home alone

[Eric Leatha]

>More likely, I think, is the man who would be worried his girlfriend might
>find him alone in a house with me. A few men (younger, mainly) have joked
>about that, and once or twice their girlfriends did show up, but ... I guess
>I just wear teflon. I start talking to them about the piano. The tools
>spread out on the piano are my bona fides. Essentially, I chatter till they
>are bored.
>
>>I take the attitude that I can be trusted. The rest is up to the customer.
>
I've worked for dealers now for 6 years and have never given a second
thought to this situation.  At my previous employer in Idaho, we just
showed-up and did the work as per customer instructions (key under mat,
neighbor let-in, teenagers or even elementary school-aged children letting
us in).  I have been told by my current employer we do not go into the home
without an adult, but when you've driven for 30-some minutes in (surprise!)
rain and traffic, the last thing I want to say is, "Sorry, you'll have to
reschedule."  To coin the phrase of our local athletic supporter, I just do
it.

I suppose I naively believe the words Anne Frank wrote 52 years hence,
"After everything I still believe people are basically good."  And anyone
who owns a piano can't be all bad, right?  Perhaps others are better wired
into the intricacies of their customers' possible motives, I'm jes tu dum.