<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1 = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content=Word.Document name=ProgId> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1491" name=GENERATOR> <META content="Microsoft Word 10" name=Originator><LINK href="cid:filelist.xml@01C5375E.DB2892D0" = rel=File-List><o:SmartTagType name="PersonName" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagT= ype> <STYLE>  </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US id=role_body style="tab-interval: .5in" = bottomMargin=7 vLink=purple link=blue bgColor=#ffffff leftMargin=7 = topMargin=7 rightMargin=7> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">FWIW, on any call from a new client, I = make sure to state clearly my pitch raise (oops, sorry - pitch correction!) policy = and associated fees. Even if they tell me first that their piano has been = tuned every six months, I still tell them that if the pitch is = significantly off from A440, the piano will need a pitch adjustment and I charge $40 for = that, in addition to my tuning fee. That way when you are sitting at the piano = and you see that it is 50 cents flat - even though it had been tuned regularly - = I simply tell them that the piano is a quarter step flat and it requires a = pitch correction before we tune. I've never had any trouble with a client = after that (at least with pitch). And I ALWAYS charge for a pitch = correction.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">Terry Farrell</FONT></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"><FONT face="Times New Roman" = size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=Section1> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana">List,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana">It's been a slow week for phone calls.  Getting people to make = appointments around tax time is like extracting wisdom teeth.  April has = traditionally been my slowest month, but I've kind of gotten used to it.  = What's aggravating is when a customer calls to say that the piano I tuned a = couple of weeks ago doesn't sound "clear" according to her daughter and the = piano teacher(who came the day after I tuned it).  <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana">The piano is a Kohler and Campbell console, circa 60s-70s, with false = strings throughout the treble.  It had been tuned regularly, up to a year = ago by a tuner who she thought did a great job, but whose card she = "lost."  I suspect other things transpired.  = <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana">The piano is right next to a door, and the weather has undergone big = changes in the last couple of weeks.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana">When I tuned it it was 20-50cents flat.  Hmm, great tuner...tuned a = year ago...next to a door...I should have begun the education process = here.  Instead I put my nose to the grindstone, did a pitch raise--which she = somehow managed to talk me out of charging for (my first mistake!)--and as = good a tuning as I could get into the piano given the time and = instrument constraints. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana">I agreed to go back and see if I can make the piano "sound = better."  I don't mind doing this ONCE if I can educate a customer in the = process.  Don't know if that will happen, because it seems that some people = choose to remain ignorant.  I hope this was the cork on a frustrating week...<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Thanks = for being my wailing wall,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Verdana = color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: = Verdana">Dave = Stahl<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>=