[pianotech] rock solid for how long?

[erwinspiano at aol.com]

  Hi All
  I've really appreciated this thread as it gives me/us all a reality check.
 I also wanted to mention to factor in the constant flucuations of heating and air conditioning temp/humidity change. How many times have we had to try to hit a moving pitch target because the pitch was changing as the stage lights came on,the heating came on or some body opened a door..... Or the placement of the piano in the home ie southern exposure with direct or indirect sun or by a pedestrian door that swings back and forth as much as a playground swing... It's amazing we can keep a piano in tune at all. Especially the funky under designed one. 
 These are just a few more reasons to show ourselves some deserved grace. 
  As others have mentioned communicating these factors to our clients in vebally or as a written disclaimer (hmm good thought) is a grand fine idea and a huge step in mitigating unwarranted call backs. WHy jsut yesterday I tuned for a recording session in a drafty building and by the end of the day the call came in to retune. No surprise to them or me cuz I splained all of that.
  That said I also do not wish to excuse poor tuning techniques, or a  hurried tunings cause I'm late for dinner, nor should one experiment on the public before one is pre-pared to deliver quality tunings. (After that go for it).
  It is a great idea to have our tunings bench marked by our colleagues. ooooh...Did I hear nashing of teeth? PTG tuning test pre-screening?
  Ok I'll shut up now.


  Dale



True Kerry, 
But, tuning is considerably different that repairing or plumbing work.  If
t is indeed the fault of the technician, faulty pin setting for example,
hen by all means, it should be fixed for nothing.  Within a short
easonable amount of time that is.  Not months or even a year later. 
If it is a piano where the tuning creeps, if it has pins that jump, like
ome Steinway verticals do, then that is another matter.  It becomes utterly
mpossible to keep some of these pianos in tune if they refuse to cooperate.
e cannot be held accountable for this type of problem or weather changes.
e can only do the best that we can do with it explaining this to the
ustomer.  
I've never once had a complaint that the piano went out of tune that was due
o being my fault.  In fact, it is almost always something else such as a
ticking key, a pencil that managed to miraculously appear inside of it or
t was a voicing issue or a couple of months or more had passed in which
ase the tuning will have changed to some degree or another anyway.
ustomers must be made aware of these facts.  If they are not taught the
auses of pianos going out of tune, they will never know it.  
Jer 
-----Original Message----- 
rom: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
f Kerry 
ent: Saturday, January 09, 2010 9:48 AM 
o: pianotech at ptg.org 
ubject: Re: [pianotech] rock solid for how long? 
It seems to me we need to apply some common sense to what amounts to a 
alancing act between what we know as technicians and what we can get our 
lients to understand and accept. I apply a kind of sliding time scale to 
his kind of callback, meaning that if it's a piano I tune regularly and 
omething slips within a week or so (not the slow roll that's been referred 
o but really out), I'll take direct responsibility, make a free touch-up 
isit and try to use the opportunity to explain something about the number 
nd complexity of the factors that affect the tuning (and maybe try to sell 
hem on humidity control). When it's been a longer period of time, or the 
iano had not been tuned regularly, I'll try to make them understand why it 
ay have gone out but hold firm in charging for a service call. This doesn't
apply to performance work, where the expectations are higher and the time 
rame shorter. 
I guess the bottom line is, put yourself in your client's shoes. When 
omething goes wrong with some service person's work shortly after they 
eave, and they refuse to make it right for free, no amount of explanation 
r rationalization would make me feel like I haven't been cheated. Emphasis 
ere is on defining "shortly" for yourself. 

erry Kean 
ww.ohiopianotuner.com 

----Original Message----- 
rom: David Nereson [mailto:da88ve at gmail.com] 
ent: Friday, January 08, 2010 2:07 AM 
o: pianotech at ptg.org 
ubject: Re: [pianotech] rock solid for how long? 
 > We cannot be held responsible for what happens to the piano 
tself once we 
 leave the premises.  Many factors must be taken into account 
 including 
 humidity flucuations. 
 
 Jer 
    I think this gets to the root of what I was actually 
oncerned with.  I get the attitude or expectation or impression 
rom many clients than I AM responsible for that tuning holding 
or a reasonable amount of time -- at least 4 months or so, or 
ven a year or two, in some people's minds.  I remember many 
all-backs in the past (and occasional ones even now) where a 
tring slipped within a few days of the tuning.  The customer 
lways feels that's the tuner's fault, since they think a tuning 
hould last at least a year.  In fact, when they were growing 
p, their mom only tuned the piano every 5 years or so, and it 
ounded fine (they think).  So if my tuning doesn't last that 
ong, I must not be very good, or else I did something wrong, or 
m getting old and can't hear, or was in a hurry or whatever. 
   But more to the point of rock-solidness, how do you know, 
ther than by using the forearm test or pounding the heck out of 
ach and every unison, that that tuning will stay absolutely 
table?  Do you go thru and tap every pin with the flat end of 
our tuning hammer's head to see if any pins move, then go thru 
nd touch them up?  And after you do, how do you know those 
ouch-ups are stable?  You don't.  And, yes, at concerts, 
ometimes tuners come out at intermission to touch-up a few 
trings.  And this is understandable to the layperson because a 
oncert artist was thrashing out a heavy piano concerto.  But 
heir home piano should stay in tune for at least a year since 
t's only used by light-handed, casual players.  (Or some 
imilar train of thought.) 
   I still experience some guilt if I charge full fare, then 
et a call-back because a unison or a few slip(s) within the 
ext few weeks. 
   --David Nereson, RPT 


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