ears vs. eyes..kinda long-winded

[David Love]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Some were a little surprised and concerned and I had to do a bit of =
explaining about what it was and what it did.  But no real problems.  =
There is a bias, but it works both ways.  I remember getting a call from =
someone inquiring about my services.  They asked me if I tuned by ear or =
with a device.  When I said by ear, they said thank you very much but I =
want someone who tunes with a device.  I've also had people who really =
wanted me to tune it by ear.  I tell them that I always use my ears.

David Love =20
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: David Ilvedson=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: October 24, 2002 7:56 AM
  Subject: Re: ears vs. eyes..kinda long-winded


  David,

  How did your long-term clients react when you started tuning their =
pianos with an electronic gizmo?

  David I.

  ----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
  From: David Love <davidlovepianos@earthlink.net>
  To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
  Received: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 07:22:00 -0700
  Subject: Re: ears vs. eyes..kinda long-winded

  There is another aspect to this debate worth mentioning.  I spent the =
first 20+ years  as a strictly aural tuner.  A few years ago I decided =
to buy an Accutuner mostly for use in institutional work where I needed =
to tune as many pianos as possible quickly and stress free.  More =
recently I purchased a Verituner.  During the period when I was tuning =
aurally I think I was a very competent tuner, did lots of concert work, =
and wasn't slow by any means.  Since going to ETD's I have found that on =
average, I can tune more quickly and more accurately.  Under the right =
circumstances, good piano, good concentration (beginning of the day) I =
could probably rival the speed and accuracy of my ETD tuning.  But =
overall, through the entire day, different kinds of pianos, different =
levels of concentration, I can without a doubt deliver more consistent =
and faster tunings with an ETD.   I'm not sure (if people are being =
honest) how it could be otherwise. =20

  Since my fees are based on time, and I can complete the task more =
quickly, I am, in effect, earning more money.  The 5th tuning I do in a =
day is more likely to be of the same high quality as the 1st tuning of =
the day and the stress I feel from that kind of schedule is greatly =
diminished.  Moreover, as far as the customer is concerned, I can =
actually complete a few additional tasks within the same time period =
that I generally took for an aural tuning (which is, in fact, what I =
do).  Thus, the customer benefits because I can include a few items in a =
regular service that were more difficult before because the average time =
spent tuning prohibited that without either an extra charge or loss =
revenue.   I benefit from having done a more thorough job on the piano, =
the customer loves me and refers me to all their friends, and after =
tuning five pianos in a day, I can still come home and have a coherent =
conversation with my wife.

  It's not only difficult to give up these benefits, the bigger question =
might be is it really fair to the customer to insist on tuning aurally =
when you could deliver just as good (perhaps better) of a tuning and =
more in the same amount of time and, presumably then, for the same =
price?

  For me, the answer seems obvious.

  David Love


  ----- Original Message -----=20
    From: HazenBannister@cs.com=20
    To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
    Sent: October 24, 2002 5:10 AM
    Subject: Re: ears vs. eyes..kinda long-winded


    In a message dated 10/24/2002 3:08:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time, =
bigda@gte.net writes:=20



      and I've followed up on some really good EDT users, some=20
      famous, at least regionally so.=20



    Hi,=20
    I have no doubt,that you are probably an extremely talented aural =
tuner.But,as you have said above,I also have followed aural tuners in my =
region,with a notable reputation,that really need to borrow my Accutuner =
for a few days.=20
    Best,=20
    Hazen Bannister=20

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/14/a2/c6/14/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--