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<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Hi Dave,</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>That is a hard one.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Obviously, losing her as a customer would be no
big deal, since you said her piano had been neglected. So she might not have had
you back for a while anyway.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>The hard part is, that word of mouth is the best
advertisement, and if she spreads the word, it could hurt business. Especially,
if it is a rural area. But that would depend on the goodwill you have built up
in the area, already.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>I think you are correct in making a charge, as she
had already used up the free one, by being a no show.
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Maybe call her again, and explain to her again,
that you have already been there, and doesn't she realize that she is to blame
for her being a no show, when the job would have been
free.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>How about getting her Brother's phone number, and
getting specifics from him, as to what the alleged problem is/was. It might not
even be a real problem, just his perception.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Don't you just hate those people, with a little
bit of knowledge, just enough to make them dangerous.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV>John M. Ross<BR>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR><A
href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca">jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</A></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=pdtek@mchsi.com href="mailto:pdtek@mchsi.com">Dave Bunch</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> Monday, October 24, 2005 6:16
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> No show</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Hello- </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Well, I've seen some venting about difficult customers lately so I will
submit a story here just to double check my policies. I do want to be
fair.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I tuned a Kimball console last week that had been neglected a few years.
A bit flat, but not much. I finished up, collected the fee and left. The next
day she calls me saying that her brother came by and didn't like the sound of
it. He apparently used to tune a bit, and told her that she should get me back
out again. Fortunately over twenty years, these calls are rare, so I said I
would come back and there would be no charge, even if it needed
retuning.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I schedule a time, drive forty miles round trip, and she stands me up. I
waited a half hour and left. I could have tuned another piano during that
time. When I get home later there is a message on the phone apologizing for
missing the appointment. I called her and she said a couple of her day care
kids were lost in a corn maze for an hour and a half, when at this point a kid
chimes up in the background "We weren't lost!" The story sounded fishy but
either way, I took a loss on it. I told her at that point I was still willing
to check out her piano and work on it if needed at no charge, but that I can
only make one free trip out there. If she wanted to make another appointment,
there would be a minimum service charge. She went ballistic and said that was
a lot of money when the job wasn't done right the first time!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Am I being unreasonable? Lets even assume that whatever is wrong with the
piano is my fault. How many times should I block out a time and absorb the
mileage to go there for free?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>OK, I'm done now.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dave Bunch</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>