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<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Absolutely loved your story John!
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>We memorized the last =
paragraph and
threw it back and forth around the shop all day! "I'm sorry for =
the
confusion":>)</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Haven't laughed so long in a =
while.
Sweeeeet!</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Actually, after twenty years of =
practicing
diplomacy and friendliness as core business values, I did slip across =
the lines
of professionalism a couple weeks ago.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>I had an invitation over the phone =
I just
had to decline. </SPAN><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>The =
owner asked me to
come and "fix-up" a piano he'd just bought for his daughter to learn on, =
and
"bring some new ivories along too," cuz of course "that's all it
needed."</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Well, in the backgournd I could =
hear the
daughter plunking away in vain to try extract music from this ancient =
PSO / POS
(pardon me, I've forgotton which is the politer anacronym!?) The unisons =
were
semi-tones and and everything buzzed and sounded fuzzy. It was a wreck, =
and none
of us need see it to know that.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Anyhow, I've kind of tired lately =
going
door-to-door pronouncing post-mortems on pianos the previous
owners couldn't care enough to maintain, and new owners were too =
cheap to
pay a real price for. However, the more politely I tried to decline my =
service,
the more insistant this "red-neck" owner became.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN><SPAN
class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>The picture I was getting was that =
"Bubba"
had just gone out and made the "clean kill." He'd beguiled and =
be-devilled the
unwitting owners into letting a $400.00 treasure slip into his hands for =
a slim
$175.00. He was now "the king." Or at least he would be Saturday night =
at the
bowling alley, when he could captivate his peers with this heroic
tale.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>And all that was needed was to =
inform the
piano-tuner (that itinerant, frustrated musician-type that isn't any =
good for
'real' work) that this was his lucky day. "Come on over, have a beer, =
then down
to the basement to wave your magic wand, I'll even screw in the light =
bulb for
ya." Then when it was done, I would have to grind out some tunes =
(just
ones he kenw the words to), until he figured he'd got his $20.00 worth, =
then I
could go buy some food for the family, and keep the change!</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Well, with this "more accurate =
than you'll
ever know" picture in my head, and the sound of this pathetic peice of =
crap (the
piano, not the owner) belching out noise in the background, it was just =
TOO
MUCH. I started to laugh, and I couldn't stop, I couldn't help
myself.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>I guess I just realized after =
years of
paying dues, of working on less-than-ideal instruments, under =
less-than-ideal
circumstances for less-than-ideal clients, I really did not HAVE to work =
for
this person. And this epiphany had likely taken place over a number of =
years,
manifest by the number of clients that had been culled out, and the =
high
level of satisfaction and appreciation gained from the comparitive few I =
now
work for. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>The poor guy on the other end of =
the phone
however couldn' t possibly realize the vivid juxtaposition he'd =
unwittingly
created. And he wasn't having the easiest time with my response either. =
I
finally gathered myself for a moment and apologized, then simply said =
"Peter, I
really don't even want to see your piano." I apologized again,
and explained that if I came over for even a minute, it would cost =
him
$62.00 and tax, and I still wouldn't be able to "fix-up" his piano =
for
him.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Well, I'm sure he's not all that =
pleased
with me, even if I saved him some $70.00 bucks, and I'll probably =
never get
any referrals down at the local bowling alley. Nonetheless, and be =
assured this
is not typically how I my handle clients, every now and then those =
of us
who "serve" the needs and whims of others faithfully need to let off =
some steam
and have a good laugh.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>IMHO, this discussion group is =
probably the
best and safest place to do that, and I thank you again John for sharing =
that
little nugget with us!</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Ma k C m r</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003> r ad Un e
ty </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>(Name withheld to avoid the PC
Police)</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><SPAN class=470411620-29112003> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=470411620-29112003>Our </SPAN> department =
secretary
forwarded a request for private tuning in his<BR>home recently. Here is =
the meat
of our email exchange:<BR><BR>ME: I received your email from the music
department. What kind of piano do<BR>you own? Do you need a tuning only, =
or more
extensive work? I do some<BR>outside tuning, so let me know what you
need.<BR><BR><BR>HIM: The piano is a small upright, I think I've heard =
it called
a spinnet<BR>or something, but I'm not familiar with piano lingo. I =
believe the
brand<BR>is Acrosonic by Baldwin. It's fairly old, been in the family =
for a
while<BR>and just arrived at my house. As far as I can tell it only =
needs
tuning. I<BR>just learned that it's best to let the piano sit for a =
month and
acclimate<BR>before tuning it, but I'm not sure if that's accurate or
not?<BR><BR>ME: Sounds fine. How about a tuning in a few weeks at x time =
and x
date?<BR><BR>HIM: How about giving me a price and some references I can =
call
first?<BR><BR>[I gave this quite a bit of thought and came up with the
following]<BR><BR><BR>ME: I assumed you had been referred to me. I do =
private
tuning by referral<BR>only. Sorry for the confusion.<BR><BR>END OF THE
STORY!</DIV>
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