Hi All,  I just have to chime in about this one.  I get the opportunity
to "impress" people quite often.  In most cases, all it takes is getting
them to shut up long enough to listen.  I know that might sound crass,
but most people are so involved with themselves that they rarely take
time to enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer.  What's
sadder yet is the fact that rich people, who can afford the finer
things in life, rarely learn how to use the things they own.

This fact was made apparent to me just today.  I was hired to tune
a $100,000 Steinway grand with a PianoDisc player system.  Upon
arriving, I found the piano was grossly out of tune.  After multiple
tunings, I was able to get the piano back to A-440.  Then I fired up
the PianoDisc system and made numerous adjustments.  When I got done,
the owner was close to tears.  (You know... you can see the tears in
the corner of their eyes.)

Here's my point.  The owner had never heard what the instrument was
capable of delivering.  They had been misled by various technicians who
said this and that about the machine.  And here's the rub, I wasn't at
their home to work on the Steinway.  I was called in to work on their
Universal player piano -- the one I've been writing about over the past
week.

Although I've said this before, it bears repeating.  It is the
responsibility of the technician to educate the customer.  Don't allow
yourself to be dissuaded.  Be persistent!  Force the customer to pay
attention to what you have to say.  If you are "namby-pamby" in your
approach they won't listen -- you have to be assertive and somewhat
demanding.  You have to make your presence known, and you have to
expect a certain modicum of respect.  If you don't, they won't!

Musically,

John A. Tuttle