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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Some time ago, I started a thread about =
calling for
appointments, dealing with cold inquiries, and winning out over
cut-throat-rate-cutters and other "tooners." Many were kind enough to =
respond. I
just went through the posts and cleaned them up a bit. Here is the =
consolidated
info, for any who are interested.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Alan Barnard</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Salem, MO</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DIALING FOR DOLLARS</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Telephone call: "How much do you charge to tune a =
piano?" I
try to always answer a question like this with another question. In this =
case I
would probably respond with something like.. "Do you have a piano that =
needs
tuning ?" They might respond with a simple "yes" To which I might reply, =
"…and
what makes you feel it needs tuning now ?" They perhaps might comment on =
some
aural discomfort they are experiencing when playing the instrument. To =
which an
appropriate response might be on the lines of "Did your mother neglect =
you when
you were a child ?" I would continue thus until I had dug up enough =
information
to be able to ask any price I wanted. </DIV>
<DIV>
<P>1. I always ask how long it has been since last tuning, and about how =
the
piano might need a pitch raise. I ask them if they can play the piano =
over the
phone so that I can establish some sense of where the pitch might be. =
When done,
they have some idea if the piano will need a pitch raise, how many pitch =
raises,
and how much it will cost on top of the tuning. I absolutely HATE =
sitting at a
piano and having to tell the customer that it is going to cost more than =
I
thought! 2. No. Often the bozo will have low fees. If someone tells me =
that
Tommy Tooner only charges $$(something significantly less than my fee), =
I think
the best response is: "Tommy Tooner should know best what his services =
are
worth". And leave it at that. 3. Do good, prompt work, charge a fair =
fee, shower
in the morning, smile, and offer to put all their stupid &*%$ trash =
back on
top of the piano when done servicing it. (And pray to the goddesses =
often!) I
don't think there is much to do over the phone to get the caller's =
business. I
think often if they don't use your services, it may be the case that =
it's better
that way - you might regret it if you did get their business! I guess =
I'm just
not very aggressive over the phone. I will quote my price right off, and =
if I
hear a long silence, I'll then mention that often pianos that haven't =
been tuned
in a while sometimes need a pitch raise, mentioning that there is no =
extra
charge for this service. (My base price takes into account the =
occasional PR).
I'll also tell the customer I don't charge for mileage, and if I feel =
its
necessary, I'll tell them the first service includes a complete =
evaluation of
their piano at no additional charge. If any additional work is needed, I =
indicate that I'll be able to tell them what a repair will cost when I =
see what
is needed to fix it, and that they will know ahead of time the charge =
for any
additional repairs. If by then they haven't committed to an appointment =
based on
my fee, I probably don't want them as a customer anyway, as they are =
only
shopping around for a cheap price. I'd rather have a customer become a =
regular
because of the quality of my work and a friendly, informative manner =
than a low
price. Price shoppers often have little loyalty and will leave you as =
quickly as
they came for a lower figure. </P>
<P>I never badmouth another in the business. His/her work will speak for =
itself
whether good or bad. It’s not professional to talk in any but a =
positive way
about a competitor, and if you can't be truthfully positive, say =
nothing. </P>
<P>A few simple rules apply here. Be courteous, friendly and =
professional both
on the phone and in person. Take the time to explain to the customer (if =
they
show interest) about their piano. Always be truthful and keep your =
promises, no
one likes surprises especially where money is concerned </P>
<P>I answer the question. I don't worry about what the customer is going =
to do
with the information. If they are price shopping, they will get what =
they want.
It's not my problem that there is someone out there charging half price =
for
doing crummy work. That's the customer's problem. If they can't tell the =
difference, they'll never call me back. Eventually, however, if they do =
know the
difference, they'll call and ask me to tuner their piano, regardless of =
how much
it cost. Just keep doing the best job you know how, and give the =
customer the
information they request. Pretty soon you won't have to worry about the =
other
"tooner" in town, because he'll have moved on to doing other things, =
like
pumping gas, or mowing lawns. </P>
<P>I tell them a standard tuning is 80.00, or whatever you charge, like =
at
1st.Baptist, Erskine College or somewhere I tune for at least on a =
yearly basis.
