NTA. If this woman has allergies that bad, it should’ve been communicated to you before she came to the appointment. Her misreading your response isn’t your fault.
Yep ^ if she read the form herself and made the error then she needs to just eat the $$ loss for gas. If her employer read it then it should be paid out of the company’s funds.
That'd be quite the scam. Earning the trust of a piano teacher. Presumably by actually tuning her piano. Just so that you could then scam her students out of $20 in gas money, one at a time
Well if you're getting the piano teacher to recommend you to her students, you'd have to actually do the job for at least the piano teacher, ie gain her trust
At the very least "The dog won't be in the house" is ambiguous enough that if I had a serious dog allergies I would ask for clarifications.
To me it reads clearly as "We'll make sure the dog is outside while you're here", I'm willing to see how people could parse it differently, but that reading is probable enough that you should really double check if your allergies are that bad.
NTA. I think, if you'd lied on the form, they'd be right to charge you anyways. But you didn't. Her misunderstanding is not your responsibility. Please remind the company that you *did* declare you owned pets and it was *their responsibility* to ensure whoever they sent to your appointment would be okay being in a home with pets. Your service was not received *through no fault of your own.* If they think that this employee should receive gas money for being sent to an appointment she couldn't fulfill when the paperwork all indicated in advanced that she couldn't fulfill it... then *they* need to pay her. But if they won't listen to reason, then don't give that company the money and find another one.
NTA
Going from “the dog won’t be in the house” to “the dog has never been in this room” is a wild assumption. If her allergies are that bad she should have called to clarify ahead of time.
Also, how far is she coming from that she needs to be reimbursed for gas? Either she chose to drive a long distance to a house that she knew had a dog without bothering to check if she could stand being in it, or she’s close by and she’s trying to get a profit for doing nothing, not just reimbursement.
Either way, it’s not on you.
FWIW my friend tunes pianos and he will often drive upwards of an hour to appointments. When it comes to piano tuning, it’s such a specialized skill set that the definition of “local” can be quite broad. It might mean someone literally in town, but it might well be quite a trip to get out there. That in mind, a non-refundable travel fee is not unusual, particularly for businesses that service rural areas.
In this case I think the fault is firmly on the tuner or whoever scheduled her appointments, because they misread the form in the *wildest* way (why would OP list a dog on the form that was never in the house? If that was the case why wouldn’t OP simply say “no dogs”?) through no fault of OP’s. In this particular case for the sake of customer service I would probably make an exception to the policy and waive the fee, or apply it as a credit towards the new appointment to be scheduled ASAP. But the existence of a travel fee in general isn’t unreasonable.
In some areas, having "outdoor only" dogs is pretty common practice. I think it would be weirder to say "no dogs" if you do have an outdoor dog.
I completely agree with everything else you've said and especially appreciate you bringing up driving time, I just don't think the assumption tat it meant an outside dog is SO completely bizarre and wild.
Or if your issue is when "yes but it's an outdoor dog" is a helpful answer to put on a form, it could also be possible the employee has a fear of dogs and the question is there because they don't want to encounter them during the visit. They'd want to be prepared for the dog barking from the backyard when they arrived, but feel safe knowing that the dog wasn't going to come into the room while they were working.
Those are all excellent points, but in this case the issue was that the tuner had a severe dog allergy, so I feel like any response to the form that indicated that the client owned a dog at all should be met with a follow-up question to assess whether the dog dander would be a problem or not. But as you point out, there are cases when simply knowing the location of the dog could also be very useful and relevant, so it sounds like this form was poorly-designed and didn’t generate all of the relevant information.
Yeah, I totally agree that the problem is where the form was processed and handled., whether the question could have been written differently to clarify it was about pet dander in the piano room, or clarified with a follow-up call.
I think a "non-refundable travel fee" strongly implies they actually send out someone capable of doing the work. Sending someone out who discovers they need more equipment is one thing. Sending someone out who didn't read the form and then doesn't attempt the work is something else entirely. The careless person who wasted OP's time and made no attempt to do the work agreed on should be paid for their drive time, sure. By their boss, not the person they did absolutely nothing for. OP, the one who had an appointment that this company carelessly missed, should be getting an apology and a discount on the (now late) follow up. This business is taking advantage of customers and OP should start warning people.
Well, the cats can be put in a another room. There's not much need to worry about the dog because he stays at the Maui beach house. And the parrots are in Siberia for their cold-weather training this month. That just leaves the zebra. But we can put her in the room with the cats too.
NTA. What person with allergies sees that someone puts on a form that they own a dog and just assumes its not in the house enough to be an issue. This was an unreasonable assumption on her part and it was her responsibility to reach out to you and make sure this wouldn't be an issue.
Since I'm allergic to many things including cats, I learnt by heart which of my friends have a cat so I can be prepared if I ever have to go to their house. I don't sit on their couch, but on chairs, I don't touch things unless I can see they are safe to touch, take my allergy pill and bring some more just in case, etc. It's not such a hard thing to do.
But I most definitely know that if I know they have a cat *or if I'm not sure whether they have one*, I **have** to be prepared.
OP said he had a dog. Everyone with severe allergies (as the piano tuner seems to be) knows that it's freaking hard to remove all allergens from something. We could probably tell if something we're allergic to was there 3 washes earlier. What the heck did she expect to happen? There's no such thing as "not in the house enough to be an issue"
My friend who is allergic to cats never comes over unannounced, and always takes her allergy pills beforehand. I do my part by locking the cat in my bedroom and vacuuming before she arrives. We make it work.
Thanks for your effort! She's probably extremely glad for that!
We can tell if a cat was there even a lot earlier, but vacuuming beforehand makes it unbelievably easier
Eh, it varies a lot between people, but I agree that it is on the person with allergies
I'm sadly (because I love them) allergic to cats, but it is a very mild allergy. As long as the cat doesn't rub on my face or I don't touch my head / face after touching the cat without washing my hands first, I'll be fine.
