<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <TITLE>Message</TITLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><SPAN class=175093322-15112006><FONT face='"Verdana"'>Dave, don't feel so bad. I've twice tuned a piano in the wrong house. No certificate was needed then. I just felt so dumb. Fortunatly, one of these person became a very faithfull customer and brought me work at a university and one college. So, we never know what LIFE as in store for us. Just be grateful you're still breathing.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=175093322-15112006></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=175093322-15112006><FONT face='"Verdana"'>Marcel Carey, RPt</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=175093322-15112006>Sherbrooke, Qc</SPAN></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV></DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=fr dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma>-----Message d'origine-----<BR><B>De :</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>De la part de</B> piannaman@aol.com<BR><B>Envoyé :</B> 15 novembre 2006 16:59<BR><B>À :</B> pianotech@ptg.org<BR><B>Objet :</B> Re: A strange and unpleasant experience<BR><BR></FONT></DIV> <DIV>Fellow techs and amateur psychologists...:-},</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks for the input.  Enough people have suggested that the text on my certificate is potentially misleading that I opted to take Alan's advice and send the lady a letter of apology for any anger I might have expressed, then forget about it and have a larf about it at my own expense.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Taking a remedial reading and writing course,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV style="CLEAR: both">Dave Stahl<BR><BR></DIV> <BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: pianoboutique@comcast.net<BR>To: pianotech@ptg.org<BR>Sent: Wed, 15 Nov 2006 12:57 PM<BR>Subject: RE: A strange and unpleasant experience<BR><BR> <STYLE>.AOLPlainTextBody { FONT-SIZE: 12px; MARGIN: 0px; COLOR: #000; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff } .AOLPlainTextBody PRE { FONT-SIZE: 9pt } .AOLInlineAttachment { MARGIN: 10px } .AOLAttachmentHeader { BORDER-RIGHT: #7da8d4 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #7da8d4 1px solid; BACKGROUND: #f9f9f9; FONT: 11px arial; BORDER-LEFT: #7da8d4 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #7da8d4 1px solid } .AOLAttachmentHeader .Title { PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: #b5ddfa; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; FONT: 11px arial; PADDING-TOP: 3px } .AOLAttachmentHeader .FieldLabel { PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 9px; BACKGROUND: #f9f9f9; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px; FONT: 11px arial; COLOR: #000000; PADDING-TOP: 1px } .AOLAttachmentHeader .FieldValue { BACKGROUND: #f9f9f9; FONT: 11px arial; COLOR: #000000 } .AOLAttachmentHeader A { COLOR: #2864b4; TEXT-DECORATION: none } .AOLImage A { COLOR: #2864b4; TEXT-DECORATION: none } .AOLAttachmentHeader A:hover { COLOR: #2864b4; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } .AOLImage A:hover { COLOR: #2864b4; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } BODY { BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: "Verdana"; BACKGROUND-COLOR: white } P { PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px } IMG.managedImg { WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px } IMG.placeholder { BORDER-RIGHT: #dadad6 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #dadad6 1px solid; BACKGROUND: #f4f4f4 no-repeat center center; BORDER-LEFT: #dadad6 1px solid; WIDTH: 275px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #dadad6 1px solid; HEIGHT: 206px } </STYLE> <DIV class=AOLPlainTextBody id=AOLMsgPart_0_38e5476b-cc6e-44f4-9383-ca503234391a><PRE><TT>The bearer of this gift certificate is entitled to > one piano tuning. That is what I see and I don't have 20 20. William PIANO BOUTIQUE William Benjamin Piano Tuner Extraordinaire <A href="http://www.pianoboutique.biz/" target=_blank>www.pianoboutique.biz</A> The tuner alone, preserves the tone. -----Original Message----- From: <A href="mailto:pianotech-bounces%40ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</A> [<A href="mailto:pianotech-bounces%40ptg.org">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</A>] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 12:41 AM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: A strange and unpleasant experience > List, > > This might be considered a cautionary tale about what we all put out > there on the WWW. > > I tuned my first piano of the week on Monday. It was a pretty typical > job--Yamaha upright, not tuned for several years. 30 cent pitch raise, > but it tuned up nicely. > > I yak away with the customer, explain a few things, finish up, present > bill. > > The lady,whose English is not very good, says "I was referred by Joseph, > my tenant. He says I just give paper and tuning free." > > I say "WHAT! What piece of paper is that? I don't work for free!." > > She pulls out a piece of paper, which is the "gift certificate" page of > my website printed out on a sheet of copy paper. Below is the text. > > > Dear ____________________________ , > _______________________________ has chosen to help you promote harmony > in the universe! The bearer of this gift certificate is entitled to one > piano tuning. Please call 650-224-3560, or E-mail me at > <A href="mailto:Velopresto%40aol.com">Velopresto@aol.com</A> to arrange the time and date of your service. > > > > I don't see where it says "coupon for free piano tuning." I can see > where there might be some confusion as to the way the gift certificate > works, but I don't understand how anyone can be oblivious enough to > expect that this entitles them to my services for free. And I think if > I was going to redeem this "coupon" I might first ask the person who > would be doing the work if this was indeed a "free" tuning. > > I got very angy with her, and with the person who suggested that this > might be a free tuning, and with the fact that she waited until I had > done the work before she presented the "coupon." > > Needless to say, I've put a disclaimer on the gift certificate on my > website. > > I told her I'd take some responsibility for the confusion, and that she > could send me half my fee. I anticipate getting nothing from her. > > Thanks for letting me vent, > > Dave ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Diary, Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive double pane energy-efficient kind. But this week I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I hadn't paid for them. Now just because I'm blond doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told ME last year....namely, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. . . He didn't call back. Guess I won that stupid argument! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reality is usually a matter of where you're standing when you click the shutter. Ron N </TT></PRE></DIV> <DIV class=AOLPromoFooter> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> <A href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/1615326657x4311227241x4298082137/aol?redir=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eaol%2Ecom%2Fnewaol" target=_blank><B>Check out the new AOL</B></A>. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.<BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>