(Throw some names that will give clout to your business ) Then I ask low =
long
has it been since it's been tuned, and I will explain the pitch =
raise-option and
my pricing for it. I use ballpark prices to some extent and explain that =
until I
see the instrument that's all I can do. A dead key might be a broken =
key, a
broken string, flange unglued, bad elbow, etc...which all carry =
different
prices, if I only had a crystal ball. After years of experience, you can =
usually
guess pretty close, from conversation. If it has been years since =
tuning, you
know to prepare them for a pitch raise. Always ask first where they are =
calling
from, and throw hints to someplace, or someone you service, that might =
influence
them to do business with you. Usually, with price shoppers, I will try =
to tell
the person that the first thing they should ask a piano tuner is: "Are =
you a
member to the Piano Technicians Guild?" If this goes over ok, then I =
explain to
them the advantages and the classifications we have. Also, I try to let =
them
know that shopping for bargains in "Service" is not generally a good =
idea. I try
to avoid talking about the local "schlocks" unless specifically asked =
and then I
refer them to the first part of the conversation</P>
<P>I don't have a problem discussing price ... that's why they're =
calling in the
first place. If they're price shopping, I'll lose. If they're trying to =
get a
'feel' for a person coming into their home, I win. It doesn't matter to =
me
whether I get that 'cold call' or not. If the call is a referral, price =
doesn't
matter. If it's a real cold call, I'll tell them as much as I can from =
'their'
description of 'their' instrument. I try to keep the surprises to a =
minimum.</P>
<P>I got tired of trying to educate people. Of course after the piano =
was tuned
they loved it, but when you call back after a couple of months for the
"regularly priced follow up to the 100 cent pitch raise" tuning, many of =
them
would tell me "It still sounds fine". So, I just figured that particular =
area
had no use for a piano technician, and indeed didn't deserve one, and I =
left.
Life's too short to have to struggle on neglected instruments 90% of the =
time,
plus you don't really get to develop your skills too much beyond the =
"repair it,
it's broke" level. Hope my experience doesn't parallel yours too =
closely, but it
sounds kind of familiar to me. One of my best tech friends here worked =
in
Kentucky. He said it was a constant string of neglected spinets, so he =
got out
too. </P>
<P></P>
<P>1. Yes. Wouldn't you want to know if the roles were reversed? I keep =
the
Golden Rule in mind. 2. I'm not aware of any in this area, but if I =
were, I
would do my steering in an indirect way. I try to find out if the =
prospective
client just got my name from the phone book. If they did and are just =
price
shopping, I suggest that they may want to check with several friends who =
are
satisfied with their piano technicians before making a decision. 3. I =
advertised
a lot at the beginning. Nowadays I work at maintaining my credibility, =
treat my
clients well, return phone calls promptly, take the time needed to talk =
on the
phone, learn good listening skills, go the second mile, etc. </P>
<P>I'd like the list to share ideas about this: Telephone call: "How =
much do you
charge to tune a piano?" 1. If it is obvious from the conversation that =
a pitch
raise or other work will be needed, do you talk about charges beyond the =
standard tuning? I very politely tell people my basic rate for a tuning, =
which
covers an hour and a half of my time. Anything beyond that time gets =
charged at
an hourly rate. The hour and a half will normally cover a pitch raise if =
necessary (though the 1/2 step pitch raise I did a few weeks ago ended =
up being
about 2 hours worth of work). I explain that if there is time remaining =
once I
am done tuning, I will do minor adjustments, and/or clean the instrument =
inside
and out. Service is the name of the game. People appreciate attention to =
detail,
and cleaning is something even the musically challenged can =
appreciate....) </P>
<P>2. If you have a reeeeally incompetent bozo 'tooner' in the area =
(armed with
a tuning hammer and electronic guitar tuner and literally does not know =
the
meaning of the terms temperament, tempered tuning, inharmonicity, etc.) =
