Substitute Tuners-"stealing customers"

[A440A@aol.com]

Greetings all,

Barb writes;
>I'm brand new in my area (one month) and would be thrilled to fill in for
>someone or get leftovers at this point.  And I am not into stealing people's
customers...... <snip>

     A new tuner must get business from  somewhere, since we "can't take it
with us".  Since they will be tuning pianos others were tuning before,
 unless a newly arrived tech is willing to wait on a local tech to move or
die, , they are going to have to take work away from another technician.

    If you go to another tech's customer, and offer a lower price,  you are
basically saying that the other guy is overcharging.  Hard feelings will
follow.

    If you go to another tech's customer, and leave them with a tuning that
is nicer than what they ever had before, then you are competing on the basis
of quality, and there is no defensible ground for hard feelings if you get
the account, ( just because there is no base for anger doesn't  mean it won't
be there, but  you need never defend doing quality work, the lesser tech must
either improve, charge less, or become bitter).  We hate competition, but it
makes us better technicians.

    A case in point;
   Having been called (emergency basis) to tune another techs
customer's piano, I tuned it and found a number of horribly out of level
strings,  I could hear the whine and whistle when I tried to tune the
unisons. Since I could not leave a piano sounding like that with my name on
the tuning,  I spent an additional 10 minutes on the strings, tuned it, and
charged for the tuning, (much higher than they were accustomed to).
      WELL!!  the customer  called me back and said their piano had never
sounded so good,  they even mentioned several notes that had always sounded
twangy were now, for the first time, in tune!!  The other tech lost the
account, and when he confronted me about it, I was able to look him in the
eye and tell him that not only did I not solicit this account, but that I
charged more than he did, so he should ask the customer why this happened.
 He now levels more strings, he is a better technian, and there is one less
chink in his armor. It will be more difficult to take an account from him
now.
    We should all endeavor to higher skills, and money is one good motivator
to do so.
    Those that seek independance will have to forge out there and create
their clientele.  If you do it with mediocre work, at a great price, you will
create one kind of customer base,  but you will have built your house on
sand.  If you maintain very high standards, and charge the going rate,
progress is slower, but you will  build a foundation of the highest paying,
most demanding customers.
     Every city has techs at a variety of prices, I think this is because
there is a variety of the quality of work. The natural sifting of business
eventually rewards longterm commitment to quality.
     What I would really like to see are the thoughts on this subject from
those with the longest perspective.  We are fortunate on this forum to have
access to the wisdom of the years possessed by the likes of  Ernie Juhn, Jim
Coleman, etal...  I would really like to hear some of their views on the
business of being in business as it relates to competing with your fellow
techs.  Some of you guys want to tell us what it looks like from the long
view??

Regards to all,
Ed Foote
Precision Piano Works
Nashville, Tn.