On 9/2/96, MHoffman11@aol.com rote: <<With all due respect, Bill, would you please tell my banker, credit card companies, vendors, etc., that I only pay my bills in the Spring and Fall???>> You must be new in the biz. When I started out, the Spring Tuning Season was May and the Fall, November. I'm a little busier now and the Spring Season runs Feb to Jul, and the Fall Season, August through Jan. <G> On 9/2/96, MHoffman11@aol.com rote: <<DON'T BLAME THE WEATHER! EDUCATE the owner and SELL them a Piano Life Saver System. If they choose not to take care of their instrument properly, don't worry about what time of year that the piano is being serviced. Period. If they complain about the instrument changing pitch/tuning, refer them tothe literature that you left them regarding climate control.>> With all due respect, Mike, floating the pitch is what I have to do while I'm waiting for that education to sink through their thick skulls. However, just so that seasoned techs can talk within earshot of the young'uns with less experience, I'll state that any floating I do is under the strict guidelines which I laid out at the end of "Tuning on a Leash" (PTJ 8/93, p. 19). Need I quote? If so, I'll post the tech. On 9/2/96, Bill Ballard <yardbird@sover.net> rote: << It took me years to figure out why pianos should be tuned twice a year, Spring and Fall.>> I think my original point is worth restating. It took me years to discover the wisdom behind the conventional "Tune-it-twice-a-year,-once-in-the-Fall-and-once-in-the-Spring". This is what I heard starting out from long-time tuners, and from customers who had been trained to this schedule by the long-timers, and people who didn't even own a piano. There had to be a reason for this convention. I didn't know it for the longest time, but obeyed it in my instructions to customers. Naturally I would try to funnel my repeat service into those two seasons, so that Summer and Winter could be reserved for work appropriate then. (This summer I was working six solid days a week taking care of five concert series, and during the winter I hole up in the shop, so that I don't have to shovel out the driveway.) Of course any customer gets a tuning whenever they call up. But when it comes to scheduling regular service at six-month intervals,unless they have a good reason for an out-to-lunch month, I'll st eer them towards Fall and Spring. The best thing is to tune the piano during these temparate seasons when, at most you'll be repairing leftover damage from the extreme seasons. Bill Ballard RPT NH Chapter "Lady, this piano is what it is, I am what I am, and you are what you are" From a recurring nightmare.
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