>Yes, this has been a slow month for me too. April was my best >month in my >first year of full time business. (January was REALLY dead.) >By the way, for those of you who followed the thread about >yellow pages >advertising; I did miss the deadline for the phone company's >yellow pages >listing, but I found a private company that publishes a >"Community Phone >Book". They probably don't get as much use as the big book, but >the rates >were considerably less. It comes out in October. >Wally Scherer >WallyTS@compuserve.com I'm sure that slow periods plague us all and have always been something of a mystery to me. For me this year, Jan. & Feb. were are so busy I could hardly keep up with the work. Then about March 1, my business went from gangbusters to zilch literally over night like someone turning off a faucet. How does this happen? It's like all of my customers have some sort of telepathic connection and form a mutual agreement that their piano tuner should starve this month. It's darn right spooky is what it is. Don't bother calling or sending reminders, they've already made up their minds. They will call when they are darn good and ready and not one second sooner. Hopefully I've got something in the shop to work on. As for yellow pages, IMHO they are of marginal use to piano techs. In my area (Des Moines), the guy with the biggest ad has the least business and the only guy that does more business than I do not only doesn't have a yellow pages ad but his phone number is unlisted! Unlike plumbing or electrical work, piano service is on a more personal level and most people want a reference from someone they trust to find someone to work on their beloved instrument. In fact, I'll tell you what you usually get for your advertising dollars. You get annoying calls from comparison shoppers looking for the lowest price. And since I don't have it, you can bet they won't call back. Besides, these are not the kind of customers you want anyway. Dave Bunch Dave Bunch Piano Service PDtek@aol.com http://members.aol.com/pdtek/piano.html
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