[pianotech] Don't work for this manufacturer

[James Grebe]

I do not remember what company Mark works for but he shows what 
intelligence, fact, and sense of order he has.  That is what makes a good 
rep.
James
James Grebe Est. 1962
Piano Tuner-Technician
Creator of Custom Caster Cups
Creator of fine Writing Instruments
www.grebepiano.com
1526 Raspberry Lane
Arnold, MO 63010
(314) 608-4137
Become what you believe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Israel Stein" <custos3 at comcast.net>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:59 PM
Subject: [pianotech] Don't work for this manufacturer


>
>
>>Wednesday, October 28, 2009 5:30:45 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Mark 
>>Wisner wrote:
>
>> In the case Israel relates below, it seems like the proper thing to do 
>> would be to notify the
>> manufacturer that you have discovered a defect that you believe should be 
>> covered and
>> corrected under warranty. If the maker agrees, they'll authorize you to 
>> do the job, then you
>> send them the bill when the work is done.
>
>> It's certainly possible that I've misunderstood what Wim wrote earlier, 
>> but as I recall the dealer
>> asked Wim to do the job and send the bill to the manufacturer, without it 
>> ever being authorized.
>> You usually don't get to spend someone else's money without them saying 
>> it's OK first.
>
>> Mark Wisner
>
> Excellent point, Mark. It underscores the idea that as professional 
> practitioners we need to understand routine, widespread business practices 
> that are commonplace in the service business world. This is what mechanics 
> and repair people of any sort do routinely, and I don't know why it should 
> present such a difficulty for piano technicians. It's something that you 
> learn how to do, and every time you deal with a new company, you learn 
> what their process is, whom to talk to what information they need, and how 
> to avoid unnecessary hassles. I should think that classes in this would be 
> unnecessary - it is just so common sense - but perhaps "common sense" 
> belongs to the same class of phenomena as the English Horn and the Holy 
> Roman Empire (for you history mavens...)
>
> Israel Stein
>
>
>
>
>>>Greg,
>>
>>>Good for you. But it isn't quite that simple. What would you do in a case 
>>>that you find a serious warranty issue in a new piano that the new owner 
>>>isn't quite aware of? Say - backchucking (pulley) keys. It doesn't bother 
>>>them now - but sooner or later their checking will go to hell, and the 
>>>keys will get noisy. Too soon for the age of the piano - but probably 
>>>after the warranty expires. So you are going to tell the owner about 
>>>this - and charge them a fairly steep fee to fix it right - and make them 
>>>chase the manufacturer for the cost? Good f.....n luck, Greg. Most of the 
>>>time they'll think you are trying to pull a fast one on them. OK, so 
>>>you'll just keep your mouth shut and not say anything, right? Would that 
>>>be ethical?
>> >
>>>There is more to the business of piano tuning than just doing the work 
>>>and collecting the fee. If we want to be treated like professionals, we 
>>>need to behave in a professional manner - which sometimes means dealing 
>>>with manufacturers and other large companies, and jumping through 
>>>whatever hoops they make us jump through in order to protect our clients' 
>>>best interests. And sometimes it's a hassle - but hey, that's all part of 
>>>the business...
>>>
>>>Israel Stein
>>>
>>
>>>>-----Original Message----- 
>>>>From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On 
>>>>Behalf Of Mark Wisner
>>>>Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:21 AM
>>>>To: pianotech at ptg.org
>>>>Subject: Re: [pianotech] Don't work for this manufacturer
>>
>>>>Wim wrote..."I hope that this episode will be a learning experience on 
>>>>Samick's part..."
>>
>>>>Wim, I've no doubt Samick, and Ms. Jones, have learned something from 
>>>>this experience, but I suspect the lesson they learned wasn't the one 
>>>>you intended to teach.
>>
>>>>The "learning experience" with Samick could have been avoided by 
>>>>following a rule I learned a long time ago (the hard way) which is: 
>>>>Whoever requests the service pays the bill. For example; When a party 
>>>>requested that I submit my bill to a third party for payment I'd ask if 
>>>>they were confident that the third party will pay the bill in a timely 
>>>>fashion? And when the inevitable "yes" response followed, my reply was 
>>>>along the lines of "Fine, then you won't have a problem getting 
>>>>reimbursed".
>>
>>>>Mark Wisner
>
>
>