<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> Hi Doug Renz in <?xml:namespace prefix = = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place = w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Rochester</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">NY</st1:State></st1:place>. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" = /><o:p> </o:p> When it is evident the piano will not = hold after one tuning, tell the customer he needs a pitch raise. For a pitch raise, = I charge little more than half that of a tuning. The cost of a tuning, = after all, includes the expense of a car and time wasted on transportation. A = second tuning should not include all of that.   On the pitch raise, I do not spend = time fine tuning. I can get it done in little over a half hour. If the strings = feel they won’t break, I pull them a couple of cents sharp. <o:p> </o:p> Then a good tuning on top of it. = It’s amazing how it will hold. If it is a full tone out, tell him he’ll have to tune it = again in three to six months. <o:p> </o:p> If the customer can’t live with = paying 1 ½ times more for a tuning, tell him to get someone else. There is good reason = for this, namely the problem you ran into - now he thinks you’re a lousy tuner. = Let someone else look after him. <o:p> </o:p> Kenny Finlayson, RPT</DIV></BODY></HTML>