Do the Job. When done and asked for judgment just say, there is the piano, you judge. If they persist say that you don't know how big a pitch change it underwent before, it may have settled, but you have heard it over the years, there it is. you judge. Also be sure to tell them about the piano, not about the other technician. Chances are it needs more then a tuning. When a technician shrugs from voicing and mechanical problems the client may say the tuning is bad when it has nothing to do with tuning. Fully communicate with the client the whole status of the piano. Likely this was not the other technicians fault. Example.. At an institution with 24 pianos I do, I was surprised to get a call back on a piano I tuned a week before. "it needs tuning". Well I don't get road call backs, and rushed over. "Oh thats fine.....its this and this and this, this note is dead...." Well there is no aftertouch on this grand, the hammers have 5mm and more contact with strings, the top octave has no sound for the hammers are so worn they hit the wrong side of the pressure bar, there are bridge cracks, regulation problems, rattling keys. The tuning was fine, they recognized this. I had tightened all the action screws when I had tuned it, eliminating much rattle, and made a mental note to make a report on this piano. So I spoke with the teacher one on one, wrote a report, the office wants to start with a full day 8hrs work....no hammers yet. The point is they know, they know that they know, and they want to work with a person that is letting them know and not shrugging it off like has happened before. People are weary of sales jobs, but they like solid information they can understand. There is so much work to be had if we become not sales people, but effective communicators and educators. Shrugging off problem pianos invited assumptions and misunderstanding. People like a comprehensive approach, even if it for understanding only, not to fix everything. 2 cents Dave Renaud RPT Canada ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC