Business Doldrums ...and finding help

[Topperpiano@aol.com]

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Over the years I have hired people to work in my shop.  I got pretty good at 
training people to do action work.  You just have to break down the steps to 
manageable, understandable elements like polishing capstans and front pins, 
cleaning parts, bushing keys, etc. I left the more complicated stuff like 
drilling a set of hammers or hanging them for myself.  I did manage to train one gal 
who had been a housekeeper at a hotel (making minimum wage) to do very basic 
regulating and paid her double what she had been making. Stay at home Moms and 
retirees like to do something and are really flexible with their hours in that 
they don't really want full time jobs.  In my area we have lost several 
active techs for various reasons and I am really covered up.  The dealer that I 
work for two days a week (because he sells very high end pianos and gives me 
total control over what I do to prep them) was making demands that exceeded my 
time so I am training a less experienced tech who had not had the chance to train 
on high end pianos.  The deal that I have worked out with the tech and the 
dealer is that he comes in one day a week and I supervise his tuning and 
regulating work.  He works for free and I get paid my usual rate while I 
supervise/teach him and also work on other pianos.  In exchange for the new tech's work 
the store and I give him the lower end work (and take no cut) that I don't want 
to do.  The new tech has had a giant jump in his business, gets trained and I 
don't have to try to beg off on older uprights and spinets. The dealer gets 
more work done for the same money and is also developing a good relationship 
with another tech who can fill in for me when I have other obligations.  I expect 
that this arrangement will stick through the summer when things are slow and 
we'll return to our normal working arrangements when things pick up in the 
fall.  By the way I don't see the business slowing down at all.  In fact I think 
that this particular dealer's business has picked up considerably in the last 
6 months. TP

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