<html> <body> "So, what do I do now? " UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ACCEPT BLAME FOR THE LAWS OF PHYSICS!!! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE REFUNDS FOR GOOD HONEST WORK FAIRLY PRICED!!! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOW WEAKNESS, FEAR, INDECISION, OR GUILT!!! YOU WILL BE EATEN ALIVE IF YOU DO!!! Be blunt when you talk next. You know, they do not. You understand, they do not. Explain however much you need to, UNTIL... It is clear they don't get it. THEN... Lose a customer, (not much worth having in the first place), and keep your dignity and professional demeanor. You are right, they are wrong, it's that simple, and never forget it. Any experienced tuner has run across this situation in their career... until they learn to emphatically "pre-explain" reality BEFORE the tuning begins. Be confident when you explain things. Your word must be law. They learn from you. The laws of physics as they apply to tuning is NOT UP FOR DEBATE BY THEM. If I were a seasoned tuner in your area and heard this story, (and I was a decent and knowledgeable chap), I'd instantly be on your side as soon as I heard the real technical details. You have to be absolutely firm and confident when you predict piano behavior BEFORE YOU START TUNING. IGNORANT CLIENTS CAN BE TRAINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;0) That's the real solution for the future, which is what matters more than surviving the current (not too desirable in the first place) client. You are "da piano god" when in someones home, but ya gotta believe it, act like it, and speak like it. My two cents after 25 years at this. DO NOT RETUNE THIS PIANO FOR FREE!!! (Just to make you feel better, 23 years ago or so I replaced half a set of bass strings that broke during a tuning of a 120 year old birdcage, at my expense... stupid thing to do (several things actually - he he...) ... the client was livid and irrational and it seemed the easiest way out... in retrospect I should have stuck to my guns... and had them restring the bass at THEIR expense - or just gotten another tech to deal with them)</body> </html>