >upward, and that's when the accident occured. > >Yes, I left the desk out in my haste, But am I responsible for the >Houskeeper's actions? My feeling is that if they would have called me >FIRST, I would have made the short trip(less than 10 minutes) back to >reinstall it---no harm done, case closed. > >Any thought? Thanks all! > >Terry Peterson > > >_______________________________________________ >pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives Greg Newell Greg's piano Forté mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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