I was called once from a woman who asked me to come and tune their piano at their summer place on Whidbey Island (where I used to live).  We made the appointment, etc. and I was thinking, ("oh yea, a summer place...probably a junker)  When I arrived at the drive way I was still thinking the same thing.....junker") as I drove in the landscaping started, got bigger, fancier, Japanese ponds with Koy fish, little red bridge to drive over, around a corner ...HUGE 6-7000 square foot log "cabin" style home with indoor olympic size pool overlooking Puget Sound....I started getting excited.  Oh boy a nice big piano.  WRONG.  In a smaller room...a green painted Lester spinet!!  I had to leave a bill too!! It dawned on me when I met the head of the household that it was one of Microsoft's head guys (just a couple notches down from Gates)  Go figgur.. Paul <table width=100%> <tr valign=top> <td width=40%>Thomas Cole <tcole@cruzio.com> Sent by: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org 08/01/2008 11:09 PM <table border> <tr valign=top> <td bgcolor=white> <div align=center>Please respond to tcole@cruzio.com; Please respond to Pianotech List <pianotech@ptg.org></div></table> <td width=59%> <table width=100%> <tr valign=top> <td> <div align=right>To</div> <td>Pianotech List <pianotech@ptg.org> <tr valign=top> <td> <div align=right>cc</div> <td> <tr valign=top> <td> <div align=right>Subject</div> <td>Re: No- shows..... again + digressions</table> <table> <tr valign=top> <td> <td></table> </table> The thing I notice all too often is that the wealthier the owner (and larger the house), the smaller and more cheaply made the piano. I've been in places, whose living room could contain our whole house, to tune a spinet and almost jokingly suggest that they get a grand piano, only to hear, "Oh no, we don't have room for a grand piano." <groan> Tom Fenton Murray wrote: And another thing, Tom, digressing ever so slightly. Why is it that 'rich folk' want me to leave a bill, and 'poor folk' pay me in cash? Happens over and over, oh well. Fenton ----- Original Message ----- From: <a href=mailto:fmurray@cruzio.com>Fenton Murray</a> To: <a href=mailto:tcole@cruzio.com>tcole@cruzio.com</a> ; <a href=mailto:pianotech@ptg.org>Pianotech List</a> Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 3:07 PM Subject: Re: No- shows..... again Another thing I learned, then and since is that either crazy people live in the mountains or living in the mountains makes you crazy. Tom Cole Causeral, corollary, or coincidental I agree, Tom. Anyway, I miss whatever it was when I moved back to California from Colorado 30 years ago. Fenton ----- Original Message ----- From: <a href=mailto:tcole@cruzio.com>Thomas Cole</a> To: <a href=mailto:pianotech@ptg.org>Pianotech List</a> Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 10:19 AM Subject: Re: No- shows..... again I had a similar long trip into the mountains to find that the owner was not at home. I found the front door unlocked and since the piano was just inside the door and I had tuned for the woman a couple of times before, I decided to save the appointment and do the tuning. Arriving home that evening, I got a call from a very irate woman who was extremely upset that I had entered her house while she was gone (forgotten about the tuning date) and now "The Whole World" knows that she doesn't lock her front door and I let her go on venting hoping that she wears herself out screaming at me instead of doing something else. The only thing that would settle the argument was that I accepted half of my fee. So I took it that entering a house without previous arrangement is probably not a good policy and have refrained from doing so ever since. Another thing I learned, then and since is that either crazy people live in the mountains or living in the mountains makes you crazy. Tom Cole Dean May wrote: I had a no show a couple of weeks ago, a fairly long time customer in a small nearby town. Her door was open so I went in, tuned the piano and left an invoice. Always check the door. If it is open and it is a repeat customer who knows me I always go ahead and go in to tune it. Turns out this lady had been taken to the hospital the morning before. She was out in a couple of days and sent me a check with a note of thanks that I went ahead and tuned her piano. Dean Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 Terre Haute IN  47802 <div align=center> <hr></div> From: <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a> [<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] On Behalf Of <a href=mailto:reggaepass@aol.com>reggaepass@aol.com</a> Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 8:38 AM To: <a href=mailto:pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</a> Subject: Re: No- shows..... again Here, here Ed. When someone stands me up, I leave a note stating that I was there at the appointed time I had on my calendar, waited fifteen minutes, and then left.  (After all, it is possible that I wrote is down wrong.)  While I'm waiting, I call 1) their house (in case they are there, but don't hear the door), and then, 2) I call my answer machine to see if there is word from them there.  If no, and they afterwards call and explain that they had a (true) emergency and didn't have my number with them, OK.  If they just forgot, I tell them that they will have to pay for half of a service call for the missed appointment without prior notice when I do service their piano next.  Otherwise, they need to find another date to the prom.   In concert with this no show policy is a rather liberal cancellation policy: As long as they let me know that they will not be able to keep the appointment, no love is lost.  The stated advance warning is 24 hours, but in practice I will accept them actually reaching me any time before the scheduled service.  It comes down to a matter of consideration, and as Ed has pointed out, thinning the heard of undesirables is a good thing in terms of re-ordering your universe for the better. Alan Eder -----Original Message----- From: <a href=mailto:A440A@aol.com>A440A@aol.com</a> To: <a href=mailto:pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</a> Sent: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 3:25 am Subject: Re: No- shows..... again << How do you deal with a no show appointment? Do you bill them? Bill half? Not at all? Any other way to deal wit them? >> Greetings, SNIP    Our day by day decisions determine what our life is like, and gradually, over the years, our clientele develops around our own personality. They aren't really "them", but, rather, "They are us",  so we are responsible for what kind of a career we have.  We, in some way, choose our customers, and  If taking care of ourselves means that we lose the occasional  inconsiderate customer, is that a big loss or simply cleaning up our customer base to better suit our vocation? Regards, Ed Foote RPT <a href="http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html" target=_blank>http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html</a> <a href="http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html" target=_blank>www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html</a>   ************** Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for FanHouse Fantasy Football today.       (<a href="http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020%29%3C/HTML" target=_blank>http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020)</HTML</a>> <div align=center> <hr></div> The Famous, the Infamous, the Lame - in your browser. <a href="http://toolbar.aol.com/tmz/download.html?NCID=aolcmp00050000000014" target=_blank>Get the TMZ Toolbar Now</a>!