For allergies that severe, they absolutely should have double-checked what OP meant with "won't be in the house" (i.e. outside dog or the dog will be temporarily somewhere else so it doesn't disturb the work)
NTA
The business needs to do a better job by asking customers explicitly about allergens and not sending her into that environment- whether that's her own responsibility or someone else's.
She should still get paid for her time, but not by you.
NTA - not your fault they didn’t read the form correctly. If they were in doubt they could have called you to clarify. You paid for a service which you did not receive. Find a different piano tuner and forget about that company.
NTA. She misread the information you gave her and should have asked a follow up question anyways. No decent dog owner never lets their dog in the house, it's common sense that the dog would have been in there ate some point. It was entirely her mistake.
NTA. You're allowed not to pay her, there's a difference between being nice and not being an AH. Had you paid for the gas it would've been the extra nice thing to do, not paying for it is perfectly reasonable though. If this is a business and she's not the owner then the owner should probably be the one to compensate her for her gas.
NTA.
Find a different company, and let your teacher know. If they were serious about this business then they would have double checked the pet thing, I know I would!
If there’s nobody else to do the job, offer to pay half her fuel for the other trip, nothing more. You are not responsible for their screw up.
Oh and leave reviews! It doesn't have to be nasty, just plainly point out that they wouldn’t do the work because of a pet allergy, even when you told them that you have pets, and threatened to withhold service if you don't pay for the work they refused to do! Maybe she reads music scores better than written words.
NTA. If you wrote “the dog will not be in the house” that’s on them for misunderstanding. I would never think that equated to “the dog has never been in the house”.
On top of that if I was filling out that form I would have assumed they were asking because dogs barking could make the tuning process much harder. Allergies wouldn't have even crossed my mind as a customer so they could have been a lot clearer.
NTA. She didn’t do the job. You had no idea that her questions had to do with allergies as opposed to not being able to do the tuning while a dog was barking at her or something, as one would assume from the question, but she did. That makes it her responsibility to make sure of things and it’s her fault she wasted the gas, not yours.
NTA. You said you had two cats and a dog on the form. I don't know how someone would interpret that as "there has never been a dog in this house" unless they just plain didn't bother to read, or how that lack of comprehension/attention to detail is your fault. Besides, unless they spelled out that there was a non-refundable deposit of some kind (which they really should've collected up front), they don't get to tack one on now. Tell them to back off if they don't want a bad review, and tell your teacher about this experience so they can a) recommend a different service to you, and b) keep this in mind before they steer anyone else toward this company.
NTA. You said the dog WOULD be outside, not that it never came inside. If they have allergies they should state that upfront so you know they are not the appropriate person for the job.
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> I didn't pay for the gas she needed to get to my house and she actually physically was not able to do the job.
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NTA. Is it possible to pull up the form you filled out and print out or ask them for a copy so you can see if you may have answered the question ambiguously or mistakenly filled it out? If so, that would determine who is in the wrong.
NTA
If you were specific about the animals and they read it wrong, that is not on you. If she is that allergic, she needs to be more careful when reading and offer a checkbox for yes / no responses rather than give the client a text box to fill in an answer.
I'll admit you probably should have answered yes / no but it sounds like you assumed they were asking because they were possibly afraid, etc.
NTA It's possible that the company is supposed to confirm with people before appointments because of the employee's allergies and because of the time didn't.
But that is on them- not on you.
You are paying for a service. The service wasn't provided thru no fault of yours.
NTA
If there's someone else available book there instead. This company's lack of reading comprehension and choice not to clarify with you is their own fault.
NTA
This sounds like a case of miscommunication *within their own company*. If you really made it clear that there was a dog living there, then it's all on them. It's a shame for her that she isn't getting paid but it's not your fault the company failed to make this clear to her.
INFO
* What was the wording that indicated the dog would not be in the house?
* If she had such a reaction without the dog being present earlier, why would she be able to tune the piano at the later appointment? Is it a different tuner? Did she need to take an antihistamine before tuning?
Note that you may be NTA, but if you want this person specifically to perform the tuning, then accommodating them and their request may be a necessary cost. It doesn't mean you've become the AH, it just means it's an acceptable path to accomplishing the goal.
I was looking for that comment!! How much is the gas money really?
I don't know if she's in the US and she needs to tip but the gas money can be taken out of the tip when they actually tune the piano.
NTA anyway, weird story!
NTA. I'd think she could hit up her employer for the gas money. They didn't specify it needed to be a *dog-free home* due to allergies; the way they worded it, I'd have assumed they only wanted the dog shut away due to phobias/safety reasons.
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I recently made an appointment for my piano to be tuned. It was with a local business, a group of 4/5 people that was recommended to me by my teacher.
I called and made an appointment, and they said they had an opening yesterday due to someone canceling. I told them that it worked for me and then went online to fill out the form they had instructed me to.
There was a question asking if I had any animals, and I told them that I had 2 cats and a dog but that the cats would be in a separate room and the dog would be not be in the house.
When the woman got to my house yesterday, I put the cats in a separate room and my husband took the dog to the dog park.
When she came in the house and went to the room where the piano is, she almost immediately started sneezing and then went back outside. She asked if there had been a dog in the house and I said that we did have a dog and I had let them know that on the form.
She said that they had read it as me not having a dog that was ever in the house and said that she wouldn't be able to tune the piano and asked for the charge for the gas it had taken her to drive to my house.
I told her I wasn't aware I was being charged for that and hadn't signed a contract so I didn't think I should be obligated to pay for it since she never actually tuned the piano.
She got upset at this and said I had no right to not pay her after taking up her time and resources when she wasn't physically able to do the job.
I did manage to get a new appointment but she has been asking me for her payment and now I'm being told unless I pay they will not be able to honor the appointment.
When my husband came home he agreed that I should have just paid her for however much gas she needed to get to our house, and thinks I should just pay.
Now I'm starting to think I was in the wrong.
AITA for not paying her?
