"you know he's autistic, right?"

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The piano wouldn't respond to the normal pitch adjustment methods. Humidity had caused the piano to go extremely sharp. Normally adjusting the pitch flat would compensate and cause the tuning to work properly, but this was my 6th time through, after a third pitch adjustment, and it was still pulling sharp. There were no signs of physical damage that could explain the situation. The plate looked ok and the pin block appeared to be in good condition. The customer had gone upstairs and called her neighbor. I heard her clearly. "Did he act normal at your house?" Normal, what is that? the customer repeatedly interrupted my work, claiming this note was flat or that one was sharp, "nope nope nope, that's not good." Then proceed to question me for several minutes. I was proud of my patience and calm answers in spite of the chaotic interruptions. I tried to hint that I work better without conversation. "I will talk for hours if you are not careful. I need to get back to tuning or I'll be here all night." That would give me a few minutes of silence. Then she would come back into the room and start again. After 4 hours, she finally went upstairs and started the calls. "I don't think he knows what he is doing. You know that he's autistic, right?" pause "but autistic, how can he do anything right?" I didn't realize that being a high functioning autistic made me inept. Someone forgot to mention that to me during the screening process. The conversation continued, very unflattering and offensive. Sometimes my highly sensitive ears are a curse. I thought at first about not charging the customer but after almost 5 hours the piano was holding a pitch across most of the board and I decided that since I was obviously so inept then I must be stupid also. I charged her a normal tuning fee (but did not charge for the pitch adjustments) and removed her information from my customer database. I managed to compromise. I left feeling worthless and sub human. I visited here and was reminded of just how privileged I am to be part of such a unique and talented class of humanity.

Good work keeping cool. Customers can be such a pain sometimes! Live for the good ones.

at least in this case, the customer is NOT always right.

Sounds like you handled things well. People can be so careless with what they say and the conclusions they come to.,

Good job on striking her info. Be careful out there; some people like to get the red carpet treatment without paying a cent if they can get away with it. Fortunately in my 'field' I get most of my clients pre-screened and the majority of those who pass through to me are content to let me do my thing without being too intrusive. If they hover I can send them out to fetch parts and supplies: "Oh darn I forgot to bring a gas can, we're going to need about a gallon. Would you mind..?"

how did she know you were autistic?

You did a great job keeping cool. Everybody likes blind piano tuners, but autistic piano tuners seem to be a problem?!
That customer did non deserve your service ... too bad that you needed her money!

I would have embarrassed her when she returned, letting her know I could hear her by saying, "the reason this tuning isn't going so well, isn't because Iam some sort of Autistic ret*d, but because you have failed to prevent damp from ruining your piano"

I know that there are probably better ways to respond but I struggled to stay and finish So at least I've managed that progress.

After posting then trying to sleep it still troubled me for several hours. Hopefully today I will be able to find some information on why the normal pitch adustment methods didn’t work on this piano. I doubt that the customer would ever call me back but if this anamoly occurs on any other piano in the future, I want to be better equipped to address it.

I called other tuners before arriving home and they agreed that tuning it flat on the pitch adustment should have succeeded, Which I tried 3 times, once bringing it 10cents flat.

One technician offered to observe my technique when we find another piano sharp enough to try the pitch adustment on it. So, at least it obtained an opportunity for study.

Thank you for your support.


p. s. Sometimes my social limitations cause the need to explain and I forget that not everyone has understanding. I have to develop other ways to address the need to explain, without relying on my diagnosis as part of an explanation.

Some people, like this customer, are just generally nasty and don't seem to know any better. Your efforts are never appreciated by these types.

It's good that you want to find the solution to the problem. If you come across this again you can state that the issues are due to 'X' reason, success is not guaranteed and the cost is appropriate. You should not feel the need to accommodate some one who has not taken care of their instrument.

I suggest you do not reveal your diagnosis to customers, especially in a position where work can depend on word of mouth referrals. It's better to be known as the unusual piano tuner who does a good job than give people ammunition to use against you.

Good luck, best wishes.

yes, I should be careful. This is sad really. I was made aware of my unique nature late in life and rather excited to have an explanation finally. I begin to understand the glbt community and how they feel. Hiding only causes frustration and problems and yet that is exactly what I have to do in order to be able to earn enough money to survive in this cash driven society.

ignorance