Tuning Complaint - Client Relationship

[Roger Jolly]

Hi Terry,
          I bet they noticed the octaves going sharp at the first 5 or 6
notes on the tenor section. FWIW.
Tuned one this morning, Piano was 5Cents sharp overall, and almost 30cents
sharp on the first tenor note.
A DC will help a lot in this case. The long bridge does not fair so well
with big humidity swings on this maodel.
Roger    


At 05:48 AM 7/20/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi Listees. I'm looking for some opinions. I am responding to my first
>tuning complaint this morning at 9:30 EST. My question is going to be: Do I
>charge them for a tuning.......because the tuning did not hold......, or
>should I tune and not charge and get a couple PR stars on my forehead?
>Details follow:
>
>Subject is a 1968 Yamaha C7 in original condition. I would describe the
>condition as fair+. The piano is in a fundamentalist-type Christian church.
>AC goes on Wed. night and Sundays. No dehumidification system on piano.
>Client called up last night and said she had been meaning to call for the
>last three weeks because the pianist said the piano is flat (pianist is out
>of town - that's all I could get out of secretary). Service history follows:
>
>2000 - Replace 4 bass strings & 4 treble strings
>Nov. 8, 2000 - Pitch Raise 10-25 cents
>Nov. 8, 2000 - Tune A440
>May 17, 2001 - Tune A440
>
>My piano Notes follow:
>
>SAT:   4.0   7.0   6.5     DOB: 0.0
>Church wants this piano tuned (pre-scheduled) every 6 months.
>Piano inspection 11/8/00:
>Board: minimum crown, barely OK
>Bridges: DB minimal, but OK
>Strings: false beats, bass tone uneven
>Action: 55 - 60g DW, needs full regulation, Good candidate for balancing
>Hammers: original - should be replaced, but could be filed/shaped
>
>We have had a severe drought in Florida all winter. The rainy season finally
>started right at the end of June. I can't imagine that I will find the piano
>flat - it will most likely be sharp because I last tuned it near the end of
>a prolonged dry period and now it rains about 2" a day.
>
>Anyway, I know I tuned it right at A440 - and the rest of the piano sounded
>good (as good as this one will get!). In two months, I can only imagine the
>piano needs to be tuned - change of seasons, no climate control, AC
>on-and-off, etc. I have a hard time imagining that it is the tuner's fault!
>I expect I will find the piano out of tune and sharp. Quite obviously a
>goodly amount of education is due here. I will talk extensively about tuning
>stability, climate and climate control, and give them a Dampp-Chaser
>brochure.
>
>The bottom line is do I charge them for a tuning (if they have a pianist
>with an ear and considering climatic conditions, the piano should likely be
>tuned every 2 to 3 months), or should I do a complete tuning for free to
>preserve that "feel good" climate (as unstable as it is!).
>
>
>
Roger Jolly
Balwin Yamaha Piano Centres.
Saskatoon/Regina.
Canada.