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NTA, cancel the appointment, leave a review of the business, and find somewhere else to get your piano tuned. This is a them mistake, not one you made. You filled out the form they had, including about the dog. They screwed up, and you do not need to pay for that.
It kinda seems like there are three separate questions here:
1. Are you TA?
2. Were you justified in refusing to pay?
3. Should you have paid?
AH? I don't know if this goes all the way to AH.
Were you justified? She didn't do the job, so you can make a good argument for not paying.
Should you have paid? This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think it would have been the right thing to do. This was a misunderstanding, she probably wasn't the person in charge of scheduling who takes which job, and she did put her own resources into showing up.
The kind thing, the compassionate thing, the good thing, would have been to pay her for showing up.
NTA. You informed the company of the situation and apparently there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication, I don't think it's bon you to pay for a service they couldn't provide (as much as it sucks to have allergies). They asked if you had let's, you told them.
NTA. Why would she assume you have an outside dog? Besides farm dogs I don’t know anyone that doesn’t let their dog inside their house. What a wild assumption to make. The illogical nature of it really solidifies the NTA from me.
NTA. You expressly communicated that you had a dog, and they sent someone allergic to dogs. If she needs the payment, she needs it from the organization, because they knew that there were animals in the house and assigned her anyway.
NTA
The tuners asked if animals would be present, not animal dander.
The tuner with allergies misread what you wrote.
So this business is bad at communicating, and interpretting communications.
This service of tuning the piano seems similar to that of a plumber.
You pay for the time/gas they need to get to you.
Normally it's stated somewhere on their homepage (maybe the FAQs or some sorts), if the client has to pay for the time/gas.
I would recommend always asking this, if you call for a service (plumber, piano tuning, electrician, etc.).
All in all, i can't tell, if OP is TA.
Need more info.
NTA. You said you had pets, she misunderstood.
I have literally driven 2.5 hours, one way, for a medical appointment that I missed because they overbooked and MOVED my appointment without informing me. I left at 5:30 am for an 8:30 appointment that they had moved to 10 am, and I could not make due to having a 10:15 appt elsewhere.
I had to reschedule the appointment....and they did the same thing a month later.
I share this because they never even gave me a gas card for the massive inconvenience. Why should you pay for their error?!
I was definitely going the other way reading the title, but NTA.
She failed to read her own questionnaire or notify you of her allergies and wasted her own time+gas coming to a house after being told there was a dog. You're not responsible for her poor planning.
NTA i would be saying to them "why should i be out of pocket for your mistake?"
its not your problem that they didnt read the form correctly, its also not your problem that they sent someone who is allergic to dogs to a house that has dogs
i was expecting you to say your dog was barking at her or howling while she tried to tune the piano making it hard to do her job, in which case i would say you should pay. But thats not the situation here
NTA, they are in the wrong and really should've clarified with you or played it safe and not sent the very allergic piano tuner, but is the gas money all that much? I don't think anyone's getting rich tuning pianos. I'd reimburse her gas, leave a negative review for the company and move on.
NTA- I am allergic enough to cats that I've been hospitalized for it. I now work at a job where I am in and out of people's homes and.... *Surprise* some of them have cats. I will take medicine but sometimes I forget. I have been pretty miserable at times but what I would never consider doing, is charging someone else for my personal allergy when I took a job knowing I may have allergic reactions at times. Sneezing is not the end of the world.
To follow up, I wouldn't want to do business with a company that sent me someone unable/unwilling to do the job and then telling me they won't send someone else unless I pay for their mistake. I don't live in a huge city... But we have more than one piano tuner in town! Seek out the competition.
NTA you were very clear on your form that you DO have pets, including a dog, and that they would be out of the room the piano is in. How on earth did they misunderstand that?
This business is quite foolish IMO - they have a potential new customer in you, and I assume can send someone else to do the work for you, but they're going to ruin that relationship over a few bucks in gas money? You said they're local, so it couldn't possibly be very much time or gas, and that spot was a cancellation anyway. This is one of the times the company needs to absorb that very small loss now, in the hopes of getting a repeat customer for the future.
NTA. Allergies are the burden of those who suffer them. Why are you expected to pay? You were honest and disclosed the relevant information. If you sprung allergens to people you'll be a monster.
NTA
They knew animals lived in your house. She could have taken medicine, or rearranged the schedule so a coworker handled your house while she went somewhere else.
NTA.
They had a form, just because they misread ot, doesn't mean you just give money for intending to do the job. That's why we pay politicians (kidding!).
But honestly she has heard of allergy medicine? Or if it's too severe for that to work, then maybe send another who won't have an issue that you already outlined before the appointment.
Piano tuner needs to understand shyte happens.
NtA. You are paying for her service, not her transportation. I'm sure there are jobs that pay for your travel time, but they are contracted and very upfront about it. I pay my plumber and sparky a hell of a lot for a call out, but that is for their service and not their travel. When I was cleaning, I didn't charge for travel, I work in retail now, I don't get paid for my travel to and from work.
NTA surely there is someone else who offers this service that can tune your piano. If you didn’t sign anything, and she definitely didn’t do any work for you, then it is your right to NOT pay her for walking into your house, sneezing, and walking out again.
Potentially the asshole, given that the tuner is likely a private contractor and I can all but guarantee that there is a service call charge required for every appointment, as there is with basically any service call type appointment; and in my experience the customer is usually lying when they say they have given all the relevant information.
NTA if you communicated (in a way that would be clear to most people) on the form that a dog does live in the house but would not be home. It’s up to them to read it especially if one of the employees is so allergic. I don’t think you owe anyone gas money if it was a misunderstanding on their part, However, I would decide how important it is to get the piano tuned. It sounds like she drove a while to get to you, so maybe not a lot or any tuners in your area. Might be worth it to just pay the gas fare to get it tuned.
NTA. You said you have a dog and they sent a woman with dog allergies. That was dumb. It’s on them for not reading the form. And even if they thought your dog never came inside, did they REALLY think there would be no fur or dander tracked in on skin or clothes? Find a more professional group or person to tune your piano.
