<<My secretary always explains to new customers>> Would that be your wife, or did you actually "hire" a secretary to help out with scheduling, books, etc? Did you advertise in the local paper? What kind of piano training (if any) did she receive in order to converse with clients/potential clients (mostly on the phone) about pianos, especially if she has to answer questions relating to tunings, repairs, etc.? Seems it wouldn't be very helpful if she had to constantly say: "I don't know, you'll have to ask Mr. May". Just curious, because I've been seriously considering hiring one for my business as well! Terry Peterson ----Original Message Follows---- From: "Dean May" <deanmay@pianorebuilders.com> Reply-To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Subject: RE: Subject: Help with "bad" tuning...need help Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 09:52:57 -0500 I thought I was wrong once, but I made a mistake. Seriously, I find I don’t have these kinds of problems after 25 years of doing this, so it must have something to do with experience and confidence. But there are definitely things you can do. First, maybe you should raise your rates. When you work for cheap, you get clients who are cheap and hard to please. Next, head off trouble at the pass when you are scheduling the appointment. My secretary always explains to new customers that if the piano is real bad and it has been awhile since it has been tuned, it might be up to double my normal tuning rate. So when I get to the home and start working on the piano, I don’t even talk about price. It has already been discussed so there are no surprises when it comes time to collect the money and no problems, either. Sometimes she forgets and when she does I frequently get punished. Then I re-emphasize the importance of this step to her and no more problems. So I know this step works well. You really should get RCT for pitch raises. The extra money you charge for the PR will quickly pay for it and it does provide the quickest and most stable PR tuning. And rarely do I break strings, maybe one every 4-6 months. When I leave I after a PR I always say, “Now this tuning is not going to be as stable as a normal tuning. When pianos get this bad it is impossible to put a stable tuning on it- that is why it is so important to keep a piano tuned regularly. It really should be retuned within 6 months, but you might want it done in 3 to 4 months, maybe even sooner. Let your ear be your guide.” If you had said something like that to your customer you would be set. A big part of your problem is your uncertainty about if it is the piano’s problem or if you are just a bad tuner. Been there, done that. And that uncertainty is somehow magically communicated to the customer. If you use RCT you can be confident that you are using an industry wide accepted standard of the one of the best ways to do a PR. Merry Christmas, Dean Dean May cell 812.239.3359 PianoRebuilders.com 812.235.5272 Terre Haute IN 47802 -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Richard Oliver Snelson Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 11:24 PM To: Pianotech Subject: Re: Subject: Help with "bad" tuning...need help Kurt, These thing are fine if you have experience to back them up. That not what I read in his message. It is never that simple. (You are right, they are wrong, it's that simple, and never forget it.) This can make a hell of a fool out of you someday! You can be wrong! Being to stubborn to admit it is not the answer. Rich Richard Oliver Snelson ----- Original Message ----- From: Kurt <mailto:KurtGearheart@comcast.net> To: pianotech@ptg.org <mailto:pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 8:17 PM Subject: Subject: Help with "bad" tuning...need help "So, what do I do now? " UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ACCEPT BLAME FOR THE LAWS OF PHYSICS!!! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE REFUNDS FOR GOOD HONEST WORK FAIRLY PRICED!!! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOW WEAKNESS, FEAR, INDECISION, OR GUILT!!! YOU WILL BE EATEN ALIVE IF YOU DO!!! Be blunt when you talk next. You know, they do not. You understand, they do not. Explain however much you need to, UNTIL... It is clear they don't get it. THEN... Lose a customer, (not much worth having in the first place), and keep your dignity and professional demeanor. You are right, they are wrong, it's that simple, and never forget it. Any experienced tuner has run across this situation in their career... until they learn to emphatically "pre-explain" reality BEFORE the tuning begins. Be confident when you explain things. Your word must be law. They learn from you. The laws of physics as they apply to tuning is NOT UP FOR DEBATE BY THEM. If I were a seasoned tuner in your area and heard this story, (and I was a decent and knowledgeable chap), I'd instantly be on your side as soon as I heard the real technical details. You have to be absolutely firm and confident when you predict piano behavior BEFORE YOU START TUNING. IGNORANT CLIENTS CAN BE TRAINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;0) That's the real solution for the future, which is what matters more than surviving the current (not too desirable in the first place) client. You are "da piano god" when in someones home, but ya gotta believe it, act like it, and speak like it. My two cents after 25 years at this. DO NOT RETUNE THIS PIANO FOR FREE!!! (Just to make you feel better, 23 years ago or so I replaced half a set of bass strings that broke during a tuning of a 120 year old birdcage, at my expense... stupid thing to do (several things actually - he he...) ... the client was livid and irrational and it seemed the easiest way out... in retrospect I should have stuck to my guns... and had them restring the bass at THEIR expense - or just gotten another tech to deal with them)
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