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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I don't think I would send the =
letter. You
can write it, but don't send it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Next time she calls, tell her you can't =
schedule it
and refer to the most expensive guy around.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Carl Meyer Ptg assoc<BR>Santa Clara,
Ca.</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Tvak@aol.com href="mailto:Tvak@aol.com">Tvak@aol.com</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> Wednesday, February 18, =
2004 10:52
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> You vs. Them</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva =
color=#000000
size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">List<BR><BR>Second visit to a client's =
house
yesterday. First call was a tuning. At that visit =
she
complained about my fee, claiming that I tuned her neighbor's piano =
for $20
less. This was simply not true. She reluctantly paid it, =
only
after arguing with me for a good 2 or 3 minutes. I wouldn't back =
down. (My fee is not even on the high end of techs here in
Chicago.)<BR><BR>Why did I agree to come back and do repairs for
her?<BR><BR>Upon handing her the bill she claimed I told her it would =
take me
only 30 minutes to do the following: =
<BR>
replace a broken treble string<BR> replace two =
broken
hammer shanks with new ones<BR> repair/replace =
two
broken key buttons<BR><BR>There is no way I would ever estimate that =
to take
30 minutes. Maybe one of you guys could do that in 30 minutes, =
but not
me. It actually took me 90 minutes, mostly due to it taking me =
forever
to cut down a new key button to fit a dogleg key. I felt that it =
should
have taken me less time to do this, (any tips on this procedure would =
be
welcome: I used a little saw, then filed it and it came out nicely, =
but there
has to be a better way...) so I only charged her for 60 minutes plus =
parts,
which is what I believe I quoted her on my estimate.<BR><BR>She wasn't =
satisfied until I charged her only for the 30 minutes plus =
parts. I
simply refused to argue with her beyond the first 2 or 3 minutes, and =
I
caved. I have to point out that my labor rate is lower than any =
other
tech I know. So the bill was LOW to begin with.<BR><BR>Now I =
should
probably just let this go and move on, but I am about to mail her a =
letter in
which I advise her to find another technician to work on her piano in =
the
future.<BR><BR>When it comes down to you vs. them, how do you deal =
with
that? Perhaps in her country of origin it is appropriate =
behavior
to haggle over things such as this. I found it =
offensive. I
just wanted to get out of the house and be done with =
her.<BR><BR>Luckily the
day ended on a nicer note. Another repair, another house. =
This
time I handed her the bill and she said, "Oh, no, that's not enough!" =
and gave
me an extra $10.<BR><BR>Tom Sivak<BR>Chicago </FONT><FONT =
face=Geneva
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>