> List, > > This might be considered a cautionary tale about what we all put out > there on the WWW. > > I tuned my first piano of the week on Monday. It was a pretty typical > job--Yamaha upright, not tuned for several years. 30 cent pitch raise, > but it tuned up nicely. > > I yak away with the customer, explain a few things, finish up, present > bill. > > The lady,whose English is not very good, says "I was referred by Joseph, > my tenant. He says I just give paper and tuning free." > > I say "WHAT! What piece of paper is that? I don't work for free!." > > She pulls out a piece of paper, which is the "gift certificate" page of > my website printed out on a sheet of copy paper. Below is the text. > > > Dear ____________________________ , > _______________________________ has chosen to help you promote harmony > in the universe! The bearer of this gift certificate is entitled to one > piano tuning. Please call 650-224-3560, or E-mail me at > Velopresto at aol.com to arrange the time and date of your service. > > > > I don't see where it says "coupon for free piano tuning." I can see > where there might be some confusion as to the way the gift certificate > works, but I don't understand how anyone can be oblivious enough to > expect that this entitles them to my services for free. And I think if > I was going to redeem this "coupon" I might first ask the person who > would be doing the work if this was indeed a "free" tuning. > > I got very angy with her, and with the person who suggested that this > might be a free tuning, and with the fact that she waited until I had > done the work before she presented the "coupon." > > Needless to say, I've put a disclaimer on the gift certificate on my > website. > > I told her I'd take some responsibility for the confusion, and that she > could send me half my fee. I anticipate getting nothing from her. > > Thanks for letting me vent, > > Dave ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Diary, Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive double pane energy-efficient kind. But this week I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I hadn't paid for them. Now just because I'm blond doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told ME last year....namely, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. . . He didn't call back. Guess I won that stupid argument! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Reality is usually a matter of where you're standing when you click the shutter. Ron N
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