Why I'm the tuner and they aren't...

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Ilvedson" <ilvey@sbcglobal.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 8:59 AM
Subject: RE: Why I'm the tuner and they aren't...


> OK,  I got an emergency service call at Stanford's Memorial Church.   I 
> came at 4 pm and found of the organist practicing for his performance. 
> Sorry, he could not stop.
> Yikes!   You have no idea what that was like.  I had to tune it 
> somehow...SAT III.   I didn't have my magnetic mic!   Darn!   I basically 
> tuned in between organ tones.   Imagine the reverberation of a big 
> church....yeah, it was real fun.   Amazingly, Paul Kummer, the regular 
> Stanford technician, commented on how well tuned the piano was when he 
> came back a few weeks later.

    I would have refused.  I mean, there's a limit.....  Could a painter 
reasonably be expected to paint a house while you paint right over him on 
the same wall with a different color?   Do you turn all your sprinklers on 
full blast when the lawn service guys are tryna mow the lawn?  Let the 
church endure an out-of-tune piano for one service -- it won't kill them. 
Maybe next time they'll not schedule playing and tuning for the same time 
slot.
    I know there are those who can tune through anything, but why should 
they put up with it?  If they make the job harder for you, it should be at 
least $20 extra, and that's being lenient.
    --David Nereson, RPT