too picky about tuning

[Paul T Williams]

Good thing we don't need malpractice insurance!

Paul





"Farrell" <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com> 
Sent by: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
06/02/2008 07:06 AM
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Re: too picky about tuning






Interesting and timely post David. I'm off to an appointment this morning 
to look at my second complaint in ten years about my tuning. The first one 
was about five years ago and the lady was a looney. I wonder how this one 
will shake out - it's been six months, but she said it "went out" right 
away after I tuned it. I know I shouldn't do anything for her at no 
charge, but I likely will - largely because of low number of complaints 
I've had. 
 
I just went biking with a guy the other day who is a colal-rectal surgeon. 
He told me about all the lawsuits and whatnot that his fellow doctors 
endure. I guess maybe I feel lucky and like I ought to just eat this one 
if I only get one every five years......
 
Dunno.
 
Terry Farrell
----- Original Message ----- 
From: David Nereson 
To: Pianotech List 
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 5:34 AM
Subject: too picky about tuning

    Some customers are too picky about tuning, in my opinion.  As soon as 
one unison develops the least little "slow roll," they'll call up and say, 
"My piano has gone horribly out of tune."  I get there, and, yes, it needs 
a little touch-up, but it's by no stretch of the imagination "horribly out 
of tune." 
    There was a pamphlet published by PTG years ago, the aim of which was 
to get people to tune their pianos at least twice a year, if not four.  It 
started out with a quote something along the lines of  "There is no such 
thing as a piano standing in perfect tune for weeks or months on end.  In 
fact, within 24 hours of being tuned, some strings will have slipped a bit 
out of tune."  It then went on to recommend tuning more frequently than 
most people have it done.
    There was another pamphlet, or maybe it was the same one, with quotes 
and recommendations by official representatives or even presidents of many 
piano manufacturers.  Almost all of them, including Steinway, agreed that, 
in order to keep a piano in good tune most of the time, it would have to 
be tuned 3 or 4 times a year.  Not one manufacturer recommended less 
frequently than twice a year, if I remember correctly. 
    I wish this pamphlet could be issued again by the Home Office as a 
handout to customers.  If piano owners could see that the manufacturers 
don't expect a tuning to last longer than a few months, then certainly 
customers can't hold their tuners in a bad light if their tunings don't 
stay perfectly dead on for a whole year (which some customers seem to 
expect). 
    Of course, the owner's manuals that come with new pianos almost all 
recommend at least twice-yearly tuning, nobody reads them.  And tuning 
twice a year means spending $200 or so on your piano yearly, never mind 
tuning 3 or 4 times a year.  Most people just will not spend that much on 
their piano, even it it's a high-quality grand. 
    My gripe is that too many clients expect tunings to last a whole year. 
 Now, some pianos admittedly stay in pretty good tune and up to pitch for 
even 5 or 10 years, but those are the rare exceptions.  If piano owners 
expect to have their pianos tuned only once a year, then they should learn 
to live with a little out-of-tuneness.  I do.  My piano can get quite bad 
before I say, "OK, I really gotta tune this thing." 
    Sometimes they'll request a tuning at the tail end of winter, right 
before the spring rains come.  I try to tell them it'll need tuning again 
shortly because of higher humidity on the way.  Same thing at the end of 
August, or even into September or October.  After the heat comes on, it's 
gonna dry out and go flat.  Then they think you can't tune to make it 
last, and wonder why they should pay for another tuning.  I've explained 
the humidity change effect each and every year to some school music 
teachers and it goes in one ear and out the other.  They still want the 
pianos tuned at the end of August for the new school year, and expect not 
to have to tune them again until the Christmas program or even not until 
the spring high school musical production! 
    Yes, you can leave brochures, technical bulletins, etc., but they 
don't read them.  Or they read and forget.   It gets exasperating.
    --David Nereson, RPT 
     
         
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