Can't resist jumping in here. And I apologize for the length of this missive. Back in the old days before I joined YAMAHA, I used to have a solid customer base, and only experienced slow times when I planned them! How is this possible? Almost without exception, I scheduled my appointments while I was at the client's home. Before I left, I set up the day and time of the next appointment, and had the customer address the reminder card to him/herself. This card was sent out Tuesday of the week prior to the appointment; far enough in advance the give warning, but not so long as to be forgotten. ( When the customer was unwilling to do this, they addressed a different card with "your piano was last tuned on Octember 32th...etc".) This automatically gave me control over where I would go, and whether there would be meat or just beans on the table that month. The amount of time I spent on the phone after work each evening dropped dramatically, and I could schedule my clientele at regular intervals, making for fewer pitch raises. Also made scheduling shop time or extra service time much easier. It had the added benefit of fewer, but steadier clients, and better maintained pianos. It was a real leap of faith, but as I live and breathe, it worked spectacularly for MANY years. People like to know they don't have to worry about scheduling an appointment unless they need to change it. And it puts you in the driver's seat. Steve P
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