worst

[David Andersen]

Hey, kids----

I've found it! The worst-feeling Steinway action "rebuild" ever! A  
1923 M, "rebuilt" 20-25 years ago; original, vertigris-ed-out  
whippens; Steinway 15.5mm shanks; Steinway hammers with the legendary  
1/2-inch tail.....proudly sold by Sherman Clay in their Orange County  
store 20 years ago. About 40 feet of shims in the board, yet it's  
still got bearing and crown; bridge caps pretty darn good too....a  
California piano, probably...

Balance weights ran from 50-55...unplayable, yet this poor woman  
(rich, actually) has been trying to drive this truck and get some  
pleasure from it since they bought it. I absolved her of any  
responsibility for this mess, and made her day by showing and telling  
her exactly what she could expect when the action returns.

So here's the signal path:
---the client Googled "Steinway piano tuner Los Angeles"
---I came up at the top (because I've SEO'd my website)
---she loved the site, called my office, liked my office manager (my  
daughter, Jenika) and set an appointment for me to tune and evaluate.

I drove away from her house with:
1. the action in my car
2. a commitment to immediate "triage" ($2-3K)
3. a commitment to a complete restoration in the next several years
4. a client for life who could turn into a good friend
Remember: no personal referral or store connection; just the website.

My efforts to optimize my website in the search engines have brought  
me an incredible amount of local business. The client above will pay  
me over $50,000 in the next ten years by doing this work now,  
rebuilding and then maintaining her piano. There's literally  
thousands of people just like her within 30 miles of my home and  
business.  I ought to do a business class just about the power of  
website optimization to enable the finest local ad you could ever  
hope to produce---your killer, unique, detail-rich website.

Remember the deathless words of two giants in our craft:

"Always aim for the high end." (Willis Snyder)

"For the right technician, there's literally gold lying in the  
street, waiting to be picked up." (Roger Jolly)

My best to you all.....
David Andersen