[pianotech] Dealing with customers

[Joseph Rosenberg]

Hi everyone:

How would you handle these 2 situations with dealer tunings that I had
today:

1. Customer 1 - lives in a $4 million house. I made the appt. for today @
10am. Got there 9:45am. Woman didn't show up until 10:30am, no apologies or
explanation. Very warm day, didn't offer anything to drink. Customer had
some stuck key issues, which I stayed extra 1/2 hour. Usually I call dealer
to get his okay so I can bill him, but couldn't reach him. Total time there
- 2 hours, including waiting for her to come home. I get paid for 1 hr.
only. No tip (only the poorer people tip when I do dealer tunings, NEVER
the people with money).

2. Customer 2 - Small house. Husband & Wife both out of work. Appt. was
made for 1pm. I rushed to get there on time after delay of first job. When
I was 5 minutes away, she called and asked me to come at 2pm. When I
explained that I was almost there, she said she wasn't home and would be
back at 2pm. I had no choice but to wait. At least she offered me a drink.
Again, there were repairs that she hadn't told the dealer about, I couldn't
reach him for approval, and did them - Total time: 1.75 hours. I got paid
for the 1 hr. only. No tip.

While I think the dealer or the customers should pay me for the waiting
time, the reality is they won't.

If I didn't wait for them, I would have to go back again anyway, or would
lose this dealer's tunings.

The dealer gives me enough tunings that I want to keep working for him. He
basically pays me what he charges the customers, so it's not like he's
being unfair to me.

Is this just part of doing business, or do other tuners have ways of
dealing with these things?

Do other tuners who do dealer tunings generally get tips? Should I expect
them?

FYI, I am always professional and polite to the customers, even when they
keep me waiting. I always try to be very nice, but the customers don't care.


Frustrated Piano Tuner :(
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