List: Last week I had one of those service calls that I did everything wrong! Even after 19 years tuning pianos, I still amaze myself sometimes that I make such mistakes when I know better. I am sharing this embarrassing story with you because I learned something very valuable, and I have a question. A store I do work for recommended me to a music school. I quoted my best price over the phone because the director came from an immigrant culture that feels insulted if they are not made to feel like they are getting a discount. Mistake #1 - no discounts! I also assumed that because they seemed like a classy music school, the pianos had been reasonably serviced in the past. Mistake #2 - never assume anything but the worst conditions in a music school. I arrived to find one very busy, over-worked (7 days a week, 12 hours a day) director giving a music lesson. There were 4 pianos, and I was to "tune" two of them. The first piano was a studio Belarus. Mistake #3 - never assume a music school has nice pianos! It was 38 cents flat, had loose hammer heads, noisy pedals, and bass strings that were not matched pairs. Since the teacher was busy with her student, I decided not to interupt, and just go ahead and service the piano. Stupid mistake #4 - the piano required a lot more than "tuning", and all the extra free work I was about to do would have no value to her because I had not pointed out the extra problems. The piano took twice as long to service as I had originally estimated, but I was pleased because it played and sounded so much better. All she heard when I was finished was the inharmonicity of the mispaired bass strings, and that the repetition was not even across the keyboard! The next piano was a 4'10" baby grand manufactured by a Korean company. After listening to the previous lesson, I knew this piano was badly in need of tuning. Again, the piano was at least 38 cents flat, and the last 5 damper heads in the treble were sticking. The piano was also covered with so much dust when I raised the lid that I choked; not to mention the 8 pencils I pulled from the action! Again, I did not interupt the teacher to point out that this piano needed much more than "tuning". Mistake #5 - I was thinking what a lucrative deal this could be tuning for all these students. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I cleaned the piano, pitch raised it, and tuned it twice. Again, my effort took twice the time I had planned on, but I figured I gave this lady more than her money's worth, and that I had done a really good job - especially considering the circumstances! Wrong! That evening, the teacher called to tell me that her baby grand sounded terrible, far worse than it ever had before; that it was "ringing" and totally unuseable for teaching piano lessons! I was surprised (stupid!), but rather than make excuses or try to explain anything away over the telephone, I offered to go back the next morning. What I found was a piano slightly out of tune, still at reasonable pitch, and to my ears, still a whole lot better sounding than when I first met the thing. So I asked her what the problem was, and she started playing single keys very hard and complaining about the "ringing". I assumed she meant the harmonics she was now able to hear, and that is my question. Apparently, she had not had the piano tuned since she had purchased it new 4 years before. Since it is a very high tension, inharmonic, bright sounding piano at spec, could the amount of flatness (-38cents+) have masked the inharmonicity and brightness? I must admit, the piano did overall sound better, except for the tuning, before I touched it! I then sugar-coated the hammers so no more high harmonics could be heard, and retuned the piano. It sounded very mellow. I left without charging her more money. Again, that evening, she called, very angry, to say that now she could not get any "forte" out of her piano; no loudness. And that she had expected more professional service and that her piano should have sounded better after I "tuned" it, not worse! She did say the Belarus piano was fine. Again, I figured that she was not trying to get a lot of free work out of me - she truly was not happy with her piano! And why should it be any different? After all, I had not pointed out that anything was wrong except to say that these pianos needed servicing more often if she wanted them to sound better. So I offered to go back the next day, make the piano louder, but she had to communicate more with me when I was there - another free call! It has also occured to me that anyone who listened to pianos playing 12 hours a day, seven days a week for 4 years, could be having problems with their hearing! So I went back for a third time. I tried to explain about voicing being different from tuning, and she kept saying that she needed her piano at concert pitch! After all, she, with her European Doctorate degree and her brilliant students with perfect pitch deserved better! She also thought I should return her money because she did not get the professional service. She was really very angry, and made a big display in front of her students. For some unexplainable reason, I took this situation quite calmly - maybe because I am getting older! Even if she did think I was dog meat, not only was I not going to return her money, I was determined to get this piano sounding acceptable to her. First, I took one octave and lowered the pitch about 30 cents, and asked her if these keys sounded better. Yes, they didn't "ring" but they weren't loud enough! So much for her perfect pitch! I figured another piano tuner would come behind me, so there was NO WAY I was going to leave the piano 30 cents flat! Even with perfect 20-20 hindsight, I could never have just tuned the piano at the pitch I found it! I used a drop of supertone on each hammer, and that enraged her because it now sounded like a dulcimer! So, I started over, doing what i should have done to begin with. I checked the plate screws, seated the strings, and filed the hammers. STill too bright, but after another hour of needling the piano now sounded more melodic. A bit on the bright side, but within spec. I determined that after 6 hours working this for free, that I had finally done enough! So I packed up my tools, and on my way out, I smiled at her. I simply said that I was sorry the whole experience had been so trying for her, that I had done my best. If the piano was still not acceptable, I would send her a letter explaining (all the things I should have explained at the beginning!) the situation, but for now, I was finished and leaving. I gave her the thumbs up signal! I still can't believe that through all of this I was so calm and upbeat, but in the end, that is what saved me! On my way home, I stopped off at the store that had referred me, and apologised for all the mess. Apparently, the teacher had called the store earlier that day, knowing that I was coming in the afternoon, to complain about me. The store owner, also an immigrant, was irrate that the teacher had not had those pianos serviced in the four years since she sold them to her, and furthermore, what a crook she was for taking money from her students for piano lessons, and never having the pianos tuned! Now, I really felt badly that a fight had ensued on my behalf. Finally, I get home, and there is a message on my answering machine from the music school: "Mrs. Beigel, thank you for coming back! The piano sounds much better, now!" Go figure! So, this long post should show how not to set yourself up for misunderstanding. Always confront and point out problems before you start work, and don't be distracted by the goings-on around you. AFter all, how many times have you taken your car in for a tune-up and the mechanic calls you to tell you that you need more work than you thought? And if you do step in it, try to keep a professional demeanor, do your best, and smile when you call it quits! And don't forget my question. Could the piano have sounded much sweeter at 38cents flat without all those high harmonic overtones? Carol Beigel
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