<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To All Who Responded --</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> The customer (wife) =
did came to
the house yesterday. I made out a new bill for =
the approved
quoted fee (extra time and voicing shown as "free"), and she made out a =
new
check. Little discussion and lots of smiles and =
pleasantries.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Thanks for the =
honest, yet
supportive responses. My own wife was not so understanding. =
She
wanted me to go back and harden the hammers. LOL</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Roger... you're right. Voicing is =
very
subjective, and I only assumed I knew their economic condition (both =
working,
nice home with view, Town Car and Infinity in the drive, kids
gone).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Marvin... her husband even told me =
later that it
would probably take a trained ear (not his wife's) to hear the =
difference.
Lance... I've used your "Psych 101" approach to pitch raises =
before.
Thanks for the light voicing suggestions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kristinn... I had heard of a similar =
"deaf customer
story" before. Yeah, I still haven't done enough voicing to know =
exactly
what I'm doing or what I can expect out of various pianos, especially =
ones as
light-weight as this one.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>John... thanks. The letter of =
appology is in
progress in the word processor.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jim... the husband used that very same =
analogy, but
it's not like I was charging for polishing the piano. I really was =
trying
to give them a better sounding experience (I know ... =
subjective).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Patrick... I have had that suggested to =
me
before. Though I see it as a good idea which if put into practice =
would
cover me for that 2-hour service call, I will either have to raise my =
fee for
that call or be happy with less than my usual hourly rate.
Yes?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>David... getting the customer to leave =
payment if
they must be away when I'm finished is good. And if I =
run into a snag
after they are gone (broken string, part,etc.) ... ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brian... I will probably make some =
coupon offer in
my letter to them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bob... "a slightly more thorough =
discussion on the
phone, to get a start on realistic expectations (and some price =
flexibility)
even before you arrive" only sounds logical and smart. =
Thanks. Yeah,
that might be the most valuable 0.4 hrs. voicing I've done to =
date.
LOL</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Willem... that ruler across the =
knuckles really
smarts. My mother warned me there would be teachers like =
you.
:-)</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks, again, for all the lessons and
support. Now, if you will excuse me I'm going to sit down to a =
nice movie
and a slice of humble pie (or maybe a bowl of "M&M's" and a tall =
glass of
milk). :o)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Doug Garman</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>