[HAM] Ethics

[Keith H Clark]

I am just curious, you said you did business there before. Exactly how many
paid transactions did you execute with them? Keith

-----Original Message-----
From: hammond-bounces at zeni.net [mailto:hammond-bounces at zeni.net] On Behalf
Of D W
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 3:36 PM
To: hammond at zeni.net
Subject: [HAM] Ethics

I am disappointed that with all the vitriol, there has been no real  
debate as the the question of ethics that I posed.  I reported the  
events as they happened, and I violated no ethics whatsoever.  As a  
past customer of BB  Organ, I believe I was entitled to an explanation.
Bill chose to not respond and address this issue privately, like a  
gentleman, or like a man.  I was left to draw my own conclusions.  Is  
this the way to treat a loyal customer?

I have done nothing untoward by shining a light on what appears a  
questionable action at best, and a sleazy irrational act of spite at  
worst.  I posed a question that Bill chose not to address.  How this  
makes me a bad guy is beyond me.  The consensus here indicates what a  
fool I was to have trusted BB Organ.  In retrospect, I concur.
The personal attacks combined with the consistent lack of intelligent  
debate on the topic I raised are telling.
I asked for opinions as to why a dealer so many wish to defend should  
do what appears to be an unethical act.  Nobody yet has volunteered  
any theory whatsoever defending Bill Brown's interference in MY deal  
from an ethical standpoint.
Instead, there seems to be a tendency to shoot the messenger.  I  
merely reported this, and offered my opinion and asked for the  
opinions of others.
We all thought of Bill as trustworthy.  I found out the hard way that  
this is apparently not the case, and I brought it here for  
discussion.  I would have been unethical had I said nothing.

I did not intentionally provide the seller's contact info to BB  
Organ.  I intended to email the photos from the ad, but there was a  
time factor and I immediately called to find out what the organ was,  
which I did not know, and it was quicker just to direct BB Organ  
directly to the CraigsList ad, 2000 miles away from BB Organ.  I did  
not just fall off the potato truck.  The thought crossed my mind that  
this was not a good idea, but I figured I could trust Bill and his  
company, and he would likely not buy it out from under me due to the  
distance.  I had mostly assumed that Bill was a man of honor, so that  
there was no real risk.

Also, even though this has NO BEARING WHATSOEVER on the ethics of  
Bill Brown's intervention in this deal, I never had a chance to buy  
the organ for $100.  Another caller got there first, and I moved to  
the front of the line by telling the seller the organ was likely  
worth much more, and if he would hold off on the sale I would be  
happy to find out for him, and that I really had no idea other than  
it looked  like a B3, which I knew was worth some dough.  The seller  
indicated to me that he would prefer to sell the organ to me for this  
and other reasons as well, such as that it would be put to use by a  
musician in a studio.
The seller was very grateful for my honesty, and I proceeded to  
research as quickly as possible what the model and value might be,  
with the agreement that I would get back to him a.s.a.p. and that the  
organ would not be sold.  I got big points for this with the seller.
The information Bill Brown emailed to the seller the next day was not  
the same I had gotten from Rich at BB Organ, which I had passed on to  
the seller by the time he got the email.  This made me look less than  
truthful to the seller, and I believe this was done intentionally by  
Bill.  If there was no ill intention, why would Bill ignore my  
request for an explanation?

To assume I should have known what the organ is worth is ridiculous.   
I didn't even know what it was.  I am a professional guitar player  
and wear several other hats.  I rely on professional service and  
consultants routinely.  This was by all appearances a very real  
spiteful and intentional breach of trust.  This is NOT the act of a  
reputable business.

I would still like to hear an explanation from anyone claiming I am  
throwing dirt at BB Organ to explain why and how this interference in  
my own deal was consistent with an ethical practice?  I brought this  
organ to the attention of BB Organ.

If Bill wished to amend the information that Rich had given me, a  
loyal customer, why did he not contact me?  Why did Bill fail to  
explain his action?
I would be remiss for NOT making this public.

Bill's reputation is far from pristine, and those who say it is here  
are lying or ignorant of the truth.
This matter can be immediately be put to rest by explaining how this  
action is justifiable by a reputable dealer.  Until such reasonable  
explanation is provided, I can only assume that the dealer we have  
all thought was reputable in fact is not.
The public has a right to know, and there is nothing unreasonable or  
unethical in exposing such an act.  In fact there is a duty to do so,  
to warn others of a little known risk.
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