On Sep 28, 2005, at 8:50 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
message: 9
date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 02:21:05 -0400
from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
subject: Re: [Hornlist] horn broken - This is awful advice
I assume the people on the list have some small level of
intelligence and won't attempt advise beyond their abilities.
Strike one. and how condescending!
You know as well as I do that using Brasso to eliminate a small drag
in a valve is practiced by the best of repairmen. That's how I
learned to do it in the first place.
Ah, the Brasso solution. Ancient secret! The best of repairmen? Hardly.
I'm appalled that so many players avoid learning the basic
maintenance on a fairly robust piece of equipment they have to rely
on. I would be willing to bet that, although you made the sale on
the very expensive repair you suggest, that you would use some form
of fine abrasive to make sure the valve didn't still hang up.
Obviously, Stuart deHaro has thought a lot more about this than you
have.
You'd look pretty silly if the customer returned with the same
complaint the next day.
They will if they follow your advice.
I have done a lot of this kind of work with great success, but I
have a big advantage over you in that I have a day job, so I can
afford to tell the truth to the customer. I go out of my way to do
jobs that 'professionals' have priced beyond the value of the
instrument or beyond the means of a poor musician.
Truth? Yeh, right. You have an advantage because you are not a
repairperson so you can always take that excuse.
My experience, and I suspect your's can't be that different, is
the basis of some very expensive estimates is the result of leaks,
easily fixed once they're located, but you can't charge enough for
just fixing a leak. Have you ever found a horn that didn't need a
valve job?
This is just rude.
If you go back and read my post carefully, you'll notice that I
gave very clear instructions about how to determine whether the
Brasso is the appropriate first recourse. If the hang up is in the
rotor and casing, selling a complete rebuild of the mechanical
linkage is purely a scam to run up the bill.
Your instructions are so general and sketchy that they would invite
unknowing people to possibly ruin their horns. Valves are serious
business. I've seen a lot of scams in my day, but this not one of
them. Car repairmen may act like that, but this is an insult to every
repairperson on this list. You should be ashamed.
I have no doubt that the work you do is exquisite, and with a
reputation to maintain and a living to make, you are going to be
inclined to propose doing as much work as possible to be absolutely
sure the problem is fixed.
Strike two, and passive aggressive to boot!
Determining the exact cause of a problem can be very time
consuming. How much can you get away charging to determine
something doesn't need repair? It's so much safer, and far more
lucrative, to cover every possible base, and you really don't have
to figure out what's really wrong.
Strike three. Your way out (of bounds).
By now you've probably figured out why I've had to learn to do my
own work. No competent pro wants to deal with my attitude.
No argument there.
Sincerely,
Wendell Rider
For information about my book, "Real World Horn Playing" and the
summer seminar, go to my website: www.wendellworld.com
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