Do You Have All Your Oars in the Water?

I'm dubious about this woman....................

I got two more sets of keys today. One expected, the other a surprise. The surprise was from a non-tech. I don't normally take in key work from non-techs. It's too much of a hassle for the price of the job. The one time I agreed to it was near disaster. Unfortunately, the classified ads in the PTG Journal (professional journal) are available online. Convenient for tech happy piano techs and usually not a problem, for me, with the general public as they haven't a clue how to get keys out of their piano.

Anyway, this box arrives. It's nearly falling apart. I didn't recognize the name on the return address. I opened the box to find a set of grand piano keys jammed inside in every direction. Marvelous, I thought, can't reship finished keys like that, I'll have to find a better, bigger box. That irks me right from the start.

Then I found this note inside in an envelope. I'll intersperse my thoughts as I read it, in color (like this).

Hello Deborah (Couldn't spell my name correctly but managed to get the address right),

I thought it would take forever to figure out how to dismantle my piano to remove these keys. I hope I can remember where all those screws go when it's time to put it all back together. (Oh no, not a piano tech.....Oops, you should have kept them in order and labeled them - good luck)

Enclosed is a personal check for $135 for the resurfacing of these keys. (Wonderful, it's an old price. Hasn't been that for over a year. Hope you included contact info and now I'm going to start wasting work time calling you to straighten it out) If questions arise that require my attention, my home phone number is (SNIP). If I'm not there, use my answering service and I will get back to you promptly. (Please be out when I call. I don't want to chat. Let me just leave a message about the price discrepancy. Then you can call me and leave a message. Really, I don't want to talk to you.)

We have eight-year-old twins who are studying music, and each kid has his own piano. They will have to take turns practicing this week, poor kids. (You send keys, unannounced, with the wrong payment, from halfway across the states, and you expect them to be back in your piano in a week? Don't think so. There are five other customers ahead of you.) Maybe this is a good time to learn some duets. (And find out how all those less privileged one piano households manage to survive)

I really appreciate your effort in making our old piano more enjoyable to play. (Gee, thanks) What will you do with the old ivory you remove? Black market? (You didn't really ask that, did you? Yeah, it's from your piano, if I sell it on the black market and should be caught, I may implicate you as an accomplice. Seriously, if you thought that I were dealing in the black market, why would you do business with me? Huh.) Ebay? (not worth the trouble) Just wondering. (And now I'm wondering about YOU) Hope all goes well with your work, and you'll be able to get the keys back to us soon.

(Did you ever think that I may be dead? on vacation? have sold the business? your keys could have been sitting on a doorstep in the rain for weeks? Don't you think calling ahead just might have been a good idea? Yeesh, lady.)

And an update............

I called. I got her (drat). I kept it simple. Told her the price had changed over a year ago. She said to "trust her", she's putting the balance in the mail tomorrow. I told her that her keys were in the work line up, thanks, bye.

I still can't believe she said black market!