<HTML><BODY STYLE="font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV>Terry,</DIV> <=
DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When I first got into the buisness 7 years ago, I d=
id not have letters after my name or any experience to brag about. =
So I just told the customer that if they didn't like the sound within 6 w=
eeks, they should call me and I would make it right. There was noth=
ing magical about 6 weeks, it just made my customer feel better that I wo=
uld stand behind my work. A few times it has bitten me, but I just =
got in the habit of saying it and I haven't stopped. In the cases w=
here the customer has called in my work, I have had an opportunity to bui=
ld a better business relationship with them and find out about what mista=
kes I might be making.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In my area people don=
't care about how much you know, they want to know how much you care.&nbs=
p; If their Starr Upright that Uncle Ferd kept in the barn for 25 years i=
s out two months after I tune it they don't care why, they just assume I =
did a bad job. The money I lose by going back and making them happy=
is nothing like the money I would lose if I let them talk about that Rut=
h feller that came and took my money and my piano is out of tune again.&n=
bsp; We can all build our skills but most (not all) customers don't and w=
on't appreciate that, what they can relate to is a reputation for being h=
onest and giving good service.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I always talk=
to my customers and let them know of what might happen in wierd (an=
d not wierd) situations. Tell them that a piano will always ne=
ed another tuning soon if I am raising the pitch a great deal. I kn=
ow however that people will remember what they want to remember. Ed=
ucate, educate, educate then don't nickle and dime them. </DIV> <DI=
V> </DIV> <DIV>mitch ruth</DIV> <DIV>demossville, Ky</DIV> <DIV>&nbs=
p;</DIV></BODY></HTML><br clear=all><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MS=
N Explorer download : <a href='http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer=
.msn.com</a><br></p>