I don’t like doing it that way. Offering an across the board cut can come back to bite you. When the economy is down and your normal regulars are not calling it may require more personal contact than a card to find out why and what you might do about it. The issue may be one of price but it may not be. Slashing prices by 40% should be a very last resort. I would avoid sending out cards offering a blanket discount but rather call people so you can talk to them to find out what’s going on. If they are genuinely not tuning because they don’t have the money then lowering your price may not get them to go anyway. You might then simply be lowering your price for those who would have tuned at your full price. If you need to make concessions to those suffering from hard times I would encourage you to do it on an individual basis, an offer of appreciation for their past business and a willingness to help them out by cutting the price this time. Offer, perhaps, a cash discount or something that justifies the concession. When you slash your price like that you can send the wrong message and it can hurt more than help. It puts into question your initial pricing and makes people wonder how much more they might get if they just put it off a bit longer. Make it personal, offer to help them out and they’ll be more likely to remember you when times get better. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of wimblees at aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 5:05 PM To: Pianotech at PTG.org Subject: [pianotech] Tuning in a down economy Tuning in a down economy A little while ago we discussed our work during this slow economic time. While some of you are busier than ever, there are quite a few who are experiencing a significant decline in income. I wrote that I was considering lowering my tuning fee by 40% in an effort to get more business. Some of you stated that I shouldn’t lower my rates, and that I should only charge what I am worth. That’s fine, but exactly what am I worth? I know what I should be charging, but I also know what the other piano tuners in Hawaii are charging. Although my “normal” rates are more than the others, I wasn’t getting enough business to pay the bills. So I had a choice to make: starve, or lower my rates. I chose=2 0the latter. On Good Morning America last week they interviewed a couple of people who had been laid off from their high paying corporate jobs. These people were now flipping hamburgers, walking dogs, and doing yard work to help pay the bills. The money they were earning didn’t come close to what they had been making before, and they were obviously way over qualified to do this kind of work. But the alternative was not to pay to bills. That’s kind of how I feel. My tunings are as good, if not better, than the other piano tuners on this island. Although I have had some clients tell me they have never heard their piano sound this good. for the most part, I know I am way over qualified to work on the majority of pianos. But, I have bills to pay, and if the only way I can do that is to tune a spinet for less than I am worth, then that’s what I have to do. Two weeks ago I sent out over 550 post cards to customers who hadn’t had their piano tuned for a year or more, announcing a 30% discount. In two weeks an ad will appear in several community magazines offering the same discount, and even free estimates. Although I have had about a dozen call, I have not had the number of appointments I anticipated. I even had some clients who asked what the discounted price would be, say thank you, and hung up. I guess it wasn’t “low enough”. But if I don’t try to get some business, it will be a long dry summer. This is my way of telling those of you who are seeing a decline in your business that there is nothing wrong with offering your services at less than what you are worth. Hopefully the discounts will only be temporary, and we can all go back to charging what we are worth. Wim PS: Despite the decline in income, I was able to save up enough money to book a flight to Grand Rapids. I might wind up sleeping on a park bench, but going to a PTG Convention is not an option. It’s a requirement. I hope to see all of you there. 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 _____ The Average US Credit Score is 692. See <http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1219850974x1201371016/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fwww.freecreditreport.com%2Fpm%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsc%3D668072%26hmpgID%3D62%26bcd%3DMarchAvgfooterNO62> yours in just 2 easy steps! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090317/ceec85e4/attachment.html>
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