Honest people

[Clyde Hollinger]

Brian,

Thanks for your input.  It's helpful to know there is another side.  There must
be another factor to consider, which might be the the personal versus the
impersonal.  Do clients feel more responsibility to pay a piano technician who
comes into their home, pets their dog, and maybe even sits at the kitchen table
for a 5-minute chat about this and that, than they feel toward a company that in
their mind is a non-personal entity?  If they don't pay a self-employed piano
technician, they know it will hurt him/her.  If they don't pay a company, they
may think, "Ah, well, they figure bad debts into their budget anyway."

So if there is a correlation, it may have less to do with the "involvement with
music" factor as I originally presented it, and more to do with the level of
personal interaction.  Quite likely there are even other factors involved.

Regards,
Clyde Hollinger

Graeme Harvey wrote:

> Hello Brian,
>
> Luck may have something to do with it, and good follow up of whats due helps
> greatly. I have been in business now for five and a half years and in that
> time I have only written off $150 partly due to my not being on the ball
> quick enough. Just today though I have passed a 5 month debt to some debt
> collection people as I'm not having much success in collecting. It is only
> $140.
> I must say that piano owners (if there is such a grouping) are generally
> pretty good to deal with, on the other hand  I think dealing with pop
> musicians would be quite a different story as many of these folk never seem
> to have much money and they always seem to want the latest expensive gizmos.
>
> I really like being a piano tech for all the reasons outlined in this thread
> plus lifestyle reasons. What other work can you do at any age, puts you in
> contact with genuine people, is challenging, creative, allows you to get out
> and about, provides a great sense of satisfaction, can be brought home etc
> etc.
>
> Cheers.
>
> Graeme Harvey
> New Plymouth NZ
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Brian Holden <bholden@wave.co.nz>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 1999 2:30 PM
> Subject: Re: Honest people
>
> > Hello Clyde
> >
> > I admire your attitude towards musicians and the supposed correlation
> > between them and favorable credit ratings.  I have also been in business
> for
> > many years, and while I have not been stung too often by non-paying
> > customers, I have been stung often enough - and also by people who I
> really
> > believed would have treated me better.  Before I went out piano tuning, I
> > worked in two different  music stores over a period of five years and I
> lost
> > count of the bad debts that were incurred by musicians when buying
> > equipment.  As much as I would like to believe you Clyde, I suspect that
> > your lack of bad debtors is not attributable to your customers, but
> rather,
> > to your own good business sense or (dare I say it) - good luck.
> >
> > Just a thought - Cheers, Brian Holden
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Clyde Hollinger <cedel@supernet.com>
> > To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
> > Date: Tuesday, 21 December 1999 1:03
> > Subject: Honest people
> >
> >
> > >Friends,
> > >
> > >I can also recall only two bounced checks, and that in almost twenty
> years
> > of
> > >business (twelve of those were part-time).  In both cases there was a
> > >"situation," and I got my money promptly after phoning the clients.  To
> > date I
> > >have lost less than $150 to two clients who refused to pay.
> > >
> > >I was a high school music teacher for seventeen years.  I always felt
> that
> > my
> > >students caused much less trouble than the general student population.
> I'm
> > quite
> > >certain there is a direct correlation between involvement with music and
> > >trustworthiness or good character or whatever, but I've never seen
> research
> > done
> > >on the subject.  I'm not sure what useful purpose it would serve anyway.
> > >
> > >Regards,
> > >Clyde Hollinger, RPT
> > >Lititz, PA, USA
> > >
> > >DGPEAKE@AOL.COM wrote:
> > >
> > >> The piano industry indeed is one of the best to be associated with. I
> > could
> > >> go on and on, but to this date I have only 2 bounced checks from
> > customers in
> > >> 20 years of business.  In fact, I believe piano owners are the best
> > customers
> > >> to be associated with.
> > >
> >
> >