---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Marshall, it should be pretty obvious. Avery At 12:53 PM 1/22/2006, you wrote: >and the point of this post is? >Marshall >----- Original Message ----- >From: <mailto:Pianofxrguy@aol.com>Pianofxrguy@aol.com >To: <mailto:pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org >Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 1:21 PM >Subject: An open letter to Marshall > >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 > > ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/e5/d9/a3/b7/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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