How Soon to Tune?

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 9/20/99 7:39:37 PM !!!First Boot!!!, 
jgrassi@silverlink.net writes:

<< Most piano stores provide a free home tuning with piano sales.
 Usually, they have a cadre of technicians and assign these tunings
 with
 "Service Bonds" to one of their crew. The manager at one store
 instructed technicians to contact customers within ten days of the
 delivery date posted on the service bond. I did this consistently.
 Many
 times, the customer would explain that their sales person instructed
 them to wait for periods of weeks before having the piano tuned in
 order
 that the instrument become properly acclimated to its new
 surroundings.
 
         I have discussed this waiting period with a number of other
 technicians and store salesmen and there appears to be a serious
 debate
 about the issue. I'd be interested in views of some informed parties.
 My
 own personal bias is that anything more than 72 hours would be
 unnecessary. But I'm willing to learn.
 
         Could you run that up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes?
 
                                         Mark Stern
  >>


I tell my customers that I will be out to tune their piano in about 2 - 3 
weeks.  Sometimes I wait 4 weeks. When I do that, the piano is usually still 
pretty well in tune. (the piano gets tuned just before it leaves the store). 
The free tuning is more of a check up than a tuning. I want to make sure the 
piano arrived safely, and that there are no problems with it that the 
customer can get me for later on down the road.  

There have been times when I gave the free tuning 3 or 4 months after the 
piano was delivered. By that time, the piano is out of tune. So why don't I 
wait 3 or 4 months after the delivery to give the free tuning?  If I waited 
that long, the piano will have gone out of tune by "natural causes." In other 
words, it wasn't the move and the new environment that caused it to go out of 
tune, as much as the normal heating and cooling process of any home. 

Willem Blees