Hi, I tune in two piano showrooms in the UK in and near London.
One is mainly brand new and restored German built pianos and the other is a mixture of brand new yamahas and kawais, pre owned good quality instruments and some cheap and cheerful pre owned pianos.
Showroom tuning is challenging and lower paid than concert / domestic tuning but an excellent education and for building experience on different makes of piano, and it’s nice to have links to the piano trade and for filling in quiet days. It’s not for everyone. I like nattering with the salespeople/customers/other techs.
Tunings can be interrupted by customers (always be polite and helpful there’s no point tuning in a showroom if customers can’t try the instruments!) so that needs to be factored in if it’s going to be a profitable day.
I have a lot of work thrown my way from showroom referrals so I factor that in. Discuss with the manager what their priorities are and how that fits with your tuning.
Preowned pianos at showrooms can be very flat when they arrive and settle, especially if they’ve been unloved for a few years.
Brand new pianos can be sharp from the factory.
As an ideal, I try to get things to A441 then they have a chance of not going too flat when they are sold or hired out, A440 for pitch raises, and if it’s sharp of that leave it sharp.
Optimise pitch feature on pianoscope is your friend here, but I often offset the calculation slightly depending on where I feel the pins are, which section is influencing the calculation etc. etc.
I’m not the quickest tuner I can do a 40 minute tuning if needed but much prefer 1hr-1hr15, I’m paid by the piano not by the hour and 2 passes are always better than 1. Sometimes 3 is better than 2!
The priorities in your showroom may be different to domestic or concert tunings as things are always moving in and out, but everyone wants good stability and lovely unisons.
And don’t let the salespeople sweet talk you into tasks you’re not happy with, for instance touching up a ‘few unisons here or there’ or ‘just the treble’ is fine as a last resort but make sure you are paid for it and a proper tuning is going to be a better option.
