<HTML style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; FONT-FAMILY: MS Sans Serif"><HEAD><TITLE>Message</TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2873" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV> <DIV>I lost a key, influential customer once because she moved her (crappy little grand) piano under a west-facing picture window. She leaves the lid up. She got a free tuning 3 months after a paid tuning by complaining mightily. When I called for the next tuning, I was talking to an iceberg.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On the other hand, I had a client with a very difficult and strong personality (choir director for a 4-piano church I tune) who blew me off when I reminded her of her personal-piano tuning schedule and was downright testy when I saw her in a store months later and asked about it. So I mentally wrote her off, removed her name from my database. Two years went by.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>She called this morning, sweet as pie, and said she finally had her furniture arranged the way she wants it and, by golly, her piano needs tuning. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm trying to learn not to take these occasional hits personally--it's tough for me--but people are people. All you can do is do your best, be nice, be professional, be consistent, and be honest. Things work out and life goes on.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Alan Barnard</DIV> <DIV>Salem, Missouri</DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid"> </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>