Not only are refunds a bad idea, but we should also not be intimidated by customers who threatened to go the the BBB or Chamber of Commerce. If you should get a letter from the BBB, they will ask for "your side of the story". And unless they can see fraud, or unscrupulous business dealings, they usually take the side of the business. The one customer I had who?couldn't hear, not only?threatened to go to the BBB, but because he knew the President of the local chapter personally, he was sure he could influence the BBB enough so that my business here would be ruined.?I never heard from the BBB, much less the President of the BBB, but my business has been growing steadily since this incident last October. Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT Piano Tuner/Technician Honolulu, HI 808-349-2943 www.bleespiano.com Author of The Business of Piano Tuning available from Potter Press www.pianotuning.com -----Original Message----- From: John Dorr <a440 at bresnan.net> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 4:35 am Subject: Refunds I changed the name of the thread from "customer complaints" as per request.? ? I'm weighing in with those who say there is probably no pleasing this lady and no matter what you do she will speak ill of you. That's my best guess. So you might as well keep the money as a "hedge", even, against a future tuning you _MAY_ lose due to her besmirching of your reputation. You won't win whether you refund or not, and you've been there twice! You deserve the dough.? ? I'm also weighing in with those who say it's a great attitude to look at these challenges as an opportunity to learn something more. Terry, I've been reading your posts for years and I totally respect you and I'm sure your tuning was great. I'm sure YOU know more than me, so I'm not pointing any kind of finger at you. Just in general, I'm saying that callbacks can OFTEN be an opportunity to learn something new.? ? Like many others, I've had callbacks and learned from them. One of mine was a large pitch raise which changed the tone of the piano, necessitating voicing, so I made money subsequently voicing the piano AND learned from it. On another, the (very accomplished) pianist heard the hammer EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY nicking the adjacent higher note's right string when the shift pedal was engaged, and I realigned the hammer. I couldn't quite hear it in normal tuning or checking, but she did. Anecdotes will abound on this list.? ? Your lady MAY actually have heard something or may be just befuddled with the new sound of a well-tuned piano. I don't know. I think your attitude has been a good one and you've earned your money. Deposit your check and scratch your head --- but don't tune for her anymore unless you just relish the challenge.? ? Respectfully,? John Dorr, RPT? Helena, MT? ? ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080816/17041b06/attachment.html
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