<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=rol= e_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Geoff,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I tell the customer that every time you pull a string beyond = a few cents, the neighboring string is affected.  It's easy to give a gra= phic display of this if you have an ETD.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I will sometimes use a bicycle wheel analogy, pointing out that each ti= me you tighten or loosen one spoke, other spokes AND the rim are affected.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Most of the time I just say, "M'am, the piano's really out of tune.  IN order for me to get it to pitch, I'll have to tune it twice (= or three times, as the case may be).  The first tuning is a coarse tuning, meant to get the piano close enough to pitch so that it can be fine-tuned."  I then point out the wear-and-tear on ears and body that adjusting the pitch can cause.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If the customer has their piano tuned per my recommendation, = I charge nothing for a pitch adjustment.  When customers neglec= t their pianos, they should pay, not the tuner!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dave Stahl</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>   In a message dated 12/20/2005 12:45:31 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, thetuner@ivories52.com writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><= FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size= =2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=906542820-20122005>Greeting= s all --</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=906542820-20122005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=906542820-20122005>Many pia= nos need a pitch adjustment prior to tuning. Usually because it hasn't been touched i= n five years. Therefore, like many of you I'm sure, I frequently find myself= having to explain to customers what a pitch adjustment is, and why their p= iano needs one prior to tuning. I have found that car analogies often help when= explaining things but I have not been able to come up with one that would = help with a pitch adjustment. Even after explaining, as simply as I know how, t= he relationship of the incredible string tension across the plate and wh= y it needs to be equalized before a fine tuning will hold, I often feel li= ke I'm coming off trying to sell them something bogus. </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=906542820-20122005>How do you people e= xplain pitch adjustments to your customers whose piano needs it so that they= not only understand what it is but why it's important that their piano gets on= e prior to tuning?</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=906542820-20122005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=906542820-20122005>-- Geoff= Sykes</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=906542820-20122005>-- Assoc= . Los Angeles</SPAN></FONT></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"= >Dave Stahl<BR><BR>Dave Stahl Piano Service<BR>650-224-3560<U><BR><A href="http://www.dstahlpiano.net/">http://dstahlpiano.net/</A></U></FONT><= /DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>