Having worked in a piano store for more than 40 years, I have experienced many different personalities. Of course we all have our own personality, but some are more memorable than others. I always enjoy the customer who thinks they should educate us about pianos, their manufacturers and general piano information.
For instance, the lady who had a 90 year old Steinway; when I inquired as to when it was last tuned, she said “Oh honey, you don’t tune a Steinway. If you do, it will lose its value!” Oh my…
We have dealt with so many different kinds of customers. Celebrities, churches, piano teachers, schools, moms and pops, the aspiring musician, the professional musician and the customer just looking for a piece of furniture, to name a few. And yes, we do have customers who will never play but have a perfect spot in their home for a “baby grand” and it will only be a furniture piece.
There was the customer who insisted that when she left the room while the piano technician was tuning her piano, he removed the “ivory keys” and replaced them with “plastic keys”. Of course this was a brand new piano and never had ivory keys to start with. I’m not sure that we ever really convinced her of that.
Probably the most common statement that we hear is that “you should never put a piano on an outside wall”. This thought goes back many years when homes were not well insulated as they are today. So unless you’re living in a very old home with cold or damp outside walls, there should be no problem with placing your piano there.
We do love our customers. They bring us an opportunity to share our love for music and what better way to spend your day!
