Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum When the Customer's Teacher complains....

Every 3-4 years a Customer's Teacher complains about the tuning. Two weeks ago I did the free tuning on a new piano (pitch raise). The customer called a week later to say her teacher was complaining about the pitch raise. I told the customer I'd be happy to meet the teacher at the piano and fix any issues.

The customer calls today and says the teacher thinks ANY piano technician should be able to fix the tuning without the complaining teacher being present. I told the customer it's my policy to meet the teacher at the piano because I want to make sure she's happy when I'm finished. The customer spent 5 minutes trying to convince me to arrive without the teacher present and I refused. I have a tentative appointment to show up at end of a lesson and meet the teacher in two weeks. It will be 4 weeks from time of pitch raise. I get so few complaints that I always respond with a second trip out to address them, but I need the complaining party present, or the trip is wasted.

I have this policy because:

1. I want to make sure I resolve all the issues the teacher has - or she may badmouth me to others. I'm not going to guess the issues. It may be voicing and not tuning.

2. I want to educate the teacher on the instability involved with new pianos and raising pitch.

3. I want to show the teacher that her complaint is important to me.

4. The teacher may be trying to switch the customer to "her" preferred tuner in return for discounted tunings.

5. If the teacher has to meet me at the piano, they might think twice next time about voicing a complaint...after all, I don't complain about teachers after seeing their students play!

All good from what I can read as a policy of response.

#5. Is the best one for sure Bob.

You have a good policy set in place Bob. I do exactly the same thing. Meet directly with the person who is making the complaint face to face. It is the only way to resolve any silly issues and many of them are silly issues.

Over the years, I've found more often than not, that there are always certain teachers that have the mentality of having to prove something to their students like, they know more than we do. Or complaining about the tone when it isn't even their piano and the customer and student were satisfied with it. Or, was, that is, until the teacher intervened for no good reason. In trying to prove this, they sometimes attempt to make the "tuner" look bad. If that is the case, that simply will not work with me but instead will backfire on them.

I agree on all counts, Bob. Good post.

"Hey after hearing you play and your lack of progress from your last tuning,I'd like a word with your teacher if you don't mind.I'd like to complain to her about her teaching methods.You've been playing that same fricken song since last year"

most teachers are okay, but every area has one who thinks they know more about pianos. We have a teacher in the area who can't find a tuner because she think has problems with the piano after the tuners finished and bad mouths other tuners. Your policy are great Bob. Keep us posted

I remember one time I was concert tuning a Steinway D at my college. I had walked out to the car to get some replacement strings that had been broken. When I returned, the concert pianest had sat down and was just playing away. He immediately started complaining about what a bad job of tuning I had done and who he was going to tell about it. He went on and on and on in a very angry voice without breathing it seemed almost yelling about how it needs to be tuned again!!!

Finally, I had-had enough and cut him off at the hip telling him to literally SHUT UP and listen. I'm not even 1/3 done tuning this thing yet. I had to make a trip to my car to get a couple of piano strings and when I return, here you are. So far, I have only raised pitch throughout the piano about 1/2 way. Of course it sounds horrible yet! Half of it is on pitch, half is still flat!

He proceeded to cut me off by starting to practice again saying "I need to practice now. You'll have to come back and finish your tuning later." I said, hey way a minute. The tuning isn't stable yet and I don't need anyone pounding on it until I'm finished to which he became rather snooty and mean telling me that if my tuning isn't stable I'm a lousy tuner. That pretty much put me over the top. I told him in no uncertain terms exactly what I thought of him and why. I then said that NOBODY touches or plays this piano until I'm finished tuning. You will have a stable tuning when I am done. Now GET OFF! By this time, obviously, I had become short tempered to say the least.

"Do you know who I am?" He said. I said, I don't care if you're the United States President or Santa Claus get the heck out of here!! This auditorium has been reserved for me for another 1.5 hours. "You said that 20 minutes ago." That's right and you've so far wasted 20 minutes which I just tacked on my reservation time. I have to fix a couple of broken strings and complete the tuning. By the way, I said, you've now taken up about over 20 minutes of my precious time, who should I send my bill to for this you? He got up and left.

I asked someone later if he had said anything about the tuning. He told them it sounded marvelous when I was finished and said I wasn't very nice to him. When I explained what had REALLY taken place, that person said, yeah, he is a very tempermental individual and that he was very high maintainance. I'm glad you kicked him out.

