Dave, I try not to let a customer's ignorance eat into my free time, by doing as much tuning and repair as I can by phone. Before I jump in the car to fix a squeaky pedal, for example, I always ask what kind of shoes they had on when they noticed the squeak. If the piano has suddenly "gone out of tune", I always want to know more about what they mean. It's a big flag that the person complaining is a novice player, but I've had even experienced pianists become aware of something objectionable which, before my visit, they were oblivious to. With cordless phones being so ubiquitous these days, it's usually a simple matter for them to walk over to the piano and play me what doesn't sound right. Often I can identify and "fix" the problem in my office, saving myself a trip and the awkwardness of whether or not I am to be paid. Tom Cole Dave Nereson wrote: > > >She had been bugged all day that "her piano wasn't holding its tune" and > all it was was an inexperienced player playing the wrong notes of an F > chord. < > > Yes, I had a beginning piano student customer who, after I was done tuning, > remarked that the piano sounded beautiful. Later that day, she called to > leave a message that it had "gone out of tune already and nothing sounds > right". I drove 15 miles back to her house, only to end up showing her that > middle C is immediately to the left of two, not three black keys. She moved > her hand down two whole steps and all was well. Shoulda charged mileage, > but just chalked it up as a good-will gesture to keep her as a customer. > --David Nereson, RPT, Denver
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