..good morning all..some off topic stuff

[Brad Smith]

Someone has to pay for your time, and it is best if it is not you.  As Ed
said, how
can you expect to stay in business this way?  Yamaha Disklavier warranty
covers
parts for five years, and labor for one year.  You simply tell the customer
the good
news is the parts are paid for, the bad news is the labor is not.    You can
still have
a clear conscience, AND get paid for your time.
I have found that it's best to quote for a worst case scenario.  Then you
have room to
back up from there.  It is no different from quoting a tuning fee, and a
pitch raise fee,
up front, so there are no surprises.
Also, as PD is finding out, you can't just put out a product without
realistic support.
It costs time to troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix a problem.  Sometimes piano
techs
hold themselves responsible for too much.  I admire your heart, but this is
a time to
use your head.

All the best to you in your business!

Brad Smith, RPT
Manchester, NH



-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Bondi <tito@peganet.com>
To: Pianotech List <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Saturday, February 28, 1998 1:09 AM
Subject: ..good morning all..some off topic stuff


>..i recently purchased, at the recommendation of a friend, 2 Holly
>Cole Trio CD's..in the credits, there is actually credit given to the
>piano..Piano: Steinway And Sons from Remenyl House Of Music in
>Toronto..of course there's no credit given to the tech who prepared
>it..why does that bug me?..certainly we're more important to the sound
>of the record than the go-fer who gets lunch for the players and the
>engineers, and the go-fer will get credit LONG before a piano tech
>will..
>
>..anyway if any of you are interested in Jazz and haven't heard Holly,
>I recommend both TRIO CD's..
>
>..I also purchased a new CD from Eric Reed - Pure Imagination..as soon
>as this fabulous player started playing, I could tell it he was
>playing a CFlllS..there's no credit given on the CD, but I'll bet a
>dollar to your penny that I'm right..
>
>..why am I saying this?..I don't know..my last remaining brain cell
>just left me and I'm trying to find it!..
>
>..Thank God for the Dealer..now how many people can say that?..I
>recently did a bunch of PianoDisc service calls, some which required
>parts from Sacramento..I've put in quite a bit of time and effort and
>Long Distance on my cell phone getting these customers happy
>again..come to find out, PianoDisc will not cover labor costs..boy,
>what a slap in the face that was..I did not do the installations to
>these pianos..I've only done 2 in my breif career and neither has
>required any service..yet..
>
>..I spoke with someone who is near and dear to PianoDisc yesterday and
>this person told me that any labor charges should be charged to the
>customer..sorry folks, I can't do this..that's right..i said I _can't_
>do that..I have a problem with this and perhaps those on this list who
>are more experienced with Player Installs and Service can help correct
>my way of thinking..let me offer a scenario:
>
>..let me first say that the following is NOT..NOT a criticism..it is a
>scenario that i want new people like myself to try and avoid BEFORE
>diving into a venture like this..
>
>..a PianoDisc customer calls and says my piano is making some weird
>noises..it sounds electrical to me..
>
>..I go to the customers home(1/2 hr.drive time), troubleshoot the
>problem(1 hr. min), and then tell that customer that I have to order a
>new Power Supply for you..now Piano Disc has been *suggesting* to me
>for months that I need to *invest* approximently $1,200 in parts to
>have on hand..I just don't have that kind of money to *invest* in
>parts..I'm not real comfy with a volt probe yet, either..but anyway..
>
>..PD sends a Power Supply Next-Day Air..very cool..I call the customer
>and set up another appointment to install the new Power supply..
>
>..when the new Power Supply is installed (1/2 hr. drive time, 1 hr.
>min labor), come to find out, the Power Supply is NOT the
>culprit..noise is still happening..LOUD noise..call Sacramento yet
>again from the customers home( I should own stock in Cellular One!)
>and trouble shoot on-site with Tech Support..it's the Sound
>Card..so..I remove the sound card so the customer can enjoy piano
>music from the available library, but will not be able to have any
>background sounds..have I mentioned yet that this customer is not at
>all impressed?..
>
>..PD sends a new sound card..I call the customer again and set up
>another appointment..go to the customer's home and install the new
>Sound Card( 1/2 hr. drive, 1 hr. min labor)..the problem for the
>customer is solved..and I leave that customer with a smile on their
>face..i touched up unisons while I was there..they appreciated
>that..and asked me to call them in November to tune the piano..
>
>..now if you add up all the times in my parenthesis, it totals 4.5
>hrs., including my drive time..now I know I'm nit-picking as far as
>drive time is concerned, but I am the only PD Service tech for a 60-70
>mile radius..so i'm entitled to nit-pick..
>
>..i just did over 1/2 days work for NOTHING..sorry folks, but I'm not
>in this business for gratus work..that ain't gonna pay for my
>daughter's college education or my sons or my retirement..especially
>when _I_ _DID_ _NOT_ do the installation on said piano..all of a
>sudden I'm working for the sheer pleasure of working?..hah!..
>
>..I called the dealer who sold these pianos and these player units..he
>realizes that someone needs to compensate me..and we work together
>very well..so he's gonna foot the bill, provided I *take it easy on
>him*..and I will..this dealer has been a great source of customers for
>me..
>
>..thank god for the dealer..
>
>..again, I know I mentioned PianoDisc by name and scenario, and again,
>please understand, that was NOT a criticism towards them..they have
>been VERY supportive to me..until now..and it's my own fault for not
>realising that they do not cover labor costs..and I WILL NOT charge
>the customer any labor costs..unless one or a few of you can convince
>me otherwise..
>
>