Great story!!!! You know, you can get money anytime, but you can only get good tomatoes at a certain time of year from people who care to grow them. I've done several like that and I do have regular "free" customers, that work has spawned several paying customers that I might not otherwise have had. It just proves two maxims I have about my business: 1) There's more to life than money. 2) If you don't nickel and dime your customer today you will make a dollar from him tomorrow. Anybody ever tune pianos for dental work? Mitch Ruth DeMossville, KY >From: LHSBAND440@AOL.COM >Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org >To: pianotech@ptg.org >Subject: Tuning for Tomatoes >Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 21:44:47 EDT > >Tonight I had the rare occasion to tune for a wonderfully elderly couple. >They had a Steinway and Sons that there daughter had played for years and >since had moved out of the house and the piano hadn't been tuned since >1984. >Even though it was in a finished basement the instrument was only 14 cents >flat on an average. I spent time learning about tuning and the art of >being >human. As the elderly gentlemen stood over me and watched everything I >did, >his wife continually offered me and coke and a sandwich. I ended up >journeying away from the piano for five minutes to look at pictures when >their daughter won piano competitions practicing on this instrument and for >an instant there lives were brought back to those happy days when music >filled their house. I was asked to do this tuning because they are selling >the piano since their daughter has moved on and has no interest in playing >the piano. As I returned to the piano these two wonderful people just >continued to live those years over again as I played the piano to check >intervals and beat rates. Finally, I put the magnetic pickup on the >accu-tuner and let them talk and relive to their hearts delight. When It >came time for me to leave the gentlemen took back his check and then came >back with another that was 20% more than what a normally charge. As I took >the check his wife came back with a bag full of tomatoes. She said that >these were the best from her garden and she wanted me to take them home to >my >family since I had spent almost 3 hours with them tuning their piano rather >than being home with my family. As I drove home I thought that his night >was >just the kind of night that they needed and so did I. It had very little >to >do with beat rates, unisons, or the SAT. But it had everything to do with >how music can draw people together who have never met before and who have a >common interest, desire or just memories of times gone bye. Now I don't >tune >for a living but rather for the fun of it, so I can do this. Those of you >who tune for a living, I understand that this is probably something that >you >can't do. I kept the tomatoes but the check I put in an envelope and sent >it >back with a letter saying that they were the winners of the free monthly >tuning (which no such thing exists). Am I richer for the evening? ....... >More than I have felt in a long time. > > >Leonard (Leo) H. Silverman >Watertown, NY _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
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