pitch raising-was "reply"

[EugeniaCar@aol.com]

James and all,

One piece of advice my teacher gave me was "always remember it is not your
fault that the customer hasn't had his piano tuned. And it will take you
longer to tune it since you must do a pitch adjustment if you want the piano
to sound good after you leave." This was one of the hardest lessons to learn
but it finally did sink in. And, thanks to LaRoy, I finally learned to
schedule the next appointment while I am still at the customer's. Since I
make it very clear that I will call to confirm before coming the next time, I
almost never have a customer cancel out on me.

In most cases I recommend tuning every six months and schedule it right then.
However, with a new customer whose piano required a pitch adjustment, I
schedule the next appointment for three months, assuming in either situation
that I want to continue to service this instrument (or work with this
customer!). If I don't, I do not mention the next appointment.

For a pitch adjustment, I have always charged my regular tuning fee plus a
pitch adjustment fee which is 1/2 my tuning fee. All the explanation has been
done prior to arriving at the customer's home; I always question very
thoroughly when setting the appointment so that the customer is prepared for
the larger fee. My explanation includes: "when pianos are not serviced
regularly, the pitch almost always drops over time and one tuning will not
bring it back to a stable pitch." My explanation also defines both the need
for the additional work (pitch raise usually) this time and the three month
time limit for the next appointment.

One key element to consider, when we all started in this business we made
concessions and offered innovative approaches to increase our customer base.
This is just good business sense and I applaud you who are continuing to do
so. Just remember that as your reputation and expertise grow, you can demand
a better profit for yourself. That too is good business sense.

Gina Carter

PS If the piano is over 50% flat, I do a double pitch raise and charge for
each plus the normal tuning fee.