Tuning a piano and caring for a piano are two very different things. I employ tuners and I have had a very difficult time finding tuners who will do more than basic tunings. There is also a difference between educating the customer about their piano needs and upselling for the purpose of greater profits.
One common piano problem for instance is sticking keys. This can be a difficult problem to fix because there can be many causes of the problem. Tuners do something called key easing if the problem is friction in the key bushings. The bushing is a material lining the slot in the front of the key and so this bushing can swell creating unwanted friction as the key moves. The problem is to compress the bushing enough to stop the friction. Too little compression and the key could return to sticking after the tuner has gone and then you get a call back. Too much and you could damage the key or cause the key to wobble from side to side. Tuners not interested in caring for the piano will compress too much to avoid being called back. This fixes the problem of sticking but is not the best thing for the customer's piano.
This is actually a easy problem to explain to the customer because you can show the key sticking and show that the key is sticking and not another part of the piano action by moving the action from just above the key and if that moves freely it is the key. My customers appreciate my taking the time to show them the cause and solution to a problem and then have no problem authorizing the repair. Tuners that work for me will usually not take this personal interest in the customer. I am constantly trying to educate my tuners with this concept of customer care verses just being a piano tuner. This helps them give better care to their own customers and gives value to them sticking with me. The other problem with employing tuners is that as they become better and get more of their own customers they eventually leave my employ so I have to keep finding new tuners as well as customers.
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