Thanks for those who had time, on such quick notice, to respond to my querie this morning. It has turned out to be an interesting situation. I arrived and told the manager I'd not yet received my check, which was supposed to get there yesterday. He promptly wrote me a check and simply asked me to tear the other one up when it got there. I went to the piano and found two or three unisons definitely out, and I fixed them, then waited for the pianist to arrive. He pointed to the notes, now fixed, and said they were bad. So, after playing for about five minutes, he asked me to change a couple of octaves in the top. Then ten more minutes of playing and he questioned some low octaves. Most of those were very close, and I was able to justify them to him, changing two or three just the tiniest bit. He was very happy. Then he asked me how much work I did for the B.M. music company, to which I responded, "None, actually. I've done work for two other companies in town, but not for them." "Well,", he said, "I called them and asked them for a tuner, and they gave me your name." A very good tidbit to know! I've never contacted them about doing field work for them, so someone must have given them my name, or it has circulated as secretary of the local chapter. Either way, it's referral stuff. I was deciding what to do about charging, since I was there only thirty minutes, and decided to tell the manager that I'd not charge them if I could eat there. I noticed a reprint from a local paper saying this was one of the premier eateries in Houston. It certainly is! I dined on swordfish, listened to the pianist for nearly an hour, then, just before leaving, said to him, "I'd like to touch up one more note." So, a good time was had by all. The pianist and manager of the place think I'm concerned about their instrument; I've learned that I'm building a reputation that might even lead to a real business; I've been told to come back to tune at my discretion; and I dined on mouth-watering swordfish. Even though money didn't change hands, I was gratified to know my work was decent, my guesses about the piano were accurate, and I'm slowly building my business on a good foundation. I'd say I was paid rather well! les bartlett houston ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
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