Appearance

Billbrpt@AOL.COM Billbrpt@AOL.COM
Fri, 24 Aug 2001 20:39:00 EDT


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In a message dated 8/24/01 6:55:20 PM Central Daylight Time, 
eliotlee1@home.com (Eliot Lee) writes:

>     I was just told by a senior tuner here (Jim Coleman Sr.) that if I
> change my appearance by wearing a shirt and tie, instead of wearing casual
> dress, jeans and polo shirt, that I could increase my annual salary by
> $30,000.  He said there was a Yamaha study 20 years ago about this.

Not wanting to contradict Jim, perhaps the mentor from whom I learned some of 
the most important techniques I know, but the operative words here are the 
"20 years ago".

There used to be these little fold up brochures that depicted the piano 
technician as a 30 or 40 something man in a suit and tie with a fedora 
calling at the front door of a suburban home.  Yeah, right and men used to 
wear coat, tie and hat and ladies dresses and a hat to baseball games too.

Styles change and dress standards do too.  In your climate (which, in my 
opinion is about as close to being in Hell as you could come on Earth), I 
don't think anyone expects to see you in a coat and tie.  They my even think 
you were deliberately trying to express an image that the skill and substance 
can't match.

A better idea is to select clothing which you dress in exclusively for work.  
I simply have black trousers and a white, short sleeved shirt.  In Summer, 
the black trousers are black shorts.  If I think the occasion calls for it, I 
can add a tie and a blazer.

Clean, neat clothing which indicates that you are a professional and serious 
about your work may, in fact, allow you to get a better fee without too much 
complaint from your customers but in my opinion, dressing too formally and 
uncomfortably won't.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin

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