With kids, I try "You guys are wiping me out over here, could you" - insert noise reduction request - "so I can hear to finish up? That's great, thanks." Most often works just fine. With adults, it's "You guys are wiping me out....etc." I sometimes offer to have them come sit and listen, promising not to laugh at them when they fall asleep and snore with their mouth open. Almost anything can work inoffensively if the delivery is right and you give the impression of one person communicating with another. One of my favorites is tuning louder and louder as they shout louder and louder to hear themselves over my noise, then stop suddenly, hands down, turn, and grin at them. "Oh, gee. I bet we're bothering you aren't we?" Keep grinning and nod. People just don't have the remotest clue that piano tuners are mortal beings that must be kept from freezing or roasting, isolated from lethal gasses and insecticides, killer dogs, and noise levels that cause metal fatigue. They need our help to realize these things. Tuning a piano this afternoon at the Art Museum, three people wandered in and stood about ten feet behind me laughing, talking, making exploding noises, and such. I tuned louder. They shouted louder. I hoped the need for added volume on their part would necessitate more expansive gesticulation and maybe someone would dislocate a shoulder and wander off for medical attention. Didn't work. Tuned louder. They shouted louder, still uninjured. I stopped and turned to the guy who was up on the stage quietly installing a large decorative backdrop next to me and asked "Do you know the definition of a conversation pit?" "No, what?", he asked. "Anywhere a piano is being tuned", I answered, then continued tuning at a more normal volume level. No more conversation pit, and I got within a half dozen unisons of finishing before one of the conversationalists found his way to the audio console and cranked up the sound check. I almost got away with it. Ron N
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