Needing encouragment

[KeyKat88 at aol.com]

Greetings,

             The first week at tuning school it took 4 hours just to get a 
decent temperment: practiced that for 2 weeks and my time came down to 1 hour. 

            Then the tuning instructor added the octave above and the octave 
below the temperatment area, this took my time back up to 4-6 hours. We 
practuced that for 2 weeks and my time went down to 1 1/2 hours.

            Then the teach added going all the way up to C-76 and one octave 
below the temperament area, practiced that for a few weeeks, then they told us 
to do the whole piano and my first complete tuning took 16 hours - 2 school 
days! 

             I practiced that for lord knows how many weeks and about 4 
months later I could tune a piano in 4-6 hours. We had to; for tuning exams.

             The whole class took a 2 1/2 week Christmakkah break, and when I 
came back in January, I miracoulously could tune in 3-4 hours. Around March, 
I could tune in 3 hours, and my whole first year in business, my tunings took 
2 1/2 - 3 hours.

             I am in my third year of tuning for money, and the best time I 
ever got was 1 hour. On average, it takes me 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours to tune. Waht 
slows me down on some is how badly some pianos are out of tune before people 
will call.

             As far as business volume, I started with only 2 tunings a week, 
some weeks none, some weeks only one!  The second year I had at least 2 
tunngs per week and on a good week, 5. Now, with an ad in the phone book, and cards 
in music stores, and calling churches and schools and sending them resumes 
and cards, I have at least 3 tunings a week, pretty steady, usually more. The 
best week I ever had yet, was 9 tunings, near Christmakkah. It takes time. My 
first year was very discouraging. I went almost all summer the first year with 
NO work, then in September, a school district called (which, prevously I sent 
cards and a resume to) and wanted 8 pianos tuned at 4 separate elementary 
schools. That saved the day so I could pay my property taxes taht year!!

    Yepper, it was hand to mouth. Hang in there. Market your tuning. Use 
Telemarketing (which I personally loathe, yet I did and srill do), resumes, cards 
in music all stores and local music schools and studios.  Make sure all the 
teachers in the area know of you, (local music teacher;s assocaitions)  a 
phonebook listing works in this area. 

      So, Do a good job, your best, wherever you tune, and do what they call 
"good will" extras in your first years, and tell the customer what you did.  
For example, if a key or two is bubbling from negative lot motion, add a smidge 
after your done tuning to get rid of it, then tell the customer that you 
found this and fixed it. Throw what they call alittle "good will" in with the 
price of a tuning, and word will get around quick that you know your stuff and are 
sincere. You can bet on it. Customers just want their pianos to be taken care 
of. Later, when you get a following, you can charge for this stuff once 
you're in demand. 

        Good will can be adjusting a capstan or two, tightening bench and 
piano lid hinge screws, taking lost motion out of a pedal, even advising they 
move the piano away from the heat duct, etc. These things take only a minute or 
two and can really excell your reputation.

Hope this helps,
Julia Gottshall
Reading, PA 


n a message dated 6/5/2006 2:59:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
ljmiller3 at sbcglobal.net writes:
I have been tuning for a little over one year now and things are pretty slow. 
 I was wondering how long it took most of you to get your business 
established?  
Thanks in advance for the insight. 
Jeff Miller
Abilene, TX
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