I hate having to do that but, there are those times where some people become so darned right mean and nutty.

It's up to us to establish control over the situation whenever we're in the process of tuning a piano. In most cases it's telling the client to not vacuum or play the stereo, etc.

In concert situations, I advise well in advance that I must have the room to myself with no other people present.

Most people are simply not aware that their presence is a detriment to getting a piano in tune. In the case of a school, etc., if you don't lock down the environment right from the beginning, others will congregate and the noise level rises gradually until tuning is impossible.

Parakeets are even worse. They can't be reasoned with.

Regarding the actual subject of this thread, I had an experience with a piano teacher whom I never met, but ended up being a real problem for me.

I went to an established client's home to inspect a piano that I had not yet serviced (he has another piano at another location that I had done extensive, successful work on). I proceeded to pull the action, make some adjustments, remove debris and give a detailed assessment along with my recommendations for service. I spent an hour doing this and the job that I recommended was a matter of a couple of hours of work plus a tuning.

As it turned out, the client's teacher imposed her own technician to the task. I lost out to the teacher's tech, but my client graciously offered to pay me for my time and I accepted his offer and delivered an invoice for my time. Apparently, he was offended at the amount that I charged him and gave me a difficult time before finally paying me.

Had he not offered to pay me, I would've simply dropped the issue and moved on. But because he did make the offer, I took it as an opportunity to educate him that my time is valuable and he shouldn't have used me the way he did - providing a free assessment for another technician to bid against, only to have his teacher's ego step into the situation and come between him and his trusted technician.

I received a call over the weekend to have me come look at a piano for possible purchase. They insisted the piano teacher come along to help me make my assessment of the instrument. Lucky for me, I was up north to my cottage and they found someone else. I hate those kinds of calls too.

The teachers are a little less bothersome in the assessment part compared to when the customer asks their child to pound out their rendition of Fur Elise and give their opinion of your tuning. I have considered carrying a few lollipops in the tool case for these scenarios.

Like when the 7 year old complains???

You bet....and Halloween's just around the corner too.

Bob my guess is the customer was trying to use the teacher to cop a free tuning. I'd hold fast.

Jerry I would not have spent 30 seconds with that jerk on SS D concert. WOuld have packed my tools, strolled to the Admin office, told them the problem and give a few minutes to straighten it out. If no reasonalbe solution was forth coming I'd hit the door. Next time they need to get their ducks in order before requesting my time. You went the extra mile. Way beyond. Can't stand people who treat professionals like they were chattel to be kicked and abused. Not me.

I had a deal on a Baldwin spinet I tuned a year ago. Set the appointment up with the old man, (always hazardous) came to the house and lady met me asking how much to just tune the brassy notes? I quoted my fee for tuning, AGAIN and said that was the cost. We don't just tune the "brassy ones." Can I call my husband? By all means do so. She comes back and says, I think it really sounds fine, it just a few brassy notes. By this time I had wandered over to the piano. THere were about 10 pieces of tape on different notes. One the top was tin cup with paperclips. I hit a note and lifted the cup. THis kind of brassy note? No more brassy. If you want the piano tuned, call me, says I and left. I then switched on me Blackberry and deleted the record. Never to see me darken THAT door again.

Priceless.

Well, that's the crappy thing. I always have set appointments. I never just show up for anything unless it's an emergency call. This was just a routine concert tuning. All I did was to leave the building for a few minutes and in pops this dude. Couldn't he see my tools laying on top of the piano? The fall board off? The music rack missing? Some people are just idiots and sometimes, I admit, I enjoy treating them as such.

I got an email back from the customer - the teacher will meet me Thurs the 24th after lesson time. The teacher still feels ANY technician should be able to hear the problems. Can't wait to meet her!

I salute you guys! Keeping it civil and with a business attitude is an art.


Way to go guys!

Once, I had a call back from a customer saying his teacher did not like the tuning I just made.

I asked for an appointment to meet the teacher at the piano and I never had a chance to meet the teacher. I've lost the client.

I wonder the teacher had another tech to tune his student's piano.

Some teachers get discounts on their own tunings by referring their students to their own tech. This is most likely why you lost out on it and couldn't get to meet with the teacher. I wouldn't worry too much about it, what comes around...goes around.