2008/12/27 Geoff Sykes <thetuner at ivories52.com> > > How do I tell her that I can't be responsible, at no charge, for > the inability of this, or any piano for that matter, to maintain a concert > level tuning over even short periods of time? And when I do have to go back, > how do I charge her without her feeling ripped off and me going broke? She > lives far enough away that even a 50% charge would wind up being a > break-even trip for me. > There are at least two different ways in which this question could be answered. One would be looking for ways to improve rendering. The other is how to deal with this immediate situation with the piano the way it now is. I think you're asking for input on the latter, so that's what I'll go with. Your answer lies in what you wrote above. Tell her that a concert level tuning requires tuning prior to rehearsal, and then tuning prior to performance. And neither tuning is at a reduced rate. And tell her the only way a piano will stay in perfect tune is when the environment never varies. I would gently and humbly explain this to her, and give her two options: 1. Have you tune the piano once a month at whatever rate suits you. 2. Have you install a Piano Life Saver system with under cover and maybe a top cover. And continue with the two tunings a year (or whatever). Whatever she decides, she decides. But at least you told her the truth, and maybe she'll "get it." And it's probably better to have a more picky customer than an unconcerned one. (It does sound as if she is being overly picky, but maybe she just needs some education. There are some PTG bulletins available that I'd be giving her.) As to your question, "what qualifies as a no-charge callback?" … One in which it was obviously not your fault. For all unisons to stay perfect for two weeks under normal environmental conditions is asking for the impossible. How long have you been tuning the piano? Has the piano always been this difficult to tune? Did she just recently begin these callbacks? Have you thought about the PitchLock system? Would that work here? Would reshaping the hammers, leveling strings, and doing some voicing help by creating a better tone? She may hear the out of tune unisons, but voicing might be the real issue. One of the hardest things to master in this profession is customer > relations. Ya can't keep everyone happy, but you can at least try to not > make 'em mad. Looking forward to your comments and suggestions. > I've heard it said that great customer relation skills are more desirable than great technical skills. And it's probably true for the most part. I'm certainly not the best one to give good advice on CR things, but being kind and genuine will always show through … whatever is said. > OH, and Happy Holidays everyone! > And to you! -- JF -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20081227/909afb85/attachment.html>
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