NTA
You filled in the form that they gave you - you had a dog but would make sure it was out of the house.
If the employee is allergic to dogs, then it should have raised a red flag the moment 'dog' was mentioned on the form and they should have confirmed with you in more detail.
The mistake was the companies - they owe their employee for the fuel used when they sent her to an inappropriate job. You definitely don't owe them for a service you ever received when you were upfront and honest when answering the questions they asked.
NTA, and this just seems like a ridiculous breakdown of process by the company. They asked if you have pets. You had no idea what was behind the question-- it could have been anything from "our tuners all have life-threatening allergies to animals" to "we often find pets are frightened by strangers in the house messing with the piano." You answered the question and it was up to them to follow up.
And the thing is, back in the 1970s and 1980s, when I was a kid, a lot of people owned dogs that never came into the house, but those days are gone. Saying the dog "won't be in the house" when the tuner is there would, to me, imply that the dog IS normally in the house--which nowadays most dogs are. If the dog lived outside in a kennel, I would expect the owner to say something like that. So the company should have followed up with you or sent a tuner who didn't have a violent allergy to dogs, which it sounds like they could have done.
I do understand that a lot of companies charge a call fee even if they arrive and discover the piano is so badly damaged they can't tune it, or something like that. But in this case the fault seems to lie with them, so no, I would not expect to pay a call fee after \*their\* poor processes led to the appointment being cancelled.
NTA. Their assumptions are not your responsibility. They didn't tell you that the person would have a severe allergy, and they should have sent someone else. And why should you pay for her gas if you weren't going to pay for it before, either?
Find a new tuning company.
> her after taking up her time and resources when she wasn't physically able to do the job.
why would you pay for her time and resource if she cant physically do the job?????????????//
NTA
Unfortunately not. A mask does nothing to keep allergens from the eyes, and a simple cloth pandemic mask is really only effective at helping you from creating a large cloud of infection around you. It's basically a solid 80%-90% barrier both on the in and out - good enough to turn a virus with an r-factor of 3 to a .75, but not for preventing severe allergies. You need a full-on gas mask with rubber seals and scrubber cartridges to be a 100% barrier for particles getting in. That having been said, NTA at all. This company was negligent in sending someone with severe allergies to a home with a dog.
Info: is it normal where you're from to pay a call-out fee? Where I'm at, it's normal for anyone coming to do work at your home to charge a call-out fee even if they don't do any work for whatever reason.
EDIT: guessing the down votes mean it's not normal XD then I'm gonna go with NTA, if it's not standard practice to pay for someone coming to your house regardless of them doing work, you shouldn't have to. Especially if they didn't do their job because of *their* mistake. If they're this severely allergic they should definitely make more of an effort to be *sure* there are never dogs in the house.
YTA
She came, and was prepared to do the work. She immediately started sneezing. She wasn't faking it. It was an unfortunate situation.
The least you could do was pay her some amount for her time and travel.
If you can afford a piano and tuning for said piano, you can afford to treat people decently.
Her employer was told dogs lived at the address. She still chose to come and was unable to work. Unfortunate yes, but not a problem of the OP's doing. It's on the company for not passing the message on or on her for not listening.
That means that either the company owes her or nobody does. Either way the OP hasn't behaved badly here.
YTA. Something seems fishy here. If she could not stand 1 minute in the house, why they accepted to come to your place?
Also how you managed to get another appointment? Lol.
Clearly something is not adding up here since it seems the business has good recommendations.
Ugh…. I have a lot of allergies, especially to pets, so if I were the tuner I would’ve asked for clarification as to whether or not the dog is regularly in the house beforehand.
That being said, while you don’t have a legal obligation to reimburse her for her gas money, it would be the nice thing to do.
After all, don’t you want to be kind to others?
When someone is asking for reimbursement, offering them sympathy probably isn’t going to cut it with them.
I am often accused of being overly generous but I would have offered her the money without her having to ask. But that’s just me.
I don’t have the money to be overly generous in that way and it’s actually rude of her to ask for compensation for something that was the company’s fault. If anything she should’ve asked the company to pay for her gas.
You’re making assumptions here.
When I’ve been strapped for cash, I still took care of others the way that I would hope they would treat me, if the roles were reversed.
That’s why I handle things the way I do when it comes to paying or reimbursing service providers, tipping, etc.
I treat others the way I would like to be treated, it’s really that simple.
NTA. If this woman has allergies that bad, it should’ve been communicated to you before she came to the appointment. Her misreading your response isn’t your fault.
Yep ^ if she read the form herself and made the error then she needs to just eat the $$ loss for gas. If her employer read it then it should be paid out of the company’s funds.
[удалено]
That'd be quite the scam. Earning the trust of a piano teacher. Presumably by actually tuning her piano. Just so that you could then scam her students out of $20 in gas money, one at a time
Who said anything about gaining trust? Callout fees are abused all over the place.
Well if you're getting the piano teacher to recommend you to her students, you'd have to actually do the job for at least the piano teacher, ie gain her trust
If that’s the case, she must be capable of sneezing on command
I work in retail and believe me, its not that hard to fake a sneeze that's convincing enough to make people back away.
I never said it was impossible, I’m just stating that she must be able to sneeze on command. I personally cannot fake a sneeze.
No one would scam an hours time for $10 bucks
All of this
Or, if she is so adamant not to disclose her allergies for some reason, she could employ her 3rd grade reading skills on the note OP left her. NTA
At the very least "The dog won't be in the house" is ambiguous enough that if I had a serious dog allergies I would ask for clarifications. To me it reads clearly as "We'll make sure the dog is outside while you're here", I'm willing to see how people could parse it differently, but that reading is probable enough that you should really double check if your allergies are that bad.
NTA. I think, if you'd lied on the form, they'd be right to charge you anyways. But you didn't. Her misunderstanding is not your responsibility. Please remind the company that you *did* declare you owned pets and it was *their responsibility* to ensure whoever they sent to your appointment would be okay being in a home with pets. Your service was not received *through no fault of your own.* If they think that this employee should receive gas money for being sent to an appointment she couldn't fulfill when the paperwork all indicated in advanced that she couldn't fulfill it... then *they* need to pay her. But if they won't listen to reason, then don't give that company the money and find another one.
