"Old School Teachings" - Little Story & Confession

[Greg T]

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David,

I always strive for excellence in my work, as we all should. But I can't =
tell you how many times I have driven many miles for a service call only =
to find a PSO clunker that is horribly out of tune and half the keys =
don't work because of broken & missing parts, etc, etc, but the customer =
says something like "This was my grandmother's piano. I just want to be =
able to plunk out a few melodies". Given the situation/parameters =
mentioned why would one be concerned about it being a bad reflection on =
their work? It is a reflection on the client. I don't think my =
reputation as a good technician will be damaged in the least by me =
making the effort to make that old clunker "playable" for the customer. =
I just do the best I can and then move on, hopefully to find a better =
piano to tune at my next appointment...

Best,
Greg
  =20

David Love wrote:

I missed a bit of this thread but the problem with doing this type of =
thing, even if the customer seems satisfied, is that the quality of the =
tuning reflects on you to others who may hear it.  Though you can't make =
a silk purse..., I do tend to think about the quality of the product I =
leave behind and how it might reflect on my own reputation.  If a =
customer wants to pay only a minimum charge, but you know the piano will =
need more to even get it reasonably in tune, and it is likely that you =
won't see this customer ever again--or at least for another 10 years, =
then (even though I still take the job) I often wonder if it's really =
worth it.

David Love

=20
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Greg T=20
To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
Sent: May 05, 2002 10:32 AM
Subject: Re: "Old School Teachings" - Little Story & Confession


I totally agree with the reply below mine...

Maybe that (customer/situation) is why the "tooners" of the "old school =
teachnings" did some of the things they did and a was not so much a =
reflection of their skill level...

IMO the best one can do is to simply do one's best, given the parameters =
of the situation, and not worry so much about what a previous "tooner" =
did...

Best,
Greg

----- Original Message -----=20
From: Kevin E. Ramsey=20
To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 9:04 PM
Subject: Re: "Old School Teachings" - Little Story & Confession


    Terry, your customer dictated the terms of service, you didn't. Let =
her define the level of service she wants, if that's what she wants from =
you. You gave her what she wanted and what she was willing to pay for; =
there's no reason for you to have your "tail between your legs".=20

Kevin E. Ramsey
ramsey@extremezone.com

The short story is I tuned that thing in 45 minutes and left it 15 cents =
flat. It was the worst tuning I have ever done, and I even skipped the =
few notes in the high treble that were lacking hammers and/or hammer =
felt!

I still claim to be Mr. "A440 or else!", but golly gosh, I guess there =
are times when alternatives are in order - not often, but sometimes.

With tail between legs,

Terry Farrell

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