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I would make this a private e-mail to Marshall, but he has been very public
in his comments:
Marshall,
This is John, one of the other South Bend tuner/techs. I am a lurker on
the list, because I only get to check every couple of days and by the time I
could make a comment on a topic it has usually been well commented on by
everyone else. I greatly value the information shared among piano technicians on
this forum and find that it echoes the general helpfulness when techs get
together in person.
I feel that you need to chill out a bit in your opinion of this area and
the current piano business atmosphere. The "one" local dealer has survived
because he concentrates on selling pianos and being of service to his
customers instead of bashing other dealers and their products the way the rest of
the, now defunct, dealers in this area have done. I have done floor tunings for
him for over 30 years, and there are 2 other tuners who also tune at the
store part of the time. I don't know, but I suspect that having yet another
tuner coming in would be a bit of overkill.
If you recall from our conversation a year or so ago, I told you that I
didn't have time to do a mentor/apprentice thing with you but that the Potter
course would be a good start and then you should get further information
from someone with knowledge about the particular things you would need to learn
as a sight challenged tuner. I also told you that I would be happy to answer
any questions that you had, but that following me around on the days that I
tuned in the store would be inconvenient for my work and a little
uncomfortable for the dealer. Most dealers don't want people wandering around the store
who aren't either customers or doing some sort of work. A store is a place of
business, after all. If you had come in once a month or so, as I suggested,
there was some work, for instance de-stringing a grand piano in the back room,
that I was going to hire you to do. It would have been good experience for
you, kept me doing what I am mainly there to do, and the dealer was fine with
the arrangement. You never came back. I didn't know whether that meant you
were not all that interested in learning the business or if you took offense at
something I had said. I can now assume the latter.
In our area, every piano tech that I know of has come in and taken a
couple of years to get up and running with a business, working other jobs at
first to make ends meet and some finally going full time. Each one has built up
a client base and developed their reputation and has worked hard to keep
their business afloat. I don't think that any of us is "hogging" piano customers,
and I know that none of us is wealthy enough to stop taking on new ones.
Unlike most other service businesses, tuners from time to time call another
tuner to cover for them at a particularly busy time of year or if there are
scheduling conflicts that can't be overcome, but we call on people whose tuning
skills we are familiar with and whom we trust with the piano of one or more of
our valued customers. You have been in the business a month or two and none
of us knows anything about your work. You may be a fine tuner, but it is
unlikely that I would recommend you to someone who trusts my judgement until I
know that you would do a satisfactory job. If you screw up, I get the blame.
I think you need to work on your attitude toward the other tuners in the
area, every one of which has been in some measure willing to talk to you and
answer questions as far as I know. Regarding our area; I have lived here all
my life and love this area, even with its artistic deficiencies, but if I
hated being here, I think that would show in my relations with my customers. If
you are truly wanting to get started around here, it would be to your
benefit to work well with others. No one owes you a start in this business, but if
any of us can send something your way when it seems appropriate, it is likely
we would do it once we know who and what we are dealing with.
I have, perhaps, been a little free with the terms "we" and "us" since I
haven't talked to anyone else about this. In fact, I only know 4 other
tuners personally, but from my understanding of the ones that I know and from what
I know about the others, I think we're a pretty laid back bunch and fairly
easy to get along with given a little effort. Call any tuner you wish and
offer some suggestions about how to demonstrate your skills and I think you might
pick up some referrals, but it would be best not to assume that a tuner has
a lot of time to chat in the evening as he/she is either making business
calls of their own or trying to spend a little time with their family. Brief and
to the point makes a good call, maybe set up a mutually agreeable time to
have a longer conversation. I would not suggest that you make this your primary
source of customers, however, because other tuners are in the business of
building their own customer base and it may be that they would only have
something for you once in a while. You have had excellent advice from others on the
list on the topic of starting to build a client list, including several
things that I wish I had heard of 30 years ago.
It all comes down to you and the effort that you want to put out. If you
are seriously considering moving, you would probably not be working with a
mind set of long term customer relations and that might effect the way you go
about it. I would encourage you to sell your skills and personality rather
than trying subterfuge to gain business. Keeping a reputation of honest
dealings is more valuable in the tuning business maybe than in some other service
related fields.
I am pretty sure there are plenty of pianos in the area if you have the
desire and perseverance to stick it out through the difficult times.
Sorry for the length of this e-mail, you should see the stuff I left out.
Still available for consultation and question answering,
John Stroup
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