<DIV>Mathew</DIV> <DIV>Its understandable about wanting to try and discount as a mode of building clients. I tried offering free tunings to teachers for referals. Result...no referals, call backs about a click and a rattle. And when it was time to tune again. The piano sounds find. Call next year. Never to be tuned again. The secret is a hard one. Do excellent work, be pleasant, LISTEN to your client, know the people and the piano. Never comprimise on quality. Discounting is for bargain hunters and and they seldom become long term clients. Call your clients when its time to retune. During your appointments its a good idea to plant a seed in their head when you feel the piano will need tuning. Mark it on your calender. More times than not a recall will say we were just talking about you...when can you come. They say do anything long enough and you will have success. I say do anything with excellence and integrity. and success will be yours sooner. Greg Newell <gnewell@ameritech.net> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Well, Matthew, you can build your business any way you like. I choose not to discount. I think I'm worth more than that. I've never had a problem and I think I'm respected for sticking to my guns when people do ask. They haven't gone elsewhere to my knowledge so why give away what you don't have to? Might be different if I considered myself less than worthy or this was some kind of hobby but it is not. I have mouths to feed and bills to pay just like everyone else. Best wishes, Greg Newell At 05:02 PM 2/17/2005, you wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">Well...if we are all excellent tuners (and I know I have a ways to go), your tunings should hold up after only three months (especially in a climate controlled environment), right?  So, the second tuning after only several months shouldn't take as much work as the first one did.   And man, I ain't talkin a huge discount either.  I had in mind maybe $20 off the price of 4 tunings.   How far do ya think I travel for tunings? Greg Newell <gnewell@ameritech.net> wrote: <DL> <DD>Are you tuning less strings in subsequent visits after the first? Did it <DD>become easier to get there after the first time? Did GAS prices go down? <DD>..... then why are you offering a discount? <DD>Greg Newell <DD>At 04:21 PM 2/16/2005, you wrote: <DD>>Do any of you have churches where you tune four times a year? Well, I <DD>>guess any place for that matter...I know some of you tune same pianos each <DD>>week or every day. But I was wondering what kind of a discount would be <DD>>appropiate if a church wanted to be on a contract with you to have their <DD>>piano tuned four times a year. <DD>> <DD>> <DD>>Thanks! <DD>> <DD>> <DD>>Matthew Todd <DD>>Todd Piano Works <DD>>Piano Tuner/Technician <DD>>Tuning - Repairing - Regulating <DD>> <DD>>__________________________________________________ <DD>>Do You Yahoo!? <DD>>Tired of sp! am? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around <DD>><A href="http://mail.yahoo.com/" eudora="autourl">http://mail.yahoo.com</A> <DD>Greg Newell <DD>Greg's piano Forté <DD><A href="mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net" eudora="autourl">mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net</A> <DD>_______________________________________________ <DD>pianotech list info: <A href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" eudora="autourl">https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</A> </DD></DL> Matthew Todd Todd Piano Works Piano Tuner/Technician Tuning - Repairing - Regulating Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - <A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=30648/*http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/jibjabinaugural.html">Jib Jab's 'Second Term'</A> </BLOCKQUOTE><X-SIGSEP> </X-SIGSEP>Greg Newell Greg's piano Forté <A href="mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net" eudora="autourl">mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net</A> </BLOCKQUOTE> Richard the "Piano Guy"