<!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 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>Dave, just wanted to throw a coin of empathy in - I'm familiar with the same = deal, and the dealer I currently work with has told me that's very typical. </DIV> <DIV>meh. </DIV> <DIV>-ilex</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px = solid"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left>-----Original Message----- From: = pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Piannaman@aol.com Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 10:43 = PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Re: Customer = ethics--no more extras! </DIV>In a message dated 9/20/04 10:40:07 AM Pacific Daylight = Time, draine@comcast.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px = solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" TYPE="CITE">On Sep 19, 2004, at 10:57 PM, Piannaman@aol.com wrote: > Avery, > > Uhhh...I don't give the = tunings away, the dealer does.  I get paid, > but not enough to merit = extra work.   I would suggest talking to the dealer about the = fact that you have been doing more work than he's ben paying for, and = you would like to get compensated for it by him. After all, these = are problems which probably existed when the piano was delivered = (excess friction in keys, excess lost motion, rubbing hammers), not = caused by "normal usage" by the customer. Does the dealer want good word = of mouth from pleased customers or not? Try to convey this to him in a straightforward manner. Some technicians develop very = positive relationships with dealers. Others don't. I got out of dealer = work as soon as I could. As for the occasions when I have done some = "dealer warranty work" -- well I've got a bounced check from said dealer = on my desk right now. Warranty work for manufacturers has, in my = experience, been a much more positive experience. Patrick Draine </BLOCKQUOTE> Patrick, I am more = frustrated with customers than I am with the dealers.  I usually charge the = dealer something if my appointment goes into overtime, but I always give them = a good deal.  I have good relationships with them, and it has paid off.  Lack of customer loyalty is my gripe here.  MOst of the = people who do the "free" tunings here do little more than that, and often don't = even do a necessary pitch adjustment.  I have always tried to make sure the = customer is well taken care of, and as Mr. Bullock said, it is usually = not recognized. Thanks for the input, Dave S. </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>