Voicing M&H BB

[David Love]

I almost always take the time to work up as accurate a quote as possible.
I've been caught too many times in the past throwing out a quote that ends
up being too low.  I find that most jobs take more time than you think if
you factor in everything, including pick up and delivery.  Action and belly
jobs can vary considerably depending on the scope of the work so I like to
itemize everything included.  For example, someone calls up to find out how
much to change hammers and shanks.  You throw out a price and discover later
the action needs bushings, backchecks, the capstan line is wrong, the action
has 12 leads in the bass, the repetition springs in the wippens look like
little 'J's and the every screw on the hammer rail is stripped.  Harder to
go up than down.  I don't think most people mind me taking an extra day to
give them accurate information, plus I always send out a contract that at
least says that they agree to the price and the work to be performed (not
for small on site jobs).  No questions later about what was expected and for
what price.  I have encountered situations where I wasn't sure what the best
course was and not felt embarrassed about telling someone I wanted to do
some additional research as to the best and most cost effective approach to
the problem.  I think most people are reassured by that.

David Love

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Meyer" <cmpiano@home.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: October 27, 2001 5:40 PM
Subject: Re: Voicing M&H BB


> I'm not a gambler.  I didn't lose any money at Reno.  BUTTT. I'm enough of
a
> gambler to quote a job.  After  inspecting a piano, I'll usually give a
> rough quote.  If it is a job that is under one or two thousand dollars, I
> just make sure I quote high enough.  If I can do the job in less time, I
> give them a discount. They will love you forever.
>
> I have a friend who spends so much time doing estimates in triplicate that
> he hasn't had time to do any meaningful work.  That is why he has a three
> year backlog ( he hasn't finished the jobs he quoted three years ago.)
>
> If you need an excuse to delay say " I need to check the parts prices" and
> let it go at that.  I hate the time it takes to write up a formal quote.
> I'd rather eat the excess time to do the job.  There is always ways you
can
> fudge time to minimize  the loss if you bid too low.  Makes you more
> realistic in estimating the time it takes to do the job.
>
> Pretend to be cocky, even if your not.
>
> Carl Meyer  Assoc. PTG
> Santa Clara, California
> cmpiano@home.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Charles Neuman" <piano@charlesneuman.net>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2001 4:33 PM
> Subject: Re: Voicing M&H BB
>
>
> > Terry,
> >
> > I'm curious, from a business point of view, how this situation works:
> > What do you tell the customer after inspecting the piano? Do you say
> > you'll think about it, consult other people, or research it further?
> > I've always been curious how a situation like this is handled, where the
> > tech needs time to think or research but doesn't want to come off
> > looking like they don't know what they are doing.
> >
> > Charles Neuman
> > PTG Assoc, Long Island - Nassau
> >
>