Under an hour tuning (was labor rates)

[Tom Dickson]

Richard,

   I also agree with the time slot approach.  I see nothing wrong with doing 
a few little "extras" when there is time left in the appointment.  Also, it 
is important to note that many of these little things that we can do impact 
directly on the sound of the piano.  For example, one or two very harsh 
notes can stand out from the rest, but a little voicing on one or two 
offenders brings them back into line with their neighbors.  Customers will 
often notice that type of thing and attribute it to a good tuning.  That 
often goes a long way to beginning a long-time relationship with a customer.

Sincerely,
Tom Dickson



>From: Richard Brekne <rbrekne@broadpark.no>
>Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Re: Under an hour tuning (was labor rates)
>Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2001 14:06:11 +0200
>
>
>
>Farrell wrote:
>
> > I like the time slot approach Richard. But how do you respond to the
> > telephone inquiry of "well, all I want to do is just tune my piano - how
> > long does that take - won't that be less?" Or maybe you just don't run 
>into
> > that very often.
> >
> > Terry Farrell
> >
>
>Simple :) ... I just tell them I dont do that. Actually tho, when you first
>mention this possibility, I dont think its ever come up. People call in and 
>want
>their piano tuned....and perhaps this or that "fixed".... but mostly they 
>think
>in terms of getting it tuned. My policy is simply to set off 1.5 hours to
>service the piano with tuning being the first priority.. Its not like I go 
>out
>of my way to tell them that I actually might need a bit less time to do 
>just the
>tuning part. If I did well I might run into a few folks who'd want to try 
>and
>save a couple extra dollars or so I suppose. One might be tempted to point 
>out
>that perhaps I am guilty of charging people for work they havent 
>ordered......
>to which I would reply that my 1.5 hour time slots are competively priced 
>with
>what a tuning price typically is otherwise, and that besides the piano that
>doesnt need (read "cant very much benifit from" )an extra half hour or so 
>basic
>maintainance doesnt exist. If one was to insist beyond this reasoning that 
>there
>is some unfairness to my policy then I would have to resort to.... "hey 
>this
>isnt a perfect world" and "fortunatly for you there are other piano tuners 
>out
>there"...... with a freindly smile on my face mind you.
>
>--
>Richard Brekne
>RPT, N.P.T.F.
>Bergen, Norway
>mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
>
>


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