[pianotech] Piano Technicians and Populations

Thu Dec 11 14:09:59 PST 2008

That's a good way to go, Matthew.

Still, keep contact with them through yearly or 6-month phone calls and/or 
a reminder notice through e-mail or snail-mail.  I've had several 
occasional customers who suddenly wanted some bigger work done...like new 
bass strings, or new hammers...that I planted a seed for years prior. 
Always plant seeds.  As you scatter them, some take root, and others blow 
away!

Paul

Matthew Todd <toddpianoworks at att.net> 
Sent by: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
12/11/2008 03:38 PM
Please respond to
toddpianoworks at att.net; Please respond to
pianotech at ptg.org

To
pianotech at ptg.org
cc

Subject
Re: [pianotech] Piano Technicians and Populations

Well, that makes more sense.  But what I have is actually two databases. 
An "active" and "inactive".  Those that I can't get a hold of, or who 
don't contact me after three years go into the inactive file.  My regulars 
stay in the active file.  This way, I can still keep track of the total 
pianos/clients I really have vs. those I service on an active basis. 

TODD PIANO WORKS 
Matthew Todd, Piano Technician 
(979) 248-9578
http://www.toddpianoworks.com

--- On Thu, 12/11/08, wimblees at aol.com <wimblees at aol.com> wrote:
From: wimblees at aol.com <wimblees at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Piano Technicians and Populations
To: toddpianoworks at att.net, pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008, 2:59 AM

Matthew

Only about a forth of your customers are going to have their piano tuned 
once a year. Less than 10% will have their piano tuned twice a year or 
more often. The rest will get their piano tuned once every 2 - 10 years. 
Your "regular" customers will keep you busy half the time. The others, 
plus the repairs and regulation, will fill in the rest of your time. and 
give a gross income of around $100,000. 

Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Mililani, Oahu, HI
808-349-2943
Author of: 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Todd <toddpianoworks at att.net>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:18 pm
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Piano Technicians and Populations

What constitutes a "comfortable" living??  If I had 2000 pianos that I 
only tuned once a year, that would be over 200,000 per year!!!  And that's 
just tuning.  And I understand about overhead and all that, but what am I 
missing here?

TODD PIANO WORKS 
Matthew Todd, Piano Technician 
(979) 248-9578
http://www.toddpianoworks.com

--- On Wed, 12/10/08, wimblees at aol.com <wimblees at aol.com> wrote:
From: wimblees at aol.com <wimblees at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Piano Technicians and Populations
To: fg at floydgadd.com, pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 6:28 PM

Floyd

A long time ago, Kimball did some research on this. They claimed that if 
you take a given geographical area's population, and multiply that number 
by 19%, that's how many pianos there are in that geographical area. (That 
doesn't mean that 19% of the population has a piano, but between schools, 
churches, bars, etc, that's how many pianos there are.) Considering that 
one piano technician should be able to make a comfortable living with 
approximately 2000 pianos, you can figure out how many piano technicians 
are needed in a given geographical area. 

When I was RVP, I gave that information once at a chapter meeting, where 
there were 13 tuners in attendance. The next day I learned that one of 
them had decided to quit the business, because he figured out that there 
just weren't enough pianos in the area to make a living. 

Of course, as you indicated, this is not an ironclad rule, and some areas 
might need more, and some less. But it's gives you a starting point. 

Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Mililani, Oahu, HI
808-349-2943
Author of: 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Floyd Gadd <fg at floydgadd.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 4:45 am
Subject: [pianotech] Piano Technicians and Populations

Where can I find industry data to answer the question of how much of a

population base it takes to support a piano technician?

I was talking with a locksmith friend the other evening, and he recounted

that as he was setting up his business a number of years ago, research led

him to understand that in his industry, a population of about 15,000 per

technician was necessary to make business viable.  His experience in a

center with a population of 12,000 that grew to just over just 15,000

convinced him that the data was useful.

I'm sure that whatever figure emerges, there are variables, such as the
scope of the tasks a technician is prepared to

 undertake, but I would be

interested in
 knowing what data is out there.

Floyd Gadd

Manitoba Chapter

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