Yep! Believe it or not there are some services I would gladly do for free if by doing so it would make for a better all around experience later on. As a matter of fact, I did exactly that just the other day. I received a call from a young lady who was inquiring about my tuning fees saying that she was about to have a piano given to her by her mother-in-law. So we talked a few minutes and I soon learned that both she and her mother-in-law lived in Monticello, GA. I told her that I was scheduled for two tunings in Monticello later in the week and would be happy to make a quick stop to inspect the piano, at no charge, BEFORE she and her family went to all the trouble of moving it into her home. I further told that I would much rather take a little time out of my schedule to make sure the piano was both tunable and playable so that I would not have to possibly be the bearer of bad news when I arrived for my first visit informing them that they had just inherited a 500 pound PSO (piano shaped object) that wasn't good for anything other than scrap metal and firewood.
She gladly accepted my offer, called her mother-in-law to see if she was OK with me coming by for the inspection. So a couple of days later, I inspected the piano and was pleased to find a really nice console piano that was in mechanically sound condition. It had not been tuned in several years, so I informed the mother-in-law that all it needed was a pitch correction (2 tunings in 1 visit) in order to bring the piano up to standard pitch and it would be in great shape for her grandson to begin taking piano lessons.
Is this something I offer as a "free" service under any and all circumstances? No. But generally speaking, if the piano in question is fairly close to my home, or like the case above, is in an area where I know I will be in the near future, I am happy to offer to inspect the piano at no charge. Of course, there are times that circumstances require me "charge" for inspection services.
She gladly accepted my offer, called her mother-in-law to see if she was OK with me coming by for the inspection. So a couple of days later, I inspected the piano and was pleased to find a really nice console piano that was in mechanically sound condition. It had not been tuned in several years, so I informed the mother-in-law that all it needed was a pitch correction (2 tunings in 1 visit) in order to bring the piano up to standard pitch and it would be in great shape for her grandson to begin taking piano lessons.
Is this something I offer as a "free" service under any and all circumstances? No. But generally speaking, if the piano in question is fairly close to my home, or like the case above, is in an area where I know I will be in the near future, I am happy to offer to inspect the piano at no charge. Of course, there are times that circumstances require me "charge" for inspection services.
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