whoa...continued

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Dick,

Years ago I tuned a big old upright in an elderly -- well, elderly to me at the
time -- lady's basement.  After I finished the tuning she asked if I would help
her move it across to the south wall just between the two pretty pictures.
Foolishly I didn't check it over after we rolled it across the floor.  By the time
I got back to my shop there was a message on my machine from a very angry women
accusing me of 'ruining' her wonderful piano.  It had a very loud buzzing sound
that certainly wasn't there before I tuned it.  She had already stopped payment on
her check.  I had to really talk her into letting me come back to check out the
problem.

Sure enough, there was a very obvious buzz and/or rattling sound coming from the
piano, particularly noticeable in the bass section.  I couldn't find anything
wrong with piano until finally I pulled it away from the wall and checked the back
of the soundboard.  That was where I found the very ancient red squirt gun.  When
I showed it to her, her face got just about that red as she clearly remembered
when it was lost.  It had been her son's 8th birthday party and it had been a
birthday present.  Her son had been very upset and a great, but unfruitful, search
had been made.  He was now a local attorney in his middle 40's.  And, yes, she did
pay me for both the tuning and for the trip back out to her house.

Del

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Pianotoone@AOL.COM wrote:

> I'm sure many have stories about our interesting business.
>
> My personal favorite happened to me when I had only been tuning (for money)
> about 6 weeks.  My teacher had made me tune 100 pianos before he would let me
> charge anyone.  Anyway I had just arrived home after tuning a great, big old
> clunker, upright grand, with more cobwebs than felt inside, when the phone
> rang.  Yes it was that client saying that after I left there was a terrible
> buzzing in the piano that she had never heard before.  With all the
> nervousness of a teenager on his first date, I headed back to the client's
> house.  About a twenty mile drive one way,
> I arrived was let into the house and noticed right away a drinking glass (real
> glass) full of marbles on top of the piano lid.  She thought it was so pretty.
> Naturally it made a sound like a sizzle cymbal, especially when she played
> "them big old fat bass notes."  After I removed the glass, the buzz went away.
> the client was very apologetic and I was so relieved I didn't even charge her
> for the call.
>
> Dick Day
> Marshall MI