Confessions of a klutz

[Tom Cole]

Hi, Wally

As careful as I like to think I am, I've discovered that damage is inevitable. I once
arrived at a tuning before the owner returned and was lead to the piano by the teenage son
who promptly left the room. Normally, I prefer that the owner remove objects from the
piano but in this case I suspended the rule and proceeded to remove everything so I could
get started. Just as I lifted a microphone, the heavy base fell off damaging the finish. I
tried to hide the blemish with felt tip pens but was less than successful.

I did not report the damage to the owner (I was indignant that he didn't show up at the
appointed time which, if he had, the accident would not have occurred; it was a cheap
spinet; it wasn't my fault the base fell off; I was being reasonably careful; etc.) .
However, he noticed the damage and called me and I agreed to make a new piece, have it
professionally finished and then install it. He never called me again and I'm sure he is
not a source of referrals either.

Needless to say, I regretted not being in integrity with my value system which is way
more important than the loss of my tuning fee and the customer.

Reflecting on the above and having read other posts on this thread, I can see that I am not
as careful as I could be. I remember Jim Geiger giving his class on piano moving and
explaining how he wears coveralls with no belt buckle or keys dangling from a halyard
snap that could scratch pianos. And who hasn't seen Ben McKlveen in similar garb?
Maybe I need to start wearing a shop apron to protect customers' pianos from my belt
buckle.

Regards,

Tom Cole

wtscherer wrote:
>
> What sort of preventive measures have some of you taken against scratching
> and marring the customer's piano? On several occasions I have done the
> following:
> 1. When picking up the fallboard to replace it, I scratched it with my
> fingernail. Remedy? Trim my nails better, and BE CAREFUL.
> 2. When moving the piano away from the wall, I scratched it with my belt
> buckle. Remedy? Look sloppy and leave my shirttail out? Don't wear a belt?
> 3. My tuning hammer fell off the pin and slightly dented the right edge of
> the case. Remedy?
> In NONE of these cases did I mention it to the owner. Would you?
> Salud!
> Wally
> .-
>
> X-Mozilla-Status: 0010

--
Thomas A. Cole, RPT
Santa Cruz, California