Piano Delivery Stories

[Frantic Freddie]

Irv's latest reminded me of some stories...(Thanks Irv!)

Lady wants the piano in a back room down the hall past a 90 degree turn. No problem,just put it on end & turn it 90 degrees.....EEEYYYYYAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! "YOU'RE DESTROYING MY PIANO!!!!!!!!!"

"No ma'am,it doesn't hurt it,this is standard..." "EEEEYYYYYYAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!! YOU'RE HURTING IT!!!! I'M CALLING YOUR BOSS!!!!!"

please do,I don't care,as long as you stop screaming at me,geez....

"Oh good,you're here" said the obviously self-important women "You need to move the sofa over there & the chair there,since the piano'll take up so much room,I also need the dining table moved,I'm having people over to see the new piano"

*Ma'am,I'm not authorized to do anything but deliver your piano,I'm not re-arranging your living room for you"
"You impertinent little...I'll call your boss"

Which she did & my boss said "Sure,pay him $XX an hour" (waaaay above min. wage at the time )


Some deliveries were fun: I get to the builder's house & it's as nice as I expect,2 story (can't build higher there) with an indoor pool right in the main area of the house,I'm tellin' ya,nice! In that area is the music loft,accessible only by a spiral staircase,not an ideal way to get a piano,even a cheap-ass Kimball spinet,up there. That's OK though,he's got 2-3 steps of scaffolding set up & his workers are gonna come & lift it up onto the loft. So he starts callng them.
And calling.....calling....calling.....

Meanwhile,between futile calls to "Come help lift this fucker!!!" he's given me 3-4 beers & a huge sandwich,also a shot of some very expensive scotch-which at 20 I know nothing about but damn it tastes good

I ended up leaving the piano there,but he still tipped me handsomely.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Regarding the she-beast who demanded you rearrange her room...gah. I'm sure the delivery agents we use have had many of the same type of customer. I'm so glad we have a rule that you can't get your shipping fee back on furniture you have to return because it doesn't fit through your door(s)/hallways/elevators/staircases...and if it's a custom item you can't return it at all. Yes, we do tell you to measure before you order. Do it.

Glad the fun customers made it somewhat worthwhile for you

[bainsidhe]

See now I'm curious. What is policy if a customer wants a couple pieces of furniture moved and is willing to pay you? Do most companies say no way or is it up to the individual delivery person?

(I'll admit I ask because I'd like to get a new couch with no way to haul the other piece of junk out the door)

[Gerrinson]

(I'll admit I ask because I'd like to get a new couch with no way to haul the other piece of junk out the door)

Locally, at least, most furniture businesses will offer to remove your old furniture at little or no cost. You may want to check with some of the furniture stores in your area to see if they have the same option available.

[manybellsdown]

See now I'm curious. What is policy if a customer wants a couple pieces of furniture moved and is willing to pay you? Do most companies say no way or is it up to the individual delivery person?

(I'll admit I ask because I'd like to get a new couch with no way to haul the other piece of junk out the door)

I had a local charity pick up my old couch. Although, they will only do this if it's in saleable condition.

[AtDIelement]

I just had a new bedroom set delivered. I actually had to put it together because our new mattress was in the way. I didn't complain one bit.

[thansal]

I will say that piano movers are one of those professions that I have massive amounts of respect for.

When my mum moved a few years ago her new place had this tiny, STEEP, low ceilinged staircase with a 90 degree bend in it at one point and I had NO clue how the guys managed to get the piano up there (IIRC it is a Grand Piano made from hard wood of some sort).

I know how they did it now (a railing at the top of the steps along the 90 degree turn that could be removed), but I'm still horribly impressed with them.

[Raveni]

See now I'm curious. What is policy if a customer wants a couple pieces of furniture moved and is willing to pay you? Do most companies say no way or is it up to the individual delivery person?

Different places are different. Some will have the business bill you for the move, and just pay the workers extra for their time/effort. Others will let you pay the workers directly. Some will forbid it (in case they get hurt), but let you do it anyway...


Just ask first. Before the piano shows up.

[earl colby pottinger]

Employee`s pay and where it comes from.

See now I'm curious. What is policy if a customer wants a couple pieces of furniture moved and is willing to pay you? Do most companies say no way or is it up to the individual delivery person?)

It probably is as much for legal reasons too. If your present employer is paying for your time as you move the customer`s furniture then if anything goes wrong the company is on the hook for damages.

If the customer is clearly paying for the worker`s time directly to the employee, then the employee is clearly an independent contractor for the moving work and is libel if there is any damage. To make it clear that you are not working for your original boss the customer probably needs to be paying a higher wage per hour than the original employee so there is no doubt who you are working for at the time.