In a message dated 9/19/00 8:02:57 PM Central Daylight Time, ronli@newnorth.net (Ron Lindquist) writes: << Mr. Bremmer, I am not threatened by fair competition Just people not paying what is required by State law, or the old boy network where one is not competing on work. appreciate your thoughts. >> Ron, You have to be realistic about this business as you would any other. You couldn't make much money selling air conditioners in Fairbanks. I realize that Northern Wisconsin is your home and you like it there but there just aren't that many pianos up there, at least within a small area. There are lots if you consider the whole northern part of the state to be your territory. I love Louisiana's Cajun Country, the Cajun French language, the food, the culture, the warm winters and most of all, the music, but I also know that pianos are few and far between there. I once considered relocating to Lafayette, LA, which is about the same size city as Madison, with a growing population and vibrant community but with relatively few pianos compared to Madison. Here, there are 20 names in the phone book and down there, there are just a few. Most of them live in Lafayette and say that business is not too good. So, I remain where I am because I like it here and there are lots of pianos to tune. I wrote and called the two leading piano techs in Lafayette and told them that I would be coming only on certain occasions and would seek business in far off, little towns rather than in Lafayette itself. I have however, managed to get some clients in Lafayette just because they wanted some alternative to what they were getting. Once they have heard and played a piano that I serviced, they want to know when the next time I will be in town will be and they tell their friends. The point is, first of all, you must have a high quality service to offer if you want to compete. Your pianos must sound and play better than you competition's, it's as simple as that. You need to accomplish your service in a reasonable amount of time, not take hours on end. Once you get to where you can handle most pianos in about an hour, and others that need to be cleaned out, action tightened and adjusted, etc., in about another hour, for which you get a much higher fee, customers will sense that you know what you are doing, are worth your price and they voluntarily tell other people about you. This takes dedication, time and lots of practice and experience to accomplish. None of the many fine tuners in Madison want to go up where you are to tune a piano. I gave you that one referral a while back and there is a lady in Minoqua who has a new Estonia grand. I also gave her your name but I sensed that she was reluctant to call you, probably because she did not trust the skills of a small town tuner. There is another customer near her who wants the piano tuned in 1/5 comma meantone and will wait until she can find someone who will do it, even if it takes years, rather than have what is typically offered by anyone she can find up that way. Personal visits to schools and churches that you find in the many small towns up that way, where you introduce yourself, give your card and state your interest may help. Don't be afraid to offer to do a free tuning, especially to a church or a school as a demonstration of your skills. Make that one be better than any one that you might get paid for, like the guy who tuned for tomatoes. They will probably pay you anyway. This business is like none other in how it is obtained. Forget about ads, go in person. Be well groomed, in a good mood and be sincere. Look for ways to make the biggest improvements with the least amount of effort and the least time spent. Forget about what all of the "I only do grands and anything but a Steinway is a PSO" types say. There are hundreds upon hundreds of spinets, consoles, studio, uprights and even some grands up that way. Most are very common instruments but are also badly in need of the most basic services. You can make a living doing that work if you can find the pianos get the people to hire you. You can also make money in comissions by referring people to piano dealers either for new pianos or for rebuilding. Why don't you be the "visitor" to places where you know other tuners don't want to go? During that very harsh, cold winter you have there, why not go someplace south for a while, do some of your own itinerant tuning? You should be able to get at least $60.00 for a basic tuning and more for extra work. Madison rates are higher than that but pale in comparison to what they get on the East and West coasts. The $40.00 range that you speak of is in the wholesale rate range, what you would do for a dealer for example, doing multiple pianos. I don't think it is very realistic to expect to have a business tuning pianos all at such low rates. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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