This list is awesome. I have just been thinking about doing more "service" work to get more business, when David sent this post. I finally decided that it is cheaper, and will problaby get more results, if I offer more service work to my existing cutomers, than try to get new ones. What I intent to do is send a letter to my customers when I remind them its time to get their piano tuned, explaining that a piano needs more than just tuning. I then list all the additional services I can provide, like cleaning and/or polishing the case, vacuuming under the keys, cleaning under the strings, etc, not to mention action regulation. The reason I want to send the customer a letter first is to give them a chance to think about what they would like to have done, and maybe talk it over with their spouse. For instance, when we were going to have our carpets cleaned, the company sent us a letter explaining what they were going to do, and what our responsibilities would be. But they also included a coupon for duct cleaning. My wife asked me if that was going to be OK, and I said yes. If they had offered the duct cleaning the carpet were cleaned, she would have said no. In an other instance, when we had a room painted, the painter also offered to paint the garage doors. Since my wife had not been asked ahead of time, she said no. So, thanks, David, for the advice. I might be able to make it to Vegas, after all. Wim -----Original Message----- From: David Andersen <david at davidandersenpianos.com> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Wed, Nov 11, 2009 11:16 am Subject: [pianotech] Complete piano service, was Workload "I don't know where these guys that claim they do 5 pianos a day find their clients -- all the ones I work on need pitch raises, repairs, regulation, and who knows what ..." D. Nereson Right on. There's tremendous amounts of piano service money lying around waiting to be picked up by the complete piano service business. I highly recommend that every tuner-technician become a complete piano service; then the days of 5 or 6 a day, 5 or 6 days a week, fade and become a horrific and cautionary memory. ALL the pianos I come to need work other than tuning. I'll say it again: ALL the pianos I come to need work other than tuning. If you can't understand or perceive this you need a huge reality check. You are the equivalent of a mechanic just putting gas in the tank and saying the car is good to go. That may sound brutal, but it's the truth. I make six figures every year just on piano service, and I work five weeks out of every six for medical reasons. That means I'm getting paid a lot; and I rarely or ever work on more than two pianos a day, and often just one. I would say 95% of the new client pianos I come to have not had any regular service other than tuning in their lifetime---even studios and serious players, although the percentage in those categories is probably lower---70%---it's enough to keep us in work here in L.A. for the foreseeable future. Once players hear and feel the radical positive change we make by implementing complete piano service, most of them become grateful, elegant clients for life. It's rewarding on all levels. Here's my definition of complete piano service as it appears on my website: The ability to understand, diagnose, and implement the work necessary to put a piano in its maximum playing condition, and keep it there, through judicious maintenance, throughout its years of use. Best, David Andersen On Nov 11, 2009, at 11:02 AM, David Nereson wrote: About 15, but then I purposely don't do more than 3 day if I can avoid it -- too hectic, too hard on the hands & ears, too long a day (few and very far between are pianos that need tuning only -- I don't know where these guys that claim they do 5 pianos a day find their clients -- all the ones I work on need pitch raises, repairs, regulation, and who knows what -- if I did even 4 pianos a day needing all that extra work, I'd be at it from 5am to 9 at night!) --David Nereson, RPT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard" <richard.ucci at att.net> To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2009 5:21 AM Subject: [pianotech] Workload List, How many tunings are you averaging per week? Rick Ucci/ Ucci Piano = -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20091112/36b10975/attachment.htm>
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