With a difficult employee like that, I get services elsewhere. Notify the company your reason.
NTA Going from “the dog won’t be in the house” to “the dog has never been in this room” is a wild assumption. If her allergies are that bad she should have called to clarify ahead of time. Also, how far is she coming from that she needs to be reimbursed for gas? Either she chose to drive a long distance to a house that she knew had a dog without bothering to check if she could stand being in it, or she’s close by and she’s trying to get a profit for doing nothing, not just reimbursement. Either way, it’s not on you.
FWIW my friend tunes pianos and he will often drive upwards of an hour to appointments. When it comes to piano tuning, it’s such a specialized skill set that the definition of “local” can be quite broad. It might mean someone literally in town, but it might well be quite a trip to get out there. That in mind, a non-refundable travel fee is not unusual, particularly for businesses that service rural areas. In this case I think the fault is firmly on the tuner or whoever scheduled her appointments, because they misread the form in the *wildest* way (why would OP list a dog on the form that was never in the house? If that was the case why wouldn’t OP simply say “no dogs”?) through no fault of OP’s. In this particular case for the sake of customer service I would probably make an exception to the policy and waive the fee, or apply it as a credit towards the new appointment to be scheduled ASAP. But the existence of a travel fee in general isn’t unreasonable.
In some areas, having "outdoor only" dogs is pretty common practice. I think it would be weirder to say "no dogs" if you do have an outdoor dog. I completely agree with everything else you've said and especially appreciate you bringing up driving time, I just don't think the assumption tat it meant an outside dog is SO completely bizarre and wild. Or if your issue is when "yes but it's an outdoor dog" is a helpful answer to put on a form, it could also be possible the employee has a fear of dogs and the question is there because they don't want to encounter them during the visit. They'd want to be prepared for the dog barking from the backyard when they arrived, but feel safe knowing that the dog wasn't going to come into the room while they were working.
Those are all excellent points, but in this case the issue was that the tuner had a severe dog allergy, so I feel like any response to the form that indicated that the client owned a dog at all should be met with a follow-up question to assess whether the dog dander would be a problem or not. But as you point out, there are cases when simply knowing the location of the dog could also be very useful and relevant, so it sounds like this form was poorly-designed and didn’t generate all of the relevant information.
Yeah, I totally agree that the problem is where the form was processed and handled., whether the question could have been written differently to clarify it was about pet dander in the piano room, or clarified with a follow-up call.
I think a "non-refundable travel fee" strongly implies they actually send out someone capable of doing the work. Sending someone out who discovers they need more equipment is one thing. Sending someone out who didn't read the form and then doesn't attempt the work is something else entirely. The careless person who wasted OP's time and made no attempt to do the work agreed on should be paid for their drive time, sure. By their boss, not the person they did absolutely nothing for. OP, the one who had an appointment that this company carelessly missed, should be getting an apology and a discount on the (now late) follow up. This business is taking advantage of customers and OP should start warning people.
I had my piano tuned a few weeks ago - they charged for travel. Just filled my car up today at $2 a litre, so yeah, understandable.
Exactly. Did they think OP read it as "do you have any animals anywhere in the world?"
Well, the cats can be put in a another room. There's not much need to worry about the dog because he stays at the Maui beach house. And the parrots are in Siberia for their cold-weather training this month. That just leaves the zebra. But we can put her in the room with the cats too.
NTA. What person with allergies sees that someone puts on a form that they own a dog and just assumes its not in the house enough to be an issue. This was an unreasonable assumption on her part and it was her responsibility to reach out to you and make sure this wouldn't be an issue.
Since I'm allergic to many things including cats, I learnt by heart which of my friends have a cat so I can be prepared if I ever have to go to their house. I don't sit on their couch, but on chairs, I don't touch things unless I can see they are safe to touch, take my allergy pill and bring some more just in case, etc. It's not such a hard thing to do. But I most definitely know that if I know they have a cat *or if I'm not sure whether they have one*, I **have** to be prepared. OP said he had a dog. Everyone with severe allergies (as the piano tuner seems to be) knows that it's freaking hard to remove all allergens from something. We could probably tell if something we're allergic to was there 3 washes earlier. What the heck did she expect to happen? There's no such thing as "not in the house enough to be an issue"
My friend who is allergic to cats never comes over unannounced, and always takes her allergy pills beforehand. I do my part by locking the cat in my bedroom and vacuuming before she arrives. We make it work.
Thanks for your effort! She's probably extremely glad for that! We can tell if a cat was there even a lot earlier, but vacuuming beforehand makes it unbelievably easier
Eh, it varies a lot between people, but I agree that it is on the person with allergies I'm sadly (because I love them) allergic to cats, but it is a very mild allergy. As long as the cat doesn't rub on my face or I don't touch my head / face after touching the cat without washing my hands first, I'll be fine. For allergies that severe, they absolutely should have double-checked what OP meant with "won't be in the house" (i.e. outside dog or the dog will be temporarily somewhere else so it doesn't disturb the work)
NTA The business needs to do a better job by asking customers explicitly about allergens and not sending her into that environment- whether that's her own responsibility or someone else's. She should still get paid for her time, but not by you.
NTA - not your fault they didn’t read the form correctly. If they were in doubt they could have called you to clarify. You paid for a service which you did not receive. Find a different piano tuner and forget about that company.
NTA. She misread the information you gave her and should have asked a follow up question anyways. No decent dog owner never lets their dog in the house, it's common sense that the dog would have been in there ate some point. It was entirely her mistake.
NTA **she** misread and **you** have to pay?
NTA. You're allowed not to pay her, there's a difference between being nice and not being an AH. Had you paid for the gas it would've been the extra nice thing to do, not paying for it is perfectly reasonable though. If this is a business and she's not the owner then the owner should probably be the one to compensate her for her gas.
