<!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 6.00.6000.16674" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031123019-09082008><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>At some point, Terry, you have to rely on your own judgment and be willing to override that of Ms. X. If the piano is well tuned then it is well tuned regardless of what Ms. X thinks. If the piano really does sound horrible for reasons other than tuning then Ms. X needs to be so informed. And, having lived through this experience more than once or twice, I'll also say that if Ms. X's piano sounds horrible because Ms. X's hearing is shot she also needs to be told about that. These are most often no-win situations. If you try to accept responsibility for Ms. X's hearing difficulties you will still lose. In all likelihood Ms. X already knows her hearing is shot but she may still be resisting acceptance. But that is not your responsibility. Your responsibility is to be sure the piano is well tuned (that is what she hired you to do) and to be sure she understands the condition and capability of her piano. At least to the extent that she is able and willing to understand such.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031123019-09082008><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031123019-09082008><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>Del</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left> <HR tabIndex=-1> <FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Farrell<BR><B>Sent:</B> August 09, 2008 12:03 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Customer Complaint on Tuning<BR></FONT><BR></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>The saga continues...... and builds. This one has the potential to set the standard.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Just got a call from........ guess who?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=5><STRONG>Ms. X, I LIVE AT ...... YOU TUNED MY PIANO. IT SOUNDS HORRIBLE. SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED.</STRONG></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Maybe I should have asked her, but I wonder if she remembers that we talked yesterday. I told her I'd be stopping by tomorrow early afternoon and she seemed okay with that. I hope she sleeps tonight.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Either this lady is in the wrong "home", or the plate split in two after I left from tuning it. Either one - I can't really figure out anything else.....</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Oh boy..... gulp.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Assuming I live through it, I'll file a report tomorrow afternoon.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">Farrell</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, August 08, 2008 2:24 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Customer Complaint on Tuning</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Oh boy. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. Should have just erased the message and not called..... </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Lady leaves message on my answering machine: <STRONG><FONT size=5>I LIVE AT 123 MY STREET. MY PIANO NEEDS TUNING. I LIVE AT 123 MY STREET. IT SOUNDS HORRIBLE. I LIVE AT 123 MY STREET. I NEED IT TUNED TOMORROW. I LIVE AT 123 MY STREET. CALL ME.</FONT></STRONG></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>After my ears stopped ringing, I call her..... and they started ringing again. Made appointment. Pull up in her driveway Wednesday - I could hear the TV LOUD in the driveway. 120 year old lady - very sweet - she had the big eyes and high cheekbones - could tell she must have been a knockout 95 years ago. I asked how long it had been since last tuning. She didn't answer so I asked: <FONT size=5><STRONG>HOW LONG SINCE LAST TUNING.</STRONG></FONT><FONT size=3> She said many years. Anyway, I did a 25 cent pitch raise and tuned the so-so condition 1970-ish Baldwin console.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>FWIW, she is a "musicologist". What is that? She also teaches piano.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>She calls me yesterday and says that some notes still don't sound right together. I didn't have the heart to ask which ones (like maybe C and C#?). So I told her I would call her Sunday early afternoon and stop by to check it out. (I have a morning appointment nearby that day.)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>I know what it will sound like - a crappy little old Baldwin console that just had a pitch raise and a tuning. She's going to plunk away at several keys, not hear a darn thing, and ask me: "see? hear that?"</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>So what's the plan? Smile, wiggle a few tuning pins, and say: "Oh, yeah, that should sound better now...?"</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>This is my second call-back on a tuning in 10 years. The other one was a few years ago from a 115 year old lady who couldn't hear a fire engine honking it's horn if she was standing right next to it.......</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=5><STRONG>:-(</STRONG></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Terry Farrell<BR>Farrell Piano</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><A href="http://www.farrellpiano.com">www.farrellpiano.com</A><BR><A href="mailto:terry@farrellpiano.com">terry@farrellpiano.com</A></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>