Wim - You've been kind enough to share some thoughts with me about my
restoration pricing, so if it's okay I would like to return the favor and
give you some of my thoughts about building up a tuning business.
First of all, let me say that I've been there. When my wife and I moved
to Boone, Iowa in 1974, I was starting from scratch. I was only 24, wet
behind the ears, and totally without a clue as to how to start building a
business. I did try newspaper ads for a while, but as there were a number of
experienced local tuners, those efforts largely fell on deaf ears. (You, at
least, have the advantage of being an experienced tuner - just in a new
area)
Fast forward 35 years. Now I have a broad enough customer base that 9
times out of 10 when I sit down at the phone to schedule in my week, I can
fill in every spot on my calendar that I wish to fill in. I do have to put
on a lot of miles on my business car to get to my tunings, but that's par
for the course for a rural tuner living in an area where pianos are not
densely concentrated.
Here are some practical suggestions, then. Take them for what they're
worth.
1. Never, ever discount your tuning, unless it's for a particular type of
customer (such as churches or schools) and unless it's done in a way that
cut and dry way that always applies. To do otherwise sends gives the
impression that you are flexible with your tuning prices. I know you said
you tried running a special on tuning, but that it wasn't that successful in
bringing new business. The problem that you create with doing this is that
customers will start waiting for you to run a special, and will ask you to
call back when you are. My wife is a big shopper, and there are stores that
she refuses to buy anything full price, because she knows that everything is
on 'special' at one time or another. Since I never come down on my tuning
price, I can't remember the last time anyone asked me if I would consider
adjusting my price. Sometimes people say they can't afford it now, and to
call back at such and such a month, but they don't ask me to consider
lowering my prices.
2. If you want to negotiate pricing, do so with mileage. If a customer
calls in from an area which you would have a mileage charge, start by saying
you have an open day a couple weeks down the road and book them for that
date (don't ever tell them that you can come this afternoon, or better yet,
right now - think about what message that is sending about your business).
Inform them what your ordinary mileage charge for that area is, let's say
$60 on top of the tuning charge, and ask if they would be interested in
lowering that. If they say sure, just tell them that if they will ask around
and line up some other pianos for that same day, you can split the cost
accordingly. With one other piano, it would be $30 apiece for mileage. If
there are two more, it would be $15 each and if she can find three more,
you'll waive the mileage charge all together.
You'd be amazed at how many new customers you can bring in this way,
especially if you're not afraid to travel a bit. You're customers will start
to do a lot of the legwork searching out new clients, especially if you make
this an established practice. I had a customer once that called with a full
day's agenda for me, 6 pianos to tune (3 of them new customers, and 3 of
them established) in a town 50 miles away. They were all within a 2 block
radius of her home. I parked my car at her house, and walked from there the
rest of the day. She had drawn a map for me, and each customer would call
the next place when I was walking out the door. The 3rd customer even had
prepared a lunch for me! It doesn't get any better than that, let me tell
you.
3. On pianos that have not been well maintained, make a practice of
spending an extra 15 minutes or so, and look the piano over to see what
could be done to make improvements over the long run. I always write out my
estimates individually for the piano (I don't just use an impersonal
checklist), and I go over each item with the customer (if they are
interested), and explain what the benefit of each repair is to them. On
repairs such as broken plastic elbows, or missing bridle straps, I always
recommend replacing the entire set, in that just replacing the broken parts
will result in service calls in the future, when others break. I never
pressure the customer to have the work done immediately, but rather give a
liberal period of time in which the labor end of the cost would apply
(ordinarily 3 years, as long as they maintain at least a yearly tuning). A
lot of customers will want to budget such work in, but if you are willing to
be a little patient, you'll see a lot of shop work coming in down the road.
I'll have people call out of the clear blue, and say, "I'm ready to do that
repair work now."
4. Take a real interest in your customers, and see them as real people. I
always ask about family members (as they do about mine) and a lot of the
time spend a few minutes before I leave just visiting, not for some hidden
profit motive, but just because I enjoy sharing with them. You mentioned
once that you had a lot of phone hang-ups. I don't know exactly how abrupt
these hang-ups are, but I do know that once you establish a cordial,
friendly relationship with customers, you'll rarely have anyone treat you
rudely over the phone. They might ask to have you call back when their
budget looks healthier, but always in a friendly way.
5. Whether out in the field or in your shop, don't cut corners with your
work. Always do the best job you're capable of. I know a lot of people
disagree with me on this, but I never charge for unexpected work that I
didn't anticipate. If I didn't see it, and it has to be done, I eat the
labor cost. I hate it when repair shops call me and say, "Mr. Behm, we ran
into some extra problems. It's going to cost more than we quoted you." I
refuse to do that to my customers. I will tell them of the extra work I did,
but that there's no charge. This may not make the best business sense in the
short term, but I can tell you that in the long term, having the reputation
that you are good to your word is invaluable, and you will reap the rewards
of the resulting customer loyalty that results.
Well, those are some of my ideas. Do other established tuners have some
advise for the person new to an area in building a business? I know that 30
some years ago, when I was dying for the phone to ring, I would have
appreciated any advise that would have helped put food on the table. Chuck
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