>>In the long run, it's just not worth it on my part to get involved. That's fine. That's a good reason. Just please don't make any moral judgments on the rest of us who are still keeping pianos going for folks, making them happy and putting bread on my table. I do condemn pianos. I did one just last week. The elderly lady bought a little wurly spinet, 40's era or so, paid $100 for it, paid $200 to have it moved, then paid me $60 to tell her it wasn't worth saving- loose pins, loose/split bridges, yellow cracked curling keys, nasty rodent infestation. But a simple split bass bridge is easily repaired with some glue in less than an hour. If you don't want the work, God bless you. I do. And my customers are very happy as they trust I'm going to keep their pianos going in a way that will give them the most bang for their buck. Dean Dean W May (812) 235-5272 PianoRebuilders.com (888) DEAN-MAY Terre Haute IN 47802 _____ From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of tnrwim at aol.com Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 2:19 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Imagine Susan In response to this, and the other comments you made, there has to come a time when we, as technicians, say "enough is enough". That doesn't mean you have to say it on every old and broken down instrument you come across. If you think you make make the piano play for a few more years, by making some quality repairs at a reasonable price, fine. But what I'm trying to say, and I think what Ron is saying, with which I agree, is that there are too many technicians out there who repair the piano because they need the money, not because the instrument is worth fixing. On the other side of that coin is the customer who insists on getting the piano repaired, even when it's not worth repairing, but then turns around and complains that after a few minimum repairs are made, for next to nothing, demands that you come back and make more repairs, for nothing, because the piano isn't playing like a new one. That is one of the primary reasons I turn down those jobs, even if I think I can make the repairs. In the long run, it's just not worth it on my part to get involved. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Susan Kline <skline at peak.org> To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 8:06 pm Subject: Re: [pianotech] Imagine Wim I agree with some of this. Sometimes the piano requires expensive repairs, and it is just not worth doing. The customer could buy something better for less than the cost of repair. I would never do such a repair. Others are quite salvageable in minimal time, by thinking a little outside the box and not giving up too soon. The repairs must be effective, low-cost, and therefore to be low cost they must be fast but still work and still last. If the repairs can't be effective and low cost, and the piano is so cheap or far gone than another better one could be bought at less than the cost of repairs, then the customer needs to realize that nothing can be done except moving on to a different piano. I've said that plenty of times. Susan On 11/11/2010 9:47 PM, tnrwim at aol.com wrote: This quote came from one of the articles I wrote about Appraising pianos. We have to keep, as it states in our Code of Ethics, the best interest of the client in mind. In other words, we need to look at a piano for what it can do for the customer. We need to look beyond our supposed capabilities, thinking we can fix anything, and ask, "is this piano really worth fixing"? We need to be able to say to our customers, "this piano is dead", regardless of what the customer thinks of the piano. The customer might not like what you said, but it is more ethical to tell the truth, than to let her continue to believe the instrument is worth restoring. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Ron Nossaman <mailto:rnossaman at cox.net> <rnossaman at cox.net> To: pianotech <mailto:pianotech at ptg.org> <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 7:06 pm Subject: [pianotech] Imagine I wonder about the current thread on split bridge repair. Is it worth fixing or not? If so, wouldn't you make a new bridge? It's easier than recapping in situ, and a real fix. The other options are, at best, lesser approaches. I confess, I don't understand the attitude that the piano is absolute junk, but the owner wants it fixed, and has no money, so the tech should do the shabbiest repair possible to appease a customer who has no idea what the choices made actually mean, as long as the tech can make a buck doing it. Is there no line beyond which NO is the right answer? Can't we decline to do junk repairs on junk pianos as a matter of professional pride and ethics, or are these outdated concepts when a check is to be had? I understand that we don't always have the luxury of high level choice, but shouldn't we at least try to appear to be possessed of professional standards to some degree? Or is it all just the chance to generate income, regardless of how? How does this serve either us, or our profession in the long run? I read all sorts of whining that we aren't taken seriously as true professionals, and we don't get the pay we deserve as such, followed by suggestions for repairs that anyone aspiring to professional status would, or at least should, have nothing to do with. Baffled, long and often, Ron N -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101112/f41fb52e/attachment.htm>
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