referall fees

[Tom Servinsky]

Jim,
  I guess I opened a can of worms and ruffled a few feathers along the way.
First of all I respect your comments and more importantly, agree with your
comments, as with several of the other responses on this topic.  However I
didn't make my point as clear as I had intended as I was not suggesting  to
pull a "fast one" on the rebuilder nor pull a "smoke and mirror" on the
customer. Rather I was intending to illustrate the benefits of using
subcontracting as a tool for increasing one's business.  Whether it's
restringing a piano, installing a new action, or the granddaddy of all
procedures, a newly installed soundboard, subcontracting with a local or
national rebuilder is going to be a reality for most at one time or another.
Whether it's out of the realm of one's expertise, interest or
practicality... subcontracting with other rebuilders and techs is
imperative, and it's business 101!
How many  out there prefer to send keytops out? How many just happen to fail
to inform the customer (who) actually installed the keytops? Better yet,how
many techs out there would actually would come clean and tell their
customers they have never installed a set of keytops in their life?  Is
there a problem with that?...of course not. When there's a guy in Kentucky
or Texas who can turn out a great set of key tops for less money than it
would cost  you to do it yourself,and do a great job...send it out. And to
the gentleman who used the metaphor of the garage mechanic not doing his/her
own work... many garages charge for services which are performed by other
shops. Unethical, I don't think so. As long as the finished product is up to
industry standards and the customer is happy, what's the difference?
 Now for many, the pride and effort that personally  goes into restoring a
piano is what drives us to high levels of gratitude,especially when the work
is completed by our own hands.  Am there...do that.
But this rant addresses the segment out there who prefer to limit their work
to in home tuning and basic service. That's fine.  Many are also not
interested in getting involved with extensive repair, and who would rather
refer the more lengthy work out to someone else. That's fine as well. And
when its time for the family's piano to be rebuilt they have the opportunity
to take full advantage as acting as a trusted liaison with the owners and
subcontract with another rebuilder and profit from their contacts.
 The fact is that there are many established operations for our industry who
provide remanufacturing for techs on the national level, like Del Fandrich's
shop in Washington, or A&C Pianocraft in NYC, Geers, David Hughes, Dale
Erwin, and even Steinway.  They do a fair amount of business specializes in
subcontracting work which is usually beyond the means of the local tech.
They establish an agreed price on a particular project and the tech is the
responsible party to make sure their services are paid for. The tech, on the
other hand, has gone into contract with the customer. The tech establishes a
price to the customer and then is bound to deliver the product finished. And
the tech is more than permitted to profit on his/her contacts. Or, getting
back to the referral fee, many outfits will be more than willing to pay a
referral fee for their valuable contacts if the tech would rather turn the
whole project over, lock-stock-and barrel, to the facility.
 I apologize to those out there that misinterpreted my views of referral
fees vs. subcontracting as a form of "shady "dealings. My opinions are not
aimed discrediting our individual efforts as techs or rebuilders, or
deceiving the public, but rather at opening a few eyes out there about
making the most out of your businesses.  I personally get tired hearing many
out there why they "can't afford" to go to the conventions, or they "can't
afford" do this or that, when in reality they aren't managing their
businesses correctly and taking full advantage of their business contacts.
For those who still don't get it...take Evelyn Smith's business class at
then next convention and hear from a pro who really knows how to tell it!
End of rant!
Tom Servinsky, RPT
----- Original Message -----
From: <JIMRPT@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 10:54 AM
Subject: Re: referall fees


>
> In a message dated 27/08/01 9:27:42 AM, tompiano@gate.net writes:
>
> << You, the contractor, then charge the
>
> customer over and above that fee to whatever you see as a marketable
price.
>
> Your fee then could be considerably more >>
>
> Tom I agree with your comments except for this portion..............and
> perhaps I agree with this portion............ 'if' your subcontractor
knows
> that this is the method of pricing to be used. 'If' not then this is the
> opening for some hard feelings when the subcontractor finds out. I do
> subcontract rebuilding for numerous techs and stores but it is 'only' on
the
> basis of individual contract terms and never on a pre-selected price for a
> specific task.
>
>  For an agreed percentage of individual contract price I handle pickup,
> rebuild, and delivery. The Local tech 'retains' the customer and provides
> coordination of pickup, delivery and any warranty items. So my view is
that
> the 'full' contract price be known by the rebuilder 'before' the work is
done
> as this will stop hard feelings, and possible loss of the services of a
good
> rebuilder, a few months down the road.
>
>  As an example let's suppose that I have agreed to do a certain repair for
> 80% of  a contract for 1,000 dollars and find out later that the 'true'
> contract price was for 2,000 dollars. Would I be happy knowing that the
> contracting tech made 1,200 dollars and I made only 800 dollars? If I knew
> the score before hand very possibly,............... but if I were to find
out
> afterward I would not be a happy camper.
>
>  The issue of trust between contracting tech and rebuilder should 'never'
be
> in doubt
> and differring contract prices is one sure way to place this doubt in the
> minds of a rebuilder............................but that is just my view.
>
>  Subcontracting with trust is a wonderful way to expand the income of both
> parties and provide your customers with a needed service and should be a
> win-win situation for all concerned. And yes, there are techs I will no
> longer work with for just this reason of lost trust and lying about
contract
> amounts.
> Jim Bryant (FL)