<HTML>In a message dated 2/7/01 4:59:14 PM Central Standard Time, hsrosen@gate.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Hi Everyone, This has never ever been discussed before (to my knowledge). Got a call from someone saying that he was an agent. (the entertainment kind). He said that a local large country club needed to have their piano regulated. I've been in their restaurant a few times as a customer so I know that the piano is not a good quality instrument. He said that he recommended me and that I should kick back to him 20%.  I started for my computer to write to you about this but called him back with a thought. I said I would consider a kickback if this turned out to be a sizeable job, but that if they liked my work and wanted me to be their tuner on a regular basis, that I would be hard pressed to pay him 20% on every tuning. After some discussion I made my decision and told him to get a different tuner. Perhaps a newbie who needs work might have accepted this offer, but I could not see this leach benefiting from my work. Besides, I thought agents worked on 10%.  Any opinions? Howard S. Rosen, RPT 7262 Angel Falls Ct. Boynton Beach, Fl  33437 </BLOCKQUOTE> Howard. I think you did the right thing by refusing to do the work. I think the guy was trying to get a few quick bucks. If anything, what you could have done is give him the bill, and let him charge the restaurant the extra 20%. That way you conscience would have been clear. A similar thing happened to me a number of years ago. A piano player at a restaurant, who was also a booking agent, convinced the owner of the restaurant to have me put on a new set of h/s/f on a S&S L. She asked for my price, and got back to me a day later to go ahead and do the work. She wanted me to give her the bill. I did, and she paid me. Several years later, when the piano player was no longer playing there, the owner of the restaurant, who I knew, asked me what I charged for the work. I found out she charged the owner another $500 over my price. Not bad for a few minutes of work. There is no reason for us to get paid less for our work. If a "go between" wants to get a piece of the action, then let him/her get the extra money from the customer, not take it out of our pocket. Willem </HTML>