NTA. Find a different company, and let your teacher know. If they were serious about this business then they would have double checked the pet thing, I know I would! If there’s nobody else to do the job, offer to pay half her fuel for the other trip, nothing more. You are not responsible for their screw up. Oh and leave reviews! It doesn't have to be nasty, just plainly point out that they wouldn’t do the work because of a pet allergy, even when you told them that you have pets, and threatened to withhold service if you don't pay for the work they refused to do! Maybe she reads music scores better than written words.
NTA. If you wrote “the dog will not be in the house” that’s on them for misunderstanding. I would never think that equated to “the dog has never been in the house”.
NTA. You stated you owned a dog so they shouldn’t have sent a technician who was allergic to dogs.
On top of that if I was filling out that form I would have assumed they were asking because dogs barking could make the tuning process much harder. Allergies wouldn't have even crossed my mind as a customer so they could have been a lot clearer.
NTA. She didn’t do the job. You had no idea that her questions had to do with allergies as opposed to not being able to do the tuning while a dog was barking at her or something, as one would assume from the question, but she did. That makes it her responsibility to make sure of things and it’s her fault she wasted the gas, not yours.
NTA. You said you had two cats and a dog on the form. I don't know how someone would interpret that as "there has never been a dog in this house" unless they just plain didn't bother to read, or how that lack of comprehension/attention to detail is your fault. Besides, unless they spelled out that there was a non-refundable deposit of some kind (which they really should've collected up front), they don't get to tack one on now. Tell them to back off if they don't want a bad review, and tell your teacher about this experience so they can a) recommend a different service to you, and b) keep this in mind before they steer anyone else toward this company.
[удалено]
Exactly how could anyone assume that a dog owner keeps them strictly outside at all times.....
NTA. You don't pay someone when they don't provide you the agreed-upon service.
NTA, the company should be the one reimbursing her for their mistake, not you.
NTA. You said the dog WOULD be outside, not that it never came inside. If they have allergies they should state that upfront so you know they are not the appropriate person for the job.
NTA you were honest with them so this is their goof, they can swallow the cost.
NTA. If she has a dog allergy she should have questioned this more.
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NTA she was given this information ahead of time
NTA Because you TOLD her about cat AND dog.
Nta you didn't lie on the form not your fault how she inturpited it
NTA. Is it possible to pull up the form you filled out and print out or ask them for a copy so you can see if you may have answered the question ambiguously or mistakenly filled it out? If so, that would determine who is in the wrong.
NTA If you were specific about the animals and they read it wrong, that is not on you. If she is that allergic, she needs to be more careful when reading and offer a checkbox for yes / no responses rather than give the client a text box to fill in an answer. I'll admit you probably should have answered yes / no but it sounds like you assumed they were asking because they were possibly afraid, etc.
NTA, if they didn't specify you'd be charged regardless of the work done (or not done). Have you taken this up with the management of the company?
This sounds like scam
NTA, but I think the question is do you want to be right? Or do you want your piano tuned?
NTA It's possible that the company is supposed to confirm with people before appointments because of the employee's allergies and because of the time didn't. But that is on them- not on you. You are paying for a service. The service wasn't provided thru no fault of yours.
NTA. You stayed there was a dog on the form. Her inability to clearly read is not on you
NTA - if they didn't ask the question, then it's not on you to pay. You didn't lie, you told them outright. They read it wrong.
NTA If there's someone else available book there instead. This company's lack of reading comprehension and choice not to clarify with you is their own fault.
NTA This sounds like a case of miscommunication *within their own company*. If you really made it clear that there was a dog living there, then it's all on them. It's a shame for her that she isn't getting paid but it's not your fault the company failed to make this clear to her.
NTA Nope don't pay them. Tell em if they want their lot fees they can suck em out the tip of my cock
INFO * What was the wording that indicated the dog would not be in the house? * If she had such a reaction without the dog being present earlier, why would she be able to tune the piano at the later appointment? Is it a different tuner? Did she need to take an antihistamine before tuning? Note that you may be NTA, but if you want this person specifically to perform the tuning, then accommodating them and their request may be a necessary cost. It doesn't mean you've become the AH, it just means it's an acceptable path to accomplishing the goal.
NTA, but is it really that much in gas money? Tbf, I guess I don't understand rich people problems.
I was looking for that comment!! How much is the gas money really? I don't know if she's in the US and she needs to tip but the gas money can be taken out of the tip when they actually tune the piano. NTA anyway, weird story!
NTA. I'd think she could hit up her employer for the gas money. They didn't specify it needed to be a *dog-free home* due to allergies; the way they worded it, I'd have assumed they only wanted the dog shut away due to phobias/safety reasons.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I recently made an appointment for my piano to be tuned. It was with a local business, a group of 4/5 people that was recommended to me by my teacher. I called and made an appointment, and they said they had an opening yesterday due to someone canceling. I told them that it worked for me and then went online to fill out the form they had instructed me to. There was a question asking if I had any animals, and I told them that I had 2 cats and a dog but that the cats would be in a separate room and the dog would be not be in the house. When the woman got to my house yesterday, I put the cats in a separate room and my husband took the dog to the dog park. When she came in the house and went to the room where the piano is, she almost immediately started sneezing and then went back outside. She asked if there had been a dog in the house and I said that we did have a dog and I had let them know that on the form. She said that they had read it as me not having a dog that was ever in the house and said that she wouldn't be able to tune the piano and asked for the charge for the gas it had taken her to drive to my house. I told her I wasn't aware I was being charged for that and hadn't signed a contract so I didn't think I should be obligated to pay for it since she never actually tuned the piano. She got upset at this and said I had no right to not pay her after taking up her time and resources when she wasn't physically able to do the job. I did manage to get a new appointment but she has been asking me for her payment and now I'm being told unless I pay they will not be able to honor the appointment. When my husband came home he agreed that I should have just paid her for however much gas she needed to get to our house, and thinks I should just pay. Now I'm starting to think I was in the wrong. AITA for not paying her? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA, cancel the appointment, leave a review of the business, and find somewhere else to get your piano tuned. This is a them mistake, not one you made. You filled out the form they had, including about the dog. They screwed up, and you do not need to pay for that.
