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<DIV><FONT size=2>List,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Here's a question no-one has asked yet:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I entered this business, and joined our local =
chapter as an
Associate, two years ago. The chapter members have been very =
generous with
their advise and assistance. They have gotten to know me =
personally, and
become familiar with my skills and ethics. My written and =
technical exams
were administered and scored by chapter members. When I passed the =
tuning
exam at Reno and gained RPT status, these chapter members began =
referring work
to me. For the most part, it is tunings that they can't do or =
don't
want: emergency/short notice, too far away, PSO's, "I just =
inherited my
mother's Starck.." etc. But I'm definitely grateful, and =
appreciate having
the work and the growing client list. And most importantly, I =
appreciate
the implied message of acceptance as a colleague.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>So, here's the question: what's an appropriate =
way to
show my gratitude? None of these folks has ever asked for anything =
in
return, or hinted about a fee. Of course, I don't want to wait for =
them to
ask, if that is the accepted and customary way of saying =
"thanks".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>thanks in advance for your advice.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Mike Spalding</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:jon.page@verizon.net" =
title=jon.page@verizon.net>Jon Page</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, August 31, 2001 =
5:55
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: referall fees; =
last gasp
(reality)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=3>At 03:37 PM 08/30/2001 -0400, you =
wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite type="cite">My dear Aunt Piannagonebad lives in =
Saskatoon.
I do not live in your area. I told her that I know of a very =
reputable,
ethical, skilled and talented piano rebuilder in her area. But I =
gave her
your name instead. ;-) (Humor Roger, humor!) =
I gave
you a call and told you to expect a call my dear auntie. She signs a =
contract with you for you to do a complete job. $30,000 Canadian. =
Clearly,
you have this work becuase I sent it to you. Do you have a method to =
make me
really happy? Or do I just go to bed tonight feeling all warm and =
fuzzy
inside, but no T-bone for dinner? Who knows, I might have an Uncle
Piannasoontogobad in Sutherland!<BR> <BR>Keeping Cool in =
Tampa<BR>Terry
Farrell </FONT><FONT size=4></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Would =
you go into a
restaurant and ask for a free meal because you have recommended their
establishment<BR>to many people and they owe you
something? Ask your car mechanic how much he =
will fork
over if you<BR>send someone his way. Don't forget to call =
dentists,
doctors and other service personnel to see who offers<BR>the biggest =
referral
fee. How many pockets do you need to keep your hands into to increase =
your
income.<BR><BR>Whatever happened to customer service for its own =
sake?
If there is a service which you do not perform,<BR>would it not be in =
your
best interest to simply channel this work to someone competent?
<BR><BR>This gets close to what I consider the industry slimeballs - =
piano
brokers. They will charge the customer a <BR>fee and then behind =
their
backs tell the retailer that they will recommend their piano IF they =
give them
a <BR>sizable commission (extortion); double dipping. The =
customer (who
believes that this agent is acting in<BR>their best interest because =
that's
what they are paying them for) may not be directed to the best piano
for<BR>their needs, just the piano which offers more profit for =
the
agent.<BR><BR>Now don't forget to discount your tuning fee to your =
customer
who referred you to someone else and<BR>keep your wallet handy when =
asking
advise. After all, if you are charging for information; expect to pay =
for
it.<BR><BR>That'll be....$.02, please...<BR><BR>Regards,<BR>Jon
Page<BR><BR>PS That piano teacher you recommended, hit her =
up as
well.<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>