Hi everyone:<div><br></div><div>How would you handle these 2 situations with dealer tunings that I had today:</div><div><br></div><div>1. Customer 1 - lives in a $4 million house. I made the appt. for today @ 10am. Got there 9:45am. Woman didn't show up until 10:30am, no apologies or explanation. Very warm day, didn't offer anything to drink. Customer had some stuck key issues, which I stayed extra 1/2 hour. Usually I call dealer to get his okay so I can bill him, but couldn't reach him. Total time there - 2 hours, including waiting for her to come home. I get paid for 1 hr. only. No tip (only the poorer people tip when I do dealer tunings, NEVER the people with money).</div>
<div><br></div><div>2. Customer 2 - Small house. Husband & Wife both out of work. Appt. was made for 1pm. I rushed to get there on time after delay of first job. When I was 5 minutes away, she called and asked me to come at 2pm. When I explained that I was almost there, she said she wasn't home and would be back at 2pm. I had no choice but to wait. At least she offered me a drink. Again, there were repairs that she hadn't told the dealer about, I couldn't reach him for approval, and did them - Total time: 1.75 hours. I got paid for the 1 hr. only. No tip.</div>
<div><br></div><div>While I think the dealer or the customers should pay me for the waiting time, the reality is they won't.</div><div><br></div><div>If I didn't wait for them, I would have to go back again anyway, or would lose this dealer's tunings.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The dealer gives me enough tunings that I want to keep working for him. He basically pays me what he charges the customers, so it's not like he's being unfair to me.</div><div><br></div><div>Is this just part of doing business, or do other tuners have ways of dealing with these things?</div>
<div><br></div><div>Do other tuners who do dealer tunings generally get tips? Should I expect them?</div><div><br></div><div>FYI, I am always professional and polite to the customers, even when they keep me waiting. I always try to be very nice, but the customers don't care.</div>
<div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Frustrated Piano Tuner :(</div>