Different Cultures/Foreign Techs.

[David ilvedson]

> From:          "Lance Lafargue" <lafargue@iAmerica.net>
> To:            "Pianotech Listserve" <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Subject:       Different Cultures/Foreign Techs.
> Date:          Wed, 15 Oct 1997 11:17:30 -0500
> Reply-to:      pianotech@ptg.org


Lance,

I am not from another country but I wanted to comment...

I always vacuum with a tuning service call.  I will clean the 
areas I expose when I open it up but I don't polish the case.  I 
don't do regulation (except a minor adjustment or two) or mow 
lawns as part of a tuning appointment.  My service call is (at 
the moment)  $85.00 for the first hour and $75.00 for each hour 
afterwards.  It typically takes an hour to vacuum and tune the 
piano.  A pitchraise is an extra 15 minutes or so.  So a tuning 
with a pitchraise is going to cost $105.00 *I round it up!  If 
I'm at the piano repairing/regulating/tuning for 2 hours the fee 
is simply $160.00.  Lance, you might want to consider charging 
for the extra work you do.  The best way to avoid complaints 
about your fees is to be upfront on the phone with customer.  
You haven't seen the piano, you don't know what your going to 
run into but the first hour is $xx.00 and each hour afterwards 
is $xx.00.  I always give a ballpark quote but no quarantee.  Of 
course the price shoppers are going to keep on calling and you 
shouldn't care.  With referrals from customers make sure they 
know your pricing schedule so they can convey the right 
information.  Don't beat around the bush with your customers and 
don't let them bully you into doing extra work that you should 
be paid for.  When I go to a call back and find extra work 
needed I explain it to the customer and let them know the fees.  
A clear explanation without hesitation or hemming and hawing 
will always take care of itself.  Your confidence in your 
expertice will give your customer confidence in you.  

Sincerely,

David ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA

This past week I've tuned/worked for three Russians, a Greek, 
and two
> Oriental customers.  One of My Russian customers (a teacher) told me the I
> needed to go back and check the tuning on her student's piano (one of the
> other Russians) because chords were not clear and sounded terrible in the
> unison bass section before the break. The PSO in question is a new
> Wurlitzer spinet.  The owner was already leery about my services because I
> charged her more than she thought I would ($80 for a 40 cent pitch raise
> plus adjustments and cabinet touch-up) and I was only there for a total of
> two hours.  She also commented (to the teacher) that Russian technicians
> took three hours and charged much less.  
> When I arrived I found the piano in almost perfect (as perfect as it would
> allow) tune.  I played chords up and down the piano and it did sound bad in
> that section, like all spinets do.  I checked and rechecked and found some
> of the hammers misaligned and hitting adjacent strings (could only be heard
> with sustain pedal depressed and a hard blow struck).  I corrected the
> alignment, touched up unisons and left.  She seemed O.K.
> I pointed out to the teacher that they may benefit from comparing hourly
> rates in other fields (electricians, plumbers, etc) in Russia as well to
> compare.  U.S. technician rates may not look so bad.  
> My point or question in all of this is- What difficulties are there with
> customers from other countries due to differences in cultural, economic,
> and normally accepted business practices around the world?  I usually know
> to take off my shoes in an Asian household (I even had to wear a female
> customer's slippers once to walk over and use her phone), etc., but what
> other things have you come across in customer's expectations??  Do techs in
> other countries all vacuum the piano as a normal course of a tuning call,
> do regulation, voicing, polish the cabinet, mow the lawn etc, etc.?  I find
> this interesting and wonder what a tech on the other side of the world does
> on an average call.  How long do foreign techs spend on a piano? 
> Lance Lafargue, RPT
> New Orleans Chapter
> Covington, LA. USA
> lafargue@iamerica.net
> 
> 
ilvey
Pacifica, CA
ilvey@a.crl.com