do you
try in any way to steer the caller away from that person? I do try to =
get the
business away from him, but not by being negative about that person, =
rather by
pointing out the advantages to my work. </P>
<P>3. What "techniques" do you use to try and secure the business? See =
answer to
question 1. Being competent, thorough, polished, and polite will win =
most people
over. I also make sure to present a neat bill, along with a service =
sticker that
they can put inside of their bench (NOT in the piano), and a few =
business cards
that they can keep one of and give the others to their friends.</P>
<P></P>
<P>I will demonstrate to a customer what in-tune and out-of-tune sounds =
like: I
find a really ripe trichord and have the customer listen to that =
compared to the
same note with 2 out of 3 strings muted. So far, everyone has heard the
difference and agreed that the clean sound is better. There is then no =
question
that the piano needs to be tuned</P>
<P>A few of you have mentioned you don't charge for pitch raises because =
you can
do it within your normal tuning time. IMHO, this is making the customers =
problem
yours and I know this is more wear and tear on my body, going through it =
twice
is harder. I'm willing to take up the customers problem but I want to be =
paid
for it. Part of my phone conversation is the fact that regular service, =
i.e.
once or twice a year, will eliminate pitch raises and I guarantee that =
if they
set up for the next appointment. I quote for the next appointment =
"whatever is
my going rate." All customers get price increases. My normal rate is for =
one
hour of work, which is how long it takes me to tune a piano at pitch, =
quick
vacuum of accessible areas and minor pedal adjustments. Pitch raise =
takes about
an extra 15 minutes. I also charge by the hour for all repairs etc. I =
don't see
the logic in breaking down a repair into: 1 broken hammer repair=$X, 1 =
string
replace=$X.etc...sometimes the repair takes longer than estimated =
time...I
simply say if I'm there for 2 hours or whatever it will cost $X amount. =
2 hours
would be twice my rate. How many of you take into consideration travel =
time to
the appointment? Is that built into your fee structure or do you figure =
it is
cost of doing business. For me, it takes roughly 15 minutes to get to =
the next
job and I don't add that to my fee but I'm thinking about it. I think =
the bottom
line is to look at how much money you made today and divide it by the =
hours
spent. Look at your hourly take home fee and start calling other service =
in the
home companies, plumbers etc. to see how you match up.</P>
<P>Believe it or not I often ask who their last tuner was if they had it =
tuned
within a year. If it is someone that I know is competent, I have no =
qualms
mentioning that and asking them why they are looking for someone new. =
Usually,
they can't get a hold of the guy, he didn't return there call, he can't =
do it
for a month or sometimes they had a bad experience. I can learn from =
this info.
On my answering machine I encourage them to call my cell phone if they =
would
like to talk person to person. I have a Palm with my scheduling info on =
it and
often can book something... I advertised a lot at the beginning. =
Nowadays I work
at maintaining my credibility, treat my clients well, return phone calls =
promptly, take the time needed to talk on the phone, learn good =
listening
skills, go the second mile, etc. I also think you have to be in the =
Yellow Pages
to be legitimate.</P>
<P>I ALWAYS charge for anything other than a tuning; David I. is right; =
it's
wear and tear on your body, and you should be rewarded richly for it. We =
as a
group—piano technicians—have consistently undervalued our massive =
skill sets,
and are uniformly underpaid, I realized how good my work was compared to =
the
level of most of my contemporaries in this town, and raised my prices =
across the
board---in 3 years, my basic tuning fee has risen 50%; my hourly rate =
has risen
35%. I have not experienced any significant loss of customers; in fact, =
the word
of mouth has miraculously gotten better and better. I think people =
intuitively
know they get what they pay for. I pretty much refuse to deal with
price-shoppers and "bangers," people who are always trying to shave =
dollars.
