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<DIV><FONT size=3>and the point of this post is?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Marshall</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Pianofxrguy@aol.com
href="mailto:Pianofxrguy@aol.com">Pianofxrguy@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, January 22, 2006 =
1:21
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> An open letter to =
Marshall</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=2><FONT
id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>I would make this a private e-mail to Marshall, but he has been =
very
public in his comments:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Marshall,</DIV>
<DIV> This is John, one of the other South Bend =
tuner/techs. I am a lurker on the list, because I only get to =
check
every couple of days and by the time I could make a comment on a topic =
it has
usually been well commented on by everyone else. I greatly value
the information shared among piano technicians on this forum and =
find
that it echoes the general helpfulness when techs get together in
person.</DIV>
<DIV> I feel that you need to chill out a bit =
in your
opinion of this area and the current piano business atmosphere. The =
"one"
local dealer has survived because he concentrates on selling pianos
and being of service to his customers instead of bashing other =
dealers
and their products the way the rest of the, now defunct, dealers =
in this
area have done. I have done floor tunings for him for over 30 =
years, and
there are 2 other tuners who also tune at the store part of the =
time. I
don't know, but I suspect that having yet another tuner coming in =
would be a
bit of overkill. </DIV>
<DIV> If you recall from our conversation a =
year or so
ago, I told you that I didn't have time to do a mentor/apprentice =
thing with
you but that the Potter course would be a good start and then you =
should get
further information from someone with knowledge about the particular =
things
you would need to learn as a sight challenged tuner. I also told you =
that I
would be happy to answer any questions that you had, but that =
following me
around on the days that I tuned in the store would be inconvenient for =
my work
and a little uncomfortable for the dealer. Most dealers don't want =
people
wandering around the store who aren't either customers or doing =
some sort
of work. A store is a place of business, after all. If you had come in =
once a
month or so, as I suggested, there was some work, for instance =
de-stringing a
grand piano in the back room, that I was going to hire you to do. It =
would
have been good experience for you, kept me doing what I am mainly =
there to do,
and the dealer was fine with the arrangement. You never came back. I =
didn't
know whether that meant you were not all that interested in learning =
the
business or if you took offense at something I had said. I can now =
assume the
latter.</DIV>
<DIV> In our area, every piano tech that I know =
of has
come in and taken a couple of years to get up and running with a =
business,
working other jobs at first to make ends meet and some finally going =
full
time. Each one has built up a client base and developed their =
reputation and
has worked hard to keep their business afloat. I don't think that any =
of us is
"hogging" piano customers, and I know that none of us is wealthy =
enough to
stop taking on new ones. Unlike most other service businesses, tuners =
from
time to time call another tuner to cover for them at a particularly =
busy time
of year or if there are scheduling conflicts that can't be overcome, =
but we
call on people whose tuning skills we are familiar with and whom we =
trust with
the piano of one or more of our valued customers. You have been in the =
business a month or two and none of us knows anything about your work. =
You may
be a fine tuner, but it is unlikely that I would recommend you to =
someone who
trusts my judgement until I know that you would do a satisfactory job. =
If you
screw up, I get the blame. </DIV>
<DIV> I think you need to work on your attitude =
toward
the other tuners in the area, every one of which has been in some =
measure
willing to talk to you and answer questions as far as I =
know. Regarding
our area; I have lived here all my life and love this area, even with =
its
artistic deficiencies, but if I hated being here, I think that would =
show in
my relations with my customers. If you are truly wanting to get =
started around
here, it would be to your benefit to work well with others. No one =
owes you a
start in this business, but if any of us can send something your way =
when it
seems appropriate, it is likely we would do it once we know who and =
what we
are dealing with. </DIV>
<DIV> I have, perhaps, been a little free with =
the
terms "we" and "us" since I haven't talked to anyone else about this. =
In fact,
I only know 4 other tuners personally, but from my understanding of =
the ones
that I know and from what I know about the others, I think we're a =
pretty laid
back bunch and fairly easy to get along with given a little effort. =
Call any
tuner you wish and offer some suggestions about how to demonstrate =
your skills
and I think you might pick up some referrals, but it would be best not =
to
assume that a tuner has a lot of time to chat in the evening as he/she =
is
either making business calls of their own or trying to spend a little =
time
with their family. Brief and to the point makes a good call, =
maybe set up
a mutually agreeable time to have a longer conversation. I would not =
suggest
that you make this your primary source of customers, however, because =
other
tuners are in the business of building their own customer base and it =
may be
that they would only have something for you once in a while. =
You
have had excellent advice from others on the list on the topic of =
starting to build a client list, including several things =
that I
wish I had heard of 30 years ago. </DIV>
<DIV> It all comes down to you and the effort =
that you
want to put out. If you are seriously considering moving, =
you would
probably not be working with a mind set of long term customer =
relations
and that might effect the way you go about it. I would encourage you =
to sell
your skills and personality rather than trying subterfuge to gain
business. Keeping a reputation of honest dealings is more =
valuable
in the tuning business maybe than in some other service related
fields.</DIV>
<DIV> I am pretty sure there are plenty of =
pianos in
the area if you have the desire and perseverance to stick it out =
through
the difficult times. </DIV>
<DIV> Sorry for the length of this e-mail, you =
should
see the stuff I left out.</DIV>
<DIV> Still available for consultation and =
question
answering,</DIV>
<DIV> John
Stroup </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
=
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