Irate Customer

Barbara Richmond piano57@flash.net
Sun, 2 Nov 2003 18:55:56 -0600


This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Terry,

You tuned for a private customer today, Sunday?  Like wow, man.

Your suggested appropriate response seems reasonable.  Don't worry about =
those "distinct tones."  Be calm, explain it as best you can and be =
firm.  Good luck! =20

I made it a rule that the customer (or the pianist, if it wasn't a kid) =
always had to be around to let me in for the first appointment so we =
could check the piano out together before I started working.  Although =
your situation isn't exactly how and why I first learned this, I've =
found after time it's still a good rule for a number of reasons, =
including----one day I walked into the wrong unlocked house (small town, =
no house numbers, and even though you don't live there, the customer =
assumes you know all the landmarks in town, etc.).   I won't go into =
details here......but my first clue that I was in the wrong place was =
that there was no piano!    :-) =20

Another embarrassing moment (oh, that would be lesson learned) in the =
life of...

Barbara Richmond, RPT
what address was that?
somewhere near Peoria, IL

----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Farrell=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2003 5:07 PM
  Subject: Irate Customer


  Hello PianoList folks. I'm looking for any suggestions to sooth an =
irate customer - she just called and left a message - I'll have to get =
back to her soon.

  I tuned a Yamaha GH1 today (so-so condition). New customer "graduate =
of Puerto Rico Conservatory". I sat down on bench & hit first key - =
BUZZZZZZZZZZZ. Found a half-dozen keys that made a nasty soundboard =
buzz. Found a rib I could press on while striking key that stopped the =
buzz. Lady was not home so I called hubby over to ask if wife had =
complained about buzz. He said he heard it when I demonstrated it, but =
she had not mentioned it.

  So she just calls now and said she played her piano. She is not happy =
at all. She said there were one or two keys that made a little buzz =
previously, but now about 20 notes make a big buzz and she is in tears.

  I had told the hubby when I was there earlier that if the buzzing =
bothered her, there were some repairs that we could try to get rid of =
the buzzing. He said he would mention it to her. It would seem to me =
that the appropriate response from me is to offer to make an appointment =
to come and repair her loose rib and charge her a normal fee for doing =
so. Her message has the distinct tone of "my piano was fine before YOU =
touched it".

  Any thoughts before I step into the fire? Thanks.

  Terry Farrell

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/9f/0c/94/36/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--



This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC