Have sousaphones sent in to be fixed, come back not complete

[J.c. Sherman]

True: You talk with the customer. You tell them what you observe, you listen to what they want, then you tell them what you cannot observe without checking/flushing/playing/etc.

True: If you do what the customer wants and it doesn't play and they expected it to (whether or not they told you this), you'll be to blame. Period. In a perfect world, sure, the customer should bare the responsibilty; in reality, your shop will be branded heretical, you will be banded a thief, and you'll have to endure the cursing from the customer at you.

False: I can play the horn without all of it's constituent parts.

False: I can bill to make it play without their approval for service. And this blows. I can only work within the boundaries of their discussion, but I have to make it play as best as possible with the direction given.

True: Most people don't know what they want, are completely clueless how the damn things work, and even explaining it is often pointless, especially to parents.

True: A good professional, however, is easy to converse with and explain what you can and cannot observe, and 100% of the time, they want it to play, and better than when they brought it to you.

True: This is why I've chosen my work as I have; I love historic instruments, I love to build things, and I cannot stand yelling.