Doors Left Unlocked

[Wimblees]

In a message dated 98-01-07 11:53:45 EST, you write:

>How do you handle the customer who tells you they'll be happy to leave the
>door unlocked so that you may come in, do the work, leave the bill, and
>leave the house?  I realize that this is a common practice, so I was
>wondering if any of you have had, shall we say, "unexpected repercussions"
>from such an arrangement?
>
>I for one will never enter a house unaccompanied.  I don't care if the door
>was left wide open.  Having a teenager, neighbor or house sitter/cleaner
>waiting to let me in is "legitimate."  Am I being overly cautious?
>
>Just curious again ...
>ZR!  RPT



I consider it an extreme honor to be entrusted to enter someone's home without
them being there. It is a reputation that most piano tuners have. I wrote an
article about this subject last year. If anyone wants to dig it up out of the
archives, be my guest. The post dealt with honesty and trust. Being trusted by
your customers to do the job, leave a bill, allowed in the house with just the
children or child home,  etc.  I also talked about being honest about your
work, how much you charge, and getting the job done in a timely manner. It
also talked about losing that trust, as a profession, if just one of us
doesn't live up to that what has been entrusted to us. 

There  is nothing wrong if you have a problem with going into someone's home
without being invited in. But if you think of it as an honor, perhaps you'll
change your mind. 

Wim