> > From: wimblees at aol.com > Date: November 12, 2009 12:21:22 AM EST > ... > 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. > ... > Wim Hi Wim, I believe in and recommend the full service approach. It is more satisfying for all involved. It will bring you rewarding work, profit, and enthusiastic customers. However.... I wouldn't advise sending the letter first. The letter will probably be seen as a "sales pitch," and you as a "salesman." From the client's perspective, the letter is an opportunity for them to spend even more money than a tuning fee, and may make them less likely to schedule an appointment. The letter says whatever it says, but to the client, it may read "this guy wants more money, let's hire someone else instead" I think that showing the client everything relevant and engaging them in discussion while sitting at their piano will be much more effective than a letter. They can always call a spouse to discuss anything (and often do); you'll be there a while tuning in any case, so there's time for that to happen. Or, they can discuss it with a spouse after, and schedule the work for your next tuning visit. I never see myself as a salesman, and I never make a sales pitch to my clients. Instead, I see myself as an educator (former college music professor, so it comes naturally for me), and I attempt to educate my clients about the state of their piano. In fact, I basically stumbled upon the full service approach, after having many experiences such as: Me: Mrs X, while preparing to tune the piano, I did an inspection of the mechanical functioning of the instrument. I immediately noticed that some of the hammers hit the strings repeatedly when I play them (demonstrates). Do you ever notice that when playing? Mrs X: Why yes, that drives me crazy when I'm trying to play softly (or whatever...). Me: It's happening because .... Mrs. X: Can you do something about it? Me: Yes. Let me show you on one key (adjusts regulation). There (plays key compared to neighbors, invites client to do the same ... client seems happy with the improvement). It would cost ___ to do the whole piano. Mrs X: Please, go ahead and do it ASAP; I didn't know that could be fixed.... (after service and tuning, client sits at piano) Mrs. X: Wow, It feels like a different piano! I can't believe the difference. I can't believe I put up with it "wrong" for so many years. I've had this piano serviced for over 15 years - why didn't any of the other piano technicians tell me that this was possible? Can I have a whole stack of your cards to give out to friends and relatives? I'm including an extra $50 in the check, just because.... --- As I said, when I started out, I had this type of experience over and over again, and was quite surprised that the client would often insist that I make the repairs or do the regulation or whatever. I was a little shy about asking for money for anything, and here the client was practically begging me to take much more than the tuning fee I was expecting to collect! To be clear, this type of experience didn't, doesn't, and won't happen every time, but it does happen fairly often. So, here's my advice. 1) Analysis = Noticing. Start with an inspection. Ask the client questions about their interaction with the piano; this can help you to focus your inspection. Notice all of the details about the piano. Consider: action function, board, bridges, stringing, regulation, voicing, trapwork, case function and appearance, key level and appearance, cleanliness, piano placement in the room, etc. Many piano technicians skip this very important step! 2) Discuss your findings with the client. Show them any problems, especially ones that will affect their use and enjoyment of the instrument, or its long-term health and value. Discuss what can be done to remediate. Keep it brief, but the more that you can show the client the problem and the proposed solution, the better. Educate, don't sell. 3) Listen carefully to feedback from the client. They may even point out things that you have not discussed; they often know this particular piano better than you do (albeit in a non-technical way). 4) Notice how they respond to your discussion of the piano. If they are uninterested in having additional service work done, respect that. You are there to provide service to them, which includes educating them about the health of their piano, not to sell them anything beyond the tuning that they called you for. If you push them, they will rightfully resent it. So, don't. Don't even quote them a price, if that's the vibe you're getting. On the other hand, if they ask questions and show an interest in the additional service work, be prepared to give them a price and a timeline/plan of action for completing the service work. If you do so, just present information, don't sell. I see my job as helping the client to have a satisfying and rewarding experience with their piano, and I happen to get paid fairly well for it. I am not there to sell anybody on anything, and I sincerely mean that. Sometimes, I "unsell" (advise the client not to put money into the piano), if that's what is called for. If you or your customer sees you as a salesman, then an adversarial relationship can quickly develop: you are there (in their inner sanctum, where they may feel vulnerable) to get their money, and they are there to protect their precious and hard-earned resource. I sure don't want anything to do with that whole dynamic! If your customers sense that dynamic, they won't want anything to do with you, either! If, on the other hand, they see that you sincerely want to help them to have a rewarding experience with their piano, they will often value you quite highly, and be much more likely to pursue any additional work on their instrument. One final note: in step two above, assess the situation clearly, and only recommend work that makes sense for the client's use of the piano. If it is a low-quality spinet being played by a beginner in grade school, and the single-string unisons are dead, don't recommend replacing them. The family can upgrade to a better piano if the child shows prolonged interest and talent, and the child won't be playing those low notes for a few years anyway. Respecting the family's tight budget and limited use of the instrument can be considered "full service" for that customer. "Full service" to me means that the technician is thinking about and cares about how the piano is being used and how it performs (as compared to its potential) in the given circumstance, rather than just tuning the piano. So, that's my approach. It works for me. It will probably work for others as long as they are sincere about it, communicate clearly with their clients, and have the skills to deliver the promised results. It won't work for everyone, because we're all different.... Hope that helps, Joe DeFazio Pittsburgh -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20091112/68d8071a/attachment-0001.htm>
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