Balance Due!!

[Dean May]

In all my 31 years in the business, I think I've only been stiffed twice, 

 

 

Exactly, so why worry about collecting the signature? I always operate from
the position that if a customer is so untrustworthy that I have to have a
signature on the invoice to insure getting paid its worth eating the cost of
the tuning to me to get rid of that customer and never tune for them again. 

 

25 years in the biz and only stiffed maybe twice as well. 

Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 

PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 

Terre Haute IN  47802

 

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Willem Blees
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2008 9:26 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: Balance Due!!

 

Matthew

All my tuning orders, (Tuning ticket, as I call it), are 3 part carbonless
invoices. (white, yellow, pink, available at most office supply stores or
print shops). 95% of the time, I leave the pink with the amount paid, and
the other two copies are taken home. But when there is a need to leave a
bill, I leave both the yellow and the pink copy with the balance due. I then
have a self inking stamp which reads. "Keep pink copy for your records.
Return yellow copy with check."  About 40% of the time I get the yellow
copy, about 30% of the time I get the pink copy. and the rest of the time I
don't get a copy at all, especially when it comes from a  school. If at all
possible I have someone sign at the X at the bottom of the tuning ticket.
That proves I was there. 

I keep a pile of the invoices due on my desk. I also have a line in my
computer where it asks if there is a balance due. I kind of keep a mental
note of who owes me, and about once every two weeks I look through the pile
to see if anyone is more than a month overdue, and I call them.  In all my
31 years in the business, I think I've only been stiffed twice, and one of
those was a church. 

Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Honolulu, HI
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: Sat, 31 May 2008 9:42 am
Subject: Balance Due!!

I had a client today who had to leave for an appointment so her brother was
there to make sure I got paid.  Besides tuning I had to fix two notes.  She
left for my tuning fee with her brother and that was it, so when I gave her
brother the bill, he was short on the cash.  She didn't plan on my extra
work or the tax.  So I took the bill and wrote what was paid, and the
balance due.

 

Is that the right way to do it, or next time should I have the party present
sign it?  Should there also be a due date?  Then there's the situation where
there is no one home and a check is left on the table.  I did have one
client leave me a blank check!!  I was like "hmmm, let's see, I need new
tires on my car, maybe a new tuning hammer...."

 

 

Matthew

  _____  

Stay informed, get connected and more with
<http://mobile.aol.com/productOverview.jsp?productOverview=aol-mobile-overvi
ew&?&ncid=aolmbd00030000000139>  AOL on your phone. 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080531/cdd57d4e/attachment.html