"guarantee...?"

[David Ilvedson]

Ignorance!  Thats all it is.  I had a fellow call up and when I mentioned a
piano should be tuned every year, he yelled "thats bull**** and hung up.

David I.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf
> Of pianolover 88
> Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2000 8:50 PM
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: "guarantee...?"
>
>
> I got a call tonight from a customer who told me that his piano
> has "kind of
> gone out of tune." This particular piano (very old spinet)was 180+ cents
> flat when I pitch raised and tuned it close to 3 months  ago. I
> originally
> told him that his piano, having been neglected for many years, would very
> likely need to be tuned again in about 3 months, (How's that for timing?)
> due to the years of neglect and the fact that it was so flat, not
> to mention
> the sheer age and overall condition of the piano.
>
> So, i asked him if he would like to schedule a follow-up tuning,
> and that it
> probably would NOT need another pitch raise, (as I had left it a little
> sharp, anticipating another, albeit lesser drop) just a basic
> tuning, and i
> quoted him my basic tuning fee. WOW! He immediatey asked ... "Don't you
> guarantee your work?" (I Didn't see that one coming, so i asked
> him what he
> meant.) He continued... "Well, the piano seems to have kinda gone out of
> tune and I didn't expect to have to pay you AGAIN to tune it."
> I reminded him of what i had told him when i first tuned his
> piano, and that
> pianos cannot be "guaranteed" to stay in tune indefinitely, especially a
> piano that had been so severely neglected and was so  flat. Then he
> said.."well, I just don't have the money right now." I did what i
> could to
> be "diplomatic", and ended the conversation by thanking him for
> calling, and
> to please call again when his situation changes, and i would be happy to
> schedule a follow-up tuning. I am wondering how other list members have
> dealt with this type of situation. Thanks.
>
> Terry Peterson
> Associate Member PTG
> Los Angeles, CA
>
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