Sweet!

[Justin A. Kraft]

Well, it wasn't exactly a tip, or even that good, but here's the story:

The FIRST time I ever tuned a piano in somebody's house, I walked to the
door, and was greeted by a nice couple, I'd say in their mid-thirties.
They told me that they had just had new carpet put in, and would I mind
taking off my shoes.  I said "No problem" left my shoes at the door, then
went to the piano, a spinet I believe.  Anyway, there was some minor
action adjusting to be made (This was the first tuning of the piano after
it had been delivered, so I didn't have to do much) so I had to take the
lower panel off.  I decided to leave it off until I was done with the
piano, just in case.

The next thing I knew, I felt something nibbling at my toes.  I looked
down, and there was a ferret chewing on my sock, which had bunched up
below my toes.  I started, and accidentally kicked the ferret into the
piano, where it promptly left a present right next to the sustain pedal,
in the trapworks.  It took me the better part of an hour to get all of the
ferret poop out of the piano.

Being a new tuner, I really didn't know how to react- should I tell the
owners what happened?  I ended up not saying a thing, but we had a good
laugh in my local chapter.

In the end, the ferret ran off behind the sofa, and I decided that my
future would be in shop work.

--Justin A. Kraft