Marshall I think in your situation, if you have to tell a customer you need to come back to fix something, I don't think it's going to look bad. Where do you draw the line in what you take with you? Even with just about all the tools and extra parts I carry in the back of my car, there are still times when I tell a customer I have to come back. I used to take a big case on wheels, with a lot of extra tools, supplies, paper work, etc. with me into every house. Sometimes I had to carry that heavy thing up 30 or 40 steps. Then I realized that I usually only need those extra tools, etc. only abut 10% of the time. So why carry that big thing in when you don't need most of the stuff? So now I care a small red bag, in which I have my roll of tools, my SAT, a small flashlight, a small bottle of Protek, and in the side pocket, a pad of paper. I also have a small towel, to wipe the sweat off my face and arms when it gets too hot. The bag has a shoulder strap, and weighs no more than 5 or 6 pounds. All my other tools and supplies are in my car. I realize that having them in my car is a lot more convenient than at home, but for you that might be a perfect excuse to schedule another appointment to do the work that needs to be done. Which is another topic, but along the same lines, I schedule my appointments an hour and half apart. That gives me enough time to tune the piano, chat a little with the customer, and drive to my next appointment. (realizing, of course, that I schedule my appointments close enough to each other, so that I don't have to drive more than 10 or 15 minutes). I do this even for new customers. If more repairs are needed than I have time for, I make another appointment. I never cancel my "next" appointment, to finish work on another appointment. By setting up another appointment, you can make sure you have all the supplies and tools you need for just that one job. You can also allow enough time to do that job, instead of trying to hurry, to get to your next appointment. Good luck and Happy New Year. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Marshall Gisondi <pianotune05 at hotmail.com> To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Thu, Dec 30, 2010 4:14 pm Subject: [pianotech] tools I always try to keep the tools I have as organized as possible, but the trouble I have is that the inside of my tool box is black, well the outside is too. lol We were given these stupid stanley tool boxes that have the two little doors on top yellow, and the plastic insert inside. The tool box doesn't hold much. Someone e-mailed mentioning to bring the bare minimum but that leads to a question. If I only bring tuning tools and a few extras, does it make me look bad if I have to come back again to do a job i.e. replace a string? Taking public transit adds a new dinamic because one can only carry or roll so much stuff around, so knowing exactly what to bring is my toughest challenge. I find that I at times bring things I don't use real often, but could have used something I wish I brought along. If I tune in bad areas, I do use a bag that looks more like a computer case so that anyone would suspect I'm carrying tools. Marshall Marshall Gisondi Piano Technician Marshall's Piano Service pianotune05 at hotmail.com 215-510-9400 www.phillytuner.com Graduate of The School of Piano Technology for the Blind www.pianotuningschool.org Vancouver, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101230/3d954961/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC