<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV>Most of the thousands of customers we've all had fall into certain distinct categories, and in my humble opinion here they are. You have the eccentric old piano teacher widow type, who has between 4 and 8 cats and she talks your ear off during the entire tuning, telling you how the world has gone to hell and things are not like they used to be (she's got a good point here). Then you have the curious type, who sits or stands over you watching intently during the entire tuning, fascinated at your every move. The you have the hospitable type, who never fails to offer you food and drinks, and even invites you to join them at the dinner table. You have the mechanical type, who takes apart the upright piano before you arrive, so that when you get there, all you have to do is start tuning. Then you have the average housewife type, who never plays the piano but wants you to come once a year just to keep it in shape.Then you have the super rich type. He or she never meets you, as everything is in the hands of the housekeeper.Then you have the cheapos, who try to bargain you down no matter how reasonable your price is. This, thankfully, is rare. Then you have just the opposite -- the tippers, usually men, who always throw in an extra 5 or 10. Then you have the complainers - -you do a marvelous job, transforming a horribly out-of-tune piano into a masterpiece, and they sit down and play the highest B and C and complain that they don't sound right! Then you have the concert pianist, who gives the piano a thorough workout and compliments you on a fine job. Then you have the friendly type who, after knowing him for years and years, you consider more of a friend than a customer. Then you have (for single guys only) the girlfriend type who, after tuning the piano, you don't know whether or not to ask her out for a date. And finally, the geriatric couple, whose house looks like something out of a 1940's or 1950's movie -- the carpeting and all the furniture is about 60 years old, including the piano. Everything has that quality 1940's look. The telephone is that standard black desk phone that weights a ton, and when it rings you hear that "ding a ling" sound instead of the modern electronic ring. Just hope that when they tip you, they're not back in the 1950's by taking a dollar out of their pocket instead of a ten!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Jesse Gitnik</DIV> <DIV>NYC</DIV> <DIV>Since 1980</DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at <A title="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000339" href="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000339" target="_blank"><B>AOL.com</B></A>. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>