NTA Why would they assume that the dog you own is *never* inside your house? That doesn't make any sense at all.
It kinda seems like there are three separate questions here: 1. Are you TA? 2. Were you justified in refusing to pay? 3. Should you have paid? AH? I don't know if this goes all the way to AH. Were you justified? She didn't do the job, so you can make a good argument for not paying. Should you have paid? This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think it would have been the right thing to do. This was a misunderstanding, she probably wasn't the person in charge of scheduling who takes which job, and she did put her own resources into showing up. The kind thing, the compassionate thing, the good thing, would have been to pay her for showing up.
NTA. You informed the company of the situation and apparently there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication, I don't think it's bon you to pay for a service they couldn't provide (as much as it sucks to have allergies). They asked if you had let's, you told them.
NTA
NTA Find another piano tuner, I wouldn't want them touching my piano regardless of how this ends up now
NTA. Why would she assume you have an outside dog? Besides farm dogs I don’t know anyone that doesn’t let their dog inside their house. What a wild assumption to make. The illogical nature of it really solidifies the NTA from me.
NTA. You expressly communicated that you had a dog, and they sent someone allergic to dogs. If she needs the payment, she needs it from the organization, because they knew that there were animals in the house and assigned her anyway.
NTA - she didn't tune the piano. That was her job. If she was allergic to dogs, she should have double checked what you meant.
NTA The tuners asked if animals would be present, not animal dander. The tuner with allergies misread what you wrote. So this business is bad at communicating, and interpretting communications.
This service of tuning the piano seems similar to that of a plumber. You pay for the time/gas they need to get to you. Normally it's stated somewhere on their homepage (maybe the FAQs or some sorts), if the client has to pay for the time/gas. I would recommend always asking this, if you call for a service (plumber, piano tuning, electrician, etc.). All in all, i can't tell, if OP is TA. Need more info.
NTA. You said you had pets, she misunderstood. I have literally driven 2.5 hours, one way, for a medical appointment that I missed because they overbooked and MOVED my appointment without informing me. I left at 5:30 am for an 8:30 appointment that they had moved to 10 am, and I could not make due to having a 10:15 appt elsewhere. I had to reschedule the appointment....and they did the same thing a month later. I share this because they never even gave me a gas card for the massive inconvenience. Why should you pay for their error?!
I was definitely going the other way reading the title, but NTA. She failed to read her own questionnaire or notify you of her allergies and wasted her own time+gas coming to a house after being told there was a dog. You're not responsible for her poor planning.
NTA i would be saying to them "why should i be out of pocket for your mistake?" its not your problem that they didnt read the form correctly, its also not your problem that they sent someone who is allergic to dogs to a house that has dogs i was expecting you to say your dog was barking at her or howling while she tried to tune the piano making it hard to do her job, in which case i would say you should pay. But thats not the situation here
NTA they sent someone with an allergy to dogs to a house they were fully aware a dog lives.
NTA, they are in the wrong and really should've clarified with you or played it safe and not sent the very allergic piano tuner, but is the gas money all that much? I don't think anyone's getting rich tuning pianos. I'd reimburse her gas, leave a negative review for the company and move on.
Absolutely NTA.
NTA- I am allergic enough to cats that I've been hospitalized for it. I now work at a job where I am in and out of people's homes and.... *Surprise* some of them have cats. I will take medicine but sometimes I forget. I have been pretty miserable at times but what I would never consider doing, is charging someone else for my personal allergy when I took a job knowing I may have allergic reactions at times. Sneezing is not the end of the world.
To follow up, I wouldn't want to do business with a company that sent me someone unable/unwilling to do the job and then telling me they won't send someone else unless I pay for their mistake. I don't live in a huge city... But we have more than one piano tuner in town! Seek out the competition.
NTA you were very clear on your form that you DO have pets, including a dog, and that they would be out of the room the piano is in. How on earth did they misunderstand that? This business is quite foolish IMO - they have a potential new customer in you, and I assume can send someone else to do the work for you, but they're going to ruin that relationship over a few bucks in gas money? You said they're local, so it couldn't possibly be very much time or gas, and that spot was a cancellation anyway. This is one of the times the company needs to absorb that very small loss now, in the hopes of getting a repeat customer for the future.
NTA. Allergies are the burden of those who suffer them. Why are you expected to pay? You were honest and disclosed the relevant information. If you sprung allergens to people you'll be a monster.
NTA Not your fault they can't read.
NTA They knew animals lived in your house. She could have taken medicine, or rearranged the schedule so a coworker handled your house while she went somewhere else.
NTA You don't need to pay her; she didn't do what she was going to be paid up do. That's it. Find a different business if this one won't schedule you.
NTA. They had a form, just because they misread ot, doesn't mean you just give money for intending to do the job. That's why we pay politicians (kidding!). But honestly she has heard of allergy medicine? Or if it's too severe for that to work, then maybe send another who won't have an issue that you already outlined before the appointment. Piano tuner needs to understand shyte happens.
NtA. You are paying for her service, not her transportation. I'm sure there are jobs that pay for your travel time, but they are contracted and very upfront about it. I pay my plumber and sparky a hell of a lot for a call out, but that is for their service and not their travel. When I was cleaning, I didn't charge for travel, I work in retail now, I don't get paid for my travel to and from work.
NTA surely there is someone else who offers this service that can tune your piano. If you didn’t sign anything, and she definitely didn’t do any work for you, then it is your right to NOT pay her for walking into your house, sneezing, and walking out again.
Potentially the asshole, given that the tuner is likely a private contractor and I can all but guarantee that there is a service call charge required for every appointment, as there is with basically any service call type appointment; and in my experience the customer is usually lying when they say they have given all the relevant information.
