<html> <body> William, You're correct, of course. It's just that in my experience, most changes have to do with price! Unfortunately! Avery At 04:27 PM 11/1/2006, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""> Avery,   It may be more than money.  I had a church choose me to do their pianos.  The last music person left and the new one wanted a change.  I did their pianos for a couple of years and, yes another music director came in.  It wasn’t that he disliked me, it was just that he grew up with this other tuner taking care of his pianos.  Go figure, there could be a thousand reasons.  The thing that is the hardest for me is to be thick skinned about it all.   William         PIANO BOUTIQUE William Benjamin Piano Tuner Extraordinaire <a href="http://www.pianoboutique.biz">www.pianoboutique.biz</a> The tuner alone, preserves the tone.   <hr> <div align="center"></div> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" eudora="autourl"> mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] On Behalf Of Kallie Swanepoel Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 4:04 PM To: 'Pianotech List' Subject: RE: piano tuning- fickle church accounts   Hi Avery and all   This was the best opinion on this subject to my knowledge so far.   It seems to be all about cost.  This is unfortunately the best way too loose existing clients, churches or not.   However, I'll never use the "cut throat" strategy myself, but for some reason some of the piano technicians in our city believe that they might get much more work if they can do the work as cheap as possible. Although I'm not the cheapest in town, I still have enough work to feed my family.   Kallie Swanepoel   Piano Tuner/Klavierstemmer   Skype Name: KallieSwanepoel Phone: +27 (0) 12 379 3762 Mobile: +27 (0) 83 261 6942 Voice Link: +27 (0) 88 129 8775 Fax: +27 (0) 86 633 2999 <a href="http://www.kallieswanepoel.co.za/"> http://www.kallieswanepoel.co.za</a> -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" eudora="autourl"> mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] On Behalf Of Avery Sent: 01 November 2006 21:58 To: Pianotech List Subject: RE: piano tuning- fickle church accounts Dean, etc. In my experience, it's usually because someone contacted them who's cheaper than you are. It normally doesn't have much to do with the quality of your work! :-( Thankfully, the few churches I do work for are faithful to me! Not to the price! Avery At 07:20 AM 11/1/2006, you wrote: I just lost a long time church account, no reason given. It is pretty frustrating as I have supplied concert pianos to them at no cost in years past for special events. The last time I was out their dampchaser was unplugged. I plugged it in, reminded them how important it was to keep it plugged in and came back in two weeks. It was unplugged again. I helped them get set up with an extension cord to plug it in further away. Now I’m out $170+ for two missed appointments. Next time I call the secretary tells me the board has decided to use someone else. Sigh. Twice I’ve nearly stopped by the church to press them for a reason, but I’ve decided to take the high road.   Whenever the pianist changes, music director or pastor, we are in danger of losing the account. Loyalty isn’t real high. That’s why it is important to send regular reminders to the office to let them know you are out there.   Dean   <hr> <div align="center"></div> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [ <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" eudora="autourl"> mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] On Behalf Of Leslie Bartlett Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 9:24 PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: FW: piano tuning   Years ago, a newbie, I tuned for this large church.  About three years in they replaced me without telling me.  That has been a few.  So I wrote their organist and asked him if he could recall why they replaced me. The reply left me somewhat amused.  Thought I would share it FWIW. les bartlett   <hr> <div align="center"></div> From: Scott / FoundryChurch] Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 9:58 AM To: l-bartlett@sbcglobal.net Cc: Joleen Subject: piano tuning Hi Les,   To be honest, I cannot remember much about why we changed tuners. We have actually had several tuners over the years.   I wish the best of luck to you in your continued endeavors.   SCOTT     -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.20/508 - Release Date: 10/31/2006</blockquote></body> </html>