Voicing M&H BB

[Carl Meyer]

So take your best guess and double it.  You can always give a 10 percent
discount.

Carl Meyer  Assoc. PTG
Santa Clara, California
cmpiano@home.com

.
> 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
> > >
> >
>