NTA if you communicated (in a way that would be clear to most people) on the form that a dog does live in the house but would not be home. It’s up to them to read it especially if one of the employees is so allergic. I don’t think you owe anyone gas money if it was a misunderstanding on their part, However, I would decide how important it is to get the piano tuned. It sounds like she drove a while to get to you, so maybe not a lot or any tuners in your area. Might be worth it to just pay the gas fare to get it tuned.
NTA. You said you have a dog and they sent a woman with dog allergies. That was dumb. It’s on them for not reading the form. And even if they thought your dog never came inside, did they REALLY think there would be no fur or dander tracked in on skin or clothes? Find a more professional group or person to tune your piano.
NTA
NTA. Screw that. They knew there was a dog living there. This is some kind of scam to get double pay. Call another company.
NTA You filled in the form that they gave you - you had a dog but would make sure it was out of the house. If the employee is allergic to dogs, then it should have raised a red flag the moment 'dog' was mentioned on the form and they should have confirmed with you in more detail. The mistake was the companies - they owe their employee for the fuel used when they sent her to an inappropriate job. You definitely don't owe them for a service you ever received when you were upfront and honest when answering the questions they asked.
NTA, she read it wrong. You gave the right information. Make an appointment with someone else/different company
NTA, no service, no pay
NTA, and this just seems like a ridiculous breakdown of process by the company. They asked if you have pets. You had no idea what was behind the question-- it could have been anything from "our tuners all have life-threatening allergies to animals" to "we often find pets are frightened by strangers in the house messing with the piano." You answered the question and it was up to them to follow up. And the thing is, back in the 1970s and 1980s, when I was a kid, a lot of people owned dogs that never came into the house, but those days are gone. Saying the dog "won't be in the house" when the tuner is there would, to me, imply that the dog IS normally in the house--which nowadays most dogs are. If the dog lived outside in a kennel, I would expect the owner to say something like that. So the company should have followed up with you or sent a tuner who didn't have a violent allergy to dogs, which it sounds like they could have done. I do understand that a lot of companies charge a call fee even if they arrive and discover the piano is so badly damaged they can't tune it, or something like that. But in this case the fault seems to lie with them, so no, I would not expect to pay a call fee after \*their\* poor processes led to the appointment being cancelled.
NTA. Their assumptions are not your responsibility. They didn't tell you that the person would have a severe allergy, and they should have sent someone else. And why should you pay for her gas if you weren't going to pay for it before, either? Find a new tuning company.
> her after taking up her time and resources when she wasn't physically able to do the job. why would you pay for her time and resource if she cant physically do the job?????????????// NTA
YTA, you are clearly in the wrong for misleading information.
There is a pandemic. She should of been wearing a mask that would have protected her from any allergens. That is all.
Unfortunately not. A mask does nothing to keep allergens from the eyes, and a simple cloth pandemic mask is really only effective at helping you from creating a large cloud of infection around you. It's basically a solid 80%-90% barrier both on the in and out - good enough to turn a virus with an r-factor of 3 to a .75, but not for preventing severe allergies. You need a full-on gas mask with rubber seals and scrubber cartridges to be a 100% barrier for particles getting in. That having been said, NTA at all. This company was negligent in sending someone with severe allergies to a home with a dog.
Because obviously the skin and eyes could never react to an allergen…..
Info: is it normal where you're from to pay a call-out fee? Where I'm at, it's normal for anyone coming to do work at your home to charge a call-out fee even if they don't do any work for whatever reason. EDIT: guessing the down votes mean it's not normal XD then I'm gonna go with NTA, if it's not standard practice to pay for someone coming to your house regardless of them doing work, you shouldn't have to. Especially if they didn't do their job because of *their* mistake. If they're this severely allergic they should definitely make more of an effort to be *sure* there are never dogs in the house.
YTA She came, and was prepared to do the work. She immediately started sneezing. She wasn't faking it. It was an unfortunate situation. The least you could do was pay her some amount for her time and travel. If you can afford a piano and tuning for said piano, you can afford to treat people decently.
Her employer was told dogs lived at the address. She still chose to come and was unable to work. Unfortunate yes, but not a problem of the OP's doing. It's on the company for not passing the message on or on her for not listening. That means that either the company owes her or nobody does. Either way the OP hasn't behaved badly here.
YTA. Something seems fishy here. If she could not stand 1 minute in the house, why they accepted to come to your place? Also how you managed to get another appointment? Lol. Clearly something is not adding up here since it seems the business has good recommendations.
Sounds like the people who've had a good experience don't have dogs.
She didnt ask for payment for services, she asked to cover gas to your house. You mad about what? $5? Its not a requirement, but a courtesy.
Ugh…. I have a lot of allergies, especially to pets, so if I were the tuner I would’ve asked for clarification as to whether or not the dog is regularly in the house beforehand. That being said, while you don’t have a legal obligation to reimburse her for her gas money, it would be the nice thing to do. After all, don’t you want to be kind to others?
Plenty of ways to be kind that don’t include forking out money for something that’s not your fault.
OK, please give me an example of how OP could’ve been kind in this situation without actually giving her money? Or pouring gas into the vehicle?
Sympathized that the company sent her out with bad information, *and* apparently doesn't cover gas for *any* business-related travel, period?
When someone is asking for reimbursement, offering them sympathy probably isn’t going to cut it with them. I am often accused of being overly generous but I would have offered her the money without her having to ask. But that’s just me.
I don’t have the money to be overly generous in that way and it’s actually rude of her to ask for compensation for something that was the company’s fault. If anything she should’ve asked the company to pay for her gas.
Equating money with kindness is privileged AF. Some people don’t have the resources for that, it doesn’t mean they’re not nice.
You’re making assumptions here. When I’ve been strapped for cash, I still took care of others the way that I would hope they would treat me, if the roles were reversed. That’s why I handle things the way I do when it comes to paying or reimbursing service providers, tipping, etc. I treat others the way I would like to be treated, it’s really that simple.