<div> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">John,<br> <br> I have one on my website.  I haven't gotten much business out of it.  IF it was a hassle I'd probably get rid of it.  But I thought I'd offer you a cautionary tale...<br> <br> The way I had it originally, there was no disclaimer on it saying that the gift certificate must be purchased.  It seemed as plain as day to me that it was not a "free tuning" coupon.  But lo and behold, I was called by a woman who inquired about tuning, we booked an appointment, I pitch raised and tuned the piano, and at the end of the job was presented with the gift certificate downloaded and printed from my website!!!<br> <br> I was pretty angry about it, but in the end, I only had myself to blame, really.<br> <br> Just be careful how you word it...<br> <br> Dave Stahl, RPT<br> <br> <a href="http://www.dstahlpiano.net/">Dave Stahl Piano Service</a></font><br> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font></div> <div> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> -----Original Message-----<br> From: Willem Blees <wimblees@aol.com><br> To: pianotech@ptg.org<br> Sent: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 9:29 pm<br> Subject: Re: gift certificates<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_c3d46a1b-9a3c-432a-80a5-d7b98d89fdd1"> <wbr>John<br> <br> Offering a gift certificate will not significantly increase the bottom line in the short run. But when the recipient gets the gc, that customer will get a warm a fuzzy feeling about you. And that, my friend, will wind up giving you a lot more customers in the long run. <br> <br> <div style="clear: both;">Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<br> Piano Tuner/Technician<br> Honolulu, HI<br> Author of <br> The Business of Piano Tuning<br> available from Potter Press<br> <a href="http://www.pianotuning.com" target="_blank">www.pianotuning.com</a></div> <br> <br> -----Original Message-----<br> From: John Formsma <<a href="mailto:formsma@gmail.com">formsma@gmail.com</a>><br> To: Pianotech List <<a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a>><br> Sent: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 5:35 pm<br> Subject: Re: gift certificates<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_08f7c9d1-a0e2-4e55-b7f4-3b7ade8056fb"> <div class="gmail_quote">On Nov 27, 2007 9:17 PM, MICHAEL MEZHINSKY <<a href="mailto:pghpianotuning@yahoo.com">pghpianotuning@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Calibri"> Hi All, </font></span></div> <div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-us"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-us"><font face="Calibri">Do you guys offer any gift certificates? </font></span></div> <div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-us"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-us"></span><span lang="en-us">Thanks,</span></div> <font color="#888888"> <div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-us">Michael Mezhinsky RPT </span></div> </font></blockquote> <div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div> <div>I don't.  I would if I thought it would increase my bottom line.  But in thinking about it, it seems like more effort than it's worth.  I have had people say they would purchase a piano tuning for someone.  I usually just bill them, but I've only done this for regulars.  </div> <div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div> <div>If anyone has an idea that actually has worked for them, I'd certainly be interested in hearing about it.</div> </div> <br> -- <br> JF<br> <br> A reminder about a presidential debate tomorrow night.  8:00 p.m. ET on CNN or online at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/debates">http://www.youtube.com/debates</a> </div> <div class="AOLPromoFooter"> <hr style="margin-top: 10px;"> More new features than ever. Check out the new <a target="_blank" href="http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/mailtour/aol/en-us/text.htm?ncid=aolcmp00050000000003">AOL Mail</a>!<br> </div> </div>