It's too frustrating, and 9.8 times out of 10, those people are not the =
stuff
long-term respectful clients are made of. I have clients I've worked =
with for
20+ years; I'm treated with extreme respect, offered water, coffee,
food----treated like an honored guest in their homes. And that's the way =
I treat
service people in my home … the Golden Rule works. Honor yourself, =
treat
yourself like a king or queen. You deserve it</P>
<P>>I also think you have to be in the Yellow Pages to be legitimate. =
Sez
who? I have advertised only once in my career----I sent fliers to about =
2500
homes when I moved to Malibu from Long Beach in 1988----got maybe 25 new =
clients, 10 of whom I still service. Word of mouth is the strongest and =
best
advertising in the world. Personal referral takes away an entire layer =
of
mistrust and skepticism. Improve your skills on as steep a curve as you =
can
manage; be honest; treat other people as you wish to be treated; be =
accountable;
don't make excuses. Incredibly, that's so rare in any service field that =
your
success is virtually guaranteed.</P>
<P>Legitimate for the perusing, potential customer who hasn't been given =
a
referral. They are out there, you know and they sometimes have great =
pianos </P>
<P>I give the customers a ballpark range for the first time I meet their =
pianos.
The lower number is the minimum charge, and the upper number is assuming =
a
2-hour service call that might include pitch correction, minor repairs,
regulation or voicing touch-up, etc. Customers are usually pretty =
pleased if the
service call ends up being less than 2 hours and are willing to pay for =
work
beyond the basic tuning</P>
<P>Every area has at least one "tooner." If a customer asks me if I know =
this
individual, I might give a non-answer indicating that because piano work =
is
basically a solitary operation, I really have no real reason to know =
first-hand
"Bozo's" level of competency. If the customer tries to press the issue, =
my
advice is usually to attend a performance that "Bozo" tuned for [if they =
can
find such a phenomenon]. Then comes the next question. "Why do you =
charge so
much? "Bozo" only charges $ to tune." That's cool. "Bozo" knows what to =
charge
for the level of service rendered. If you know people who have hired =
"Bozo," ask
them to tell you more. If not ... well, you're always free to find out =
for
yourself. [Let them decide what matters most -- quality or price.] =
Sometimes the
discussion can get quite colorful, with much back-and-forth about how =
much they
think you might "need" their business. There are some customers whom I =
swear are
"professionals" at demanding top-flight service at discount-warehouse =
prices,
and have a track record of getting good service people to "cave in" to =
their
demands. No, I don't need that kind of business and may say something to =
the
effect that "there are reasons why I charge what I will for service, and =
I have
plenty of business even as we speak." Listen. Listen! LISTEN!! Find out =
what the
customer hopes to get from the piano. Pay particular attention to the =
house
pianist(s) regardless of the age or years of experience. Even if no =
house
pianists are present while you're servicing the piano, find out what you =
can
about them, what kinds of music they like, whether or not there are =
performances
coming up (recitals at the teacher's studio, church, school, etc.). =
Treat all
members of the household with respect. That includes the pets, and yes, =
even the
plants. Early in my career, I was often hired back because the dog was =
relaxed
around me (and therefore quiet), or the cat would come out of hiding =
(and
therefore less likely to leave rude surprises out of nervousness). I =
maintained
a good working relationship with a customer until they moved out of the =
area
because I knew something about caring for certain houseplants. There are =
some
customers out there for whom this kind of stuff is more important than =
your
technical abilities ... and they are the ones most likely to freely give =
word-of-mouth referrals. These are the people who will help keep you in =
business
and out of the price wars as you go about honing your technical =
skills.</P>
<P>I show interest in the customer, if he likes it take some time for =
small
talk. Take note of points of interest. Birthday, Wife birthday, ... , =
Use them
to send greeting cards. Let them know you can remind him of future =
tuning and
service dates, do it. Send them occasionally info about the piano or new =
things
you consider of interest. Works pretty well.</P>
<P>If, after the tuning, you ask the customer if they would like to be =
called at
the same time next year, or in six months, (whatever schedule they are =
happiest
with), THEN when you call, you can lead off by saying "I was asked to =
call at
this time......" I find a better rate of return with this method than =
calling
them up and telling them it is time to tune their piano.</P>
<P>The need for piano tuning is like the need to get your teeth cleaned. =
6 moths
or a year goes by in a hurry. And just like your teeth, it is difficult =
to
realize something has gone awry, since it happens so gradually. That is =
why a
gentle reminder is not a bad idea. But, as Alan said, customers don't =
always
respond to a cold call. Most of the time customers hang up without =
really
listening to who you are, or what your are trying to "sell" them, =
because to
them, you're just another phone solicitor. That is why I send out =
reminder post
cards. There are some available from the home office, or you can make =
your own.
