$50 tuning - a story

[Brian Trout]

Hi Wally,

To me, it's not necessarily the $50 tuning that bothers me.  I can think of
scenarios where a $50 tuning could be considered a "welcome to my group of
preferred customers", or a "thank you for calling me for the first time"
discount.

If he's doing this all to avoid taxes, it may very well catch up to him and
bite him in ways I wouldn't really want to see.  Legitimate mistakes or
oversights are one thing.  Tax evasion is quite another matter in the eyes
of the IRS.  At times, state departments of revenue can be even worse.  I've
been on the wrong side of the 'collecting state sales tax' issue before, and
I will not go that direction again, even when being paid in cash.

The 20 minute tuning brings up another issue yet.  I've been a pretty good
boy so far.  But there are times when I really have to bite my tongue.  I've
listened to some of the work done by other tuners.  Some of it is good.
Some of it is fair.  Some of it is atrocious.  I'm finding out that not all
tuners (or tunings) are created equal.  So far, I've never bad mouthed
another tuners work to a customer.  But I gotta tell ya, sometimes it's
pretty hard to be silent.  (And the type of guy you mention upsets me a
little sometimes.  Some of them aren't doing $50 tunings either.  Some of
them are $70 or $80 tunings with the same sloppy and careless work.)

My plan to date is provide the best tuning I can for the customer.  I
believe there are a large percentage who are appreciating the effort, and
more than you might suspect have made comments of appreciation for a job
they could actually tell was well done.  Some even go so far as to comment
that the last (unnamed) person didn't spend the time and effort to really
tune all of those strings so well.  Some people really can tell a good
tuning from a rush job.

Just my $0.02

Have a good day.

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net

----- Original Message -----
From: Wallace Scherer <p003520b@pb.seflin.org>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2000 6:54 AM
Subject: $50 tuning - a story


> I saw a name on my caller ID last week, but no corresponding message on
> the answering machine. Curious, I called the number and talked to a lady
> who said she had called because she wanted someone to come tune her piano
> "today". The person who did it had come at 5:00. I called about 7:00.
>
> I decided to question her a bit because when she had answered, I heard the
> piano playing in the background, and it didn't sound tuned.
>
> She said the first person she had talked to didn't come out to her town,
> but he recommended another tuner. He came out right away and only charged
> her $50, and only was there "about 20 minutes". But she wasn't sure he
> did a good job. I asked her if she could play something for me so I could
> hear it again. Her daughter played a little bit - enough to confirm that
> it really was NOT in tune.
>
> I offered to send her my brochure and price list, to which she agreed.
> She said she might have me next time. I made a note to call her before
> Christmas. I had never heard of the tuner before - but then I've only
> been her for a year.
>
> Another local tuner I know once told me that if a customer will pay cash,
he
> will only charge $50. That way he can get around reporting it on his
> income tax report. And he's a PTG member too! (Ethics?)
>
> Wally Scherer
> Lake Worth, FL, USA
>
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