<HTML><BODY STYLE="font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV>Terry,</DIV> <=
DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You probably might guess what I would do. But=
I'd have to say that at least a service call charge is in order. A=
lso my guess would be that if you don't talk to the musicians or music le=
aders in the church, your education will fall on deaf ears.</DIV> <DIV>&n=
bsp;</DIV> <DIV>Fundamentalist church? Maybe instead of educating t=
hem you should take 'em to Sunday School. <g> The Bible has so=
me nice points about taking care of the stuff used for worship and paying=
people for the work they do.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Mitch Ruth</DI=
V> <DIV>DeMossville, KY</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORD=
ER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-=
LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Ori=
ginal Message -----</DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; COLOR: black=
; FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>From:</B> Farrell</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt A=
rial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, July 20, 2001 5:52 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT=
: 10pt Arial"><B>To:</B> pianotech@ptg.org</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt=
Arial"><B>Subject:</B> Tuning Complaint - Client Relationship</DIV> <DIV=
> </DIV>Hi Listees. I'm looking for some opinions. I am responding t=
o my first<BR>tuning complaint this morning at 9:30 EST. My question is g=
oing to be: Do I<BR>charge them for a tuning.......because the tuning did=
not hold......, or<BR>should I tune and not charge and get a couple PR s=
tars on my forehead?<BR>Details follow:<BR><BR>Subject is a 1968 Yamaha C=
7 in original condition. I would describe the<BR>condition as fair+. The =
piano is in a fundamentalist-type Christian church.<BR>AC goes on Wed. ni=
ght and Sundays. No dehumidification system on piano.<BR>Client called up=
last night and said she had been meaning to call for the<BR>last three w=
eeks because the pianist said the piano is flat (pianist is out<BR>of tow=
n - that's all I could get out of secretary). Service history follows:<BR=
><BR>2000 - Replace 4 bass strings & 4 treble strings<BR>Nov. 8, 2000=
- Pitch Raise 10-25 cents<BR>Nov. 8, 2000 - Tune A440<BR>May 17, 2001 - =
Tune A440<BR><BR>My piano Notes follow:<BR><BR>SAT: 4.0 =
7.0 6.5 DOB: 0.0<BR>Church wan=
ts this piano tuned (pre-scheduled) every 6 months.<BR>Piano inspection 1=
1/8/00:<BR>Board: minimum crown, barely OK<BR>Bridges: DB minimal, but OK=
<BR>Strings: false beats, bass tone uneven<BR>Action: 55 - 60g DW, needs =
full regulation, Good candidate for balancing<BR>Hammers: original - shou=
ld be replaced, but could be filed/shaped<BR><BR>We have had a severe dro=
ught in Florida all winter. The rainy season finally<BR>started right at =
the end of June. I can't imagine that I will find the piano<BR>flat - it =
will most likely be sharp because I last tuned it near the end of<BR>a pr=
olonged dry period and now it rains about 2" a day.<BR><BR>Anyway, I know=
I tuned it right at A440 - and the rest of the piano sounded<BR>good (as=
good as this one will get!). In two months, I can only imagine the<BR>pi=
ano needs to be tuned - change of seasons, no climate control, AC<BR>on-a=
nd-off, etc. I have a hard time imagining that it is the tuner's fault!<B=
R>I expect I will find the piano out of tune and sharp. Quite obviously a=
<BR>goodly amount of education is due here. I will talk extensively about=
tuning<BR>stability, climate and climate control, and give them a Dampp-=
Chaser<BR>brochure.<BR><BR>The bottom line is do I charge them for a tuni=
ng (if they have a pianist<BR>with an ear and considering climatic condit=
ions, the piano should likely be<BR>tuned every 2 to 3 months), or should=
I do a complete tuning for free to<BR>preserve that "feel good" climate =
(as unstable as it is!).<BR><BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML><br clear==
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