The reminder card is a non invasive way to let your customers know that =
it has
been 6 months, or a year, since you were there, and that it is time to =
get the
piano tuned again. (I send out reminder cards for 4 years. It's amazing =
how many
people call you even after 4 years, not realizing it's been that long). =
The post
card allows them to schedule an appointment at their own convenience, =
whenever
they want to get around to it. You will find that they are much more =
receptive
to having you in their house when they have invited you, than when you =
have
asked them for the appointment. It is also a time saver for you. I used =
to call
my customers. I even sent them a post card telling them I was going to =
call
them. Then one year, over a six month period of time, one month I sent =
out a
post card telling the customer I would call them, and then the next =
moth, I
asked them to call me. After six months, there was no significant =
difference in
my income from one month to the next. Basically, I was getting the same =
number
of appointments during the months I was calling customers as I was when =
I was
asking them to call me. That was about 20 years ago, and I have never =
called a
customer to ask them to get the piano tuned. They always call me, and =
I'm saving
about 3 - 4 hours a week to do other things. The other advantage to the =
post
card is that it will get put on the refrigerator door, and it will stay =
there
for months. I have gotten phone calls from customer who got the reminder =
card 4
or 5 months before. It's also great free advertising. That post card on =
the
refrigerator will get seen by friends and family members. And when it =
gets sent
to churches and schools, the secretaries and other staff members often =
see the
reminder cards. For the little amount of money the post card cost, they =
are a
great way to build up your clientele.</P>
<P>.I don't actually pre-schedule with a specific date like some folks =
do. I
can't see how anyone knows what they will be doing that far in advance. =
In my
PIM program I enter the info to call them in the agreed upon time frame =
and
their name pops at that time. Some people use tickler files which is a =
very
simple, effective way to make calls. </P>
<P>After many years of sending out reminder cards, I decided to see if =
the
personal touch would yield better results. My wife, with professional =
phone
experience, was nice enough to call my customers for several months =
instead of
sending cards to see if there would be an increase in repeat business. =
When I
compared the two methods the response rate was virtually identical, so I =
am back
to sending reminder cards. The only time these days that I want to call =
a
customer is to respond directly to a call of theirs that I missed. I =
believe
that anything else just feels like a phone solicitation to most people =
and gets
them in a defensive mode.</P>
<P>I don't do anything. If the customer, for whatever reason, decides =
not to
have me tuner the piano, that's his/her problem. Perhaps that customer =
has
moved, gotten another tuner, or simply doesn't feel the piano needs to =
be tuned.
But I'm not going to chase after them to get the work. I don't take them =
out of
my computer either, (or throw away the card with he information, if =
you're still
keeping record the old fashioned way), until I get word that he/she is =
no longer
in the area. I have had customers come back to me after 4 or 6 years, =
when they
finally realized that the cheaper tuner didn't give them what they =
wanted. </P>
<P>When I leave the customer after tuning, I recommend tuning yearly (if =
its
appropriate) and ask them if they would like a reminder call next year =
at this
time. Nearly everyone says yes. When a year has passed, I call, =
introduce myself
as the piano technician who serviced their piano last year and ask them =
if
"Their piano would like to see me this year?" I get about a 50% positive =
response. People's lives in general, are very busy, and most welcome a =
call to
service their piano especially if there is a piano student in the home. =
I
mention the fact that if my dentist didn't call and remind me its time, =
I
probably would never see him. They usually agree with a smile. Cards for =
me
don't work. I tried the card routine for a couple of years, and got =
almost no
response. Maybe 1 or 2 % return. Even had some made up by an artist that =
I
thought were more effective that PTG's. They weren't. Everyone has their =
own
means of repeat business, and more power to those whose customers seek =
them
out.</P>
<P>I currently have 358 people in my database; I'm fairly ruthless with =
deleting
people that I haven't talked to in 3-4 years, or who aren't nice, so =
that's a
pretty realistic picture of my number of clients. However, the heart of =
my
business is the 100 or so serious players that will, year after year, =
spend
$500-1000 per on piano maintenance, and are addicted to my tuning and =
voicing
and regulating skills. This is yet another inspiration I got from Ed =
McMorrow:
find good people that are fanatic about their instruments, and who =
understand
you get what you pay for, and trust you, and you'll make a good living =
forever.
I also work one day a week for the high-end piano store in LA, tweaking =
their
good pianos, a wonderful source of income and referrals. Because I =
really like
people, and have a generally excellent, quasi-intimate relationship with =
my
clients, they really appreciate a call from me … sending cards is, =
sadly, way
beyond my ADD-infected organizational skills----I'm in awe of you guys =
that are
that organized. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and focus for me =
just to
return all my phone calls and show up on time, which I now do about 95% =
of the
time----but it's taken me years of struggle to get to that level of =
reliability
... and I honor my long-term clients for putting up with my =
time-management
challenges. It's all about relationships; any successful businessperson =
will
tell you that.</P>
<P>At each appointment I ask the customer if they would like me to send =
them a
reminder notice for the next appointment. It gives an opportunity to =
discuss the
frequency of tunings and their particular needs. Almost always they say =
yes. I
always send cards a week or so prior to the month in which they are due =
for
service since I am usually booked out 3-4 weeks. If I don't hear from =
them, I
call prior to the next month's cards being sent to "follow up on the =
reminder I
sent". I often pick up several that way from those who put the card on =
the shelf
and forgot about it or who just needed a little prodding. If they don't =
want the
piano tuned I ask if they would like me to send them another reminder at =
one
year or whenever (I generally send them out every six months). That =
keeps me in
touch with the customers. I prefer to send cards first because I don't
particularly like phone solicitations. It gives them a chance to respond =
on
their own time. If they don't, I feel justified in calling to make sure =
they got
the card because they asked me to send it in the first place.</P>
<P></P>
<P>I have been calling people when it's time (or when I think it's time) =
to
tune. Sometimes I get put off indefinitely or vaguely--they think the =
piano
sounds fine or don't want to spend the money, I suppose. Let me tell =
you, I try
not to suppose anything, whatever they tell me, my next line is "This is =
a
service I provide for all my customers, when should I call you back?" =
Most of
the times they will just tell me a date. If the piano has been long =
overdue, or
they keep giving me dates, or they say the piano just sounds fine for =
now, or
one of the most pathetic lines "My piano teacher says it is okay." I =
send them
either by email or fax "How to take care of your piano" where I do point =
out,
first that he cannot expect to have a piano well tuned if he lets it =
unserviced
for a long time, I tell him about his investment value and a good =
comparison is
to compare it to his car. After that I send him some links so he can =
check it in
Internet. My best advise for all of you, do not try to think why a =
customer will
not do a tuning when you call him, There was a time I used to worry =
about that,
now after a long time doing it, many of my customers tell me "I cannot =
do it
right now, but do not forget to call me, or Do not take me off your =
list."</P>
<P>I always ask customers if they want to be on my call list. this way I =
have
their permission to call. 2) I have an assistant who makes the calls for =
me.
It's better to have someone represent you. 3) If someone does not want =
to be on
the list or, they don't book after 3 calls, they get a postcard and no =
further
action is taken by me until they call. Hope this helps.
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