software/technology question back

[pianoman]

Dear Brad and list,
I have found in my business that when clients call they want to talk to me.
 I tried for a while long ago to have my wife answer the phone and did not
get good results.  They , I think, didn't like talking to someone else
about their piano even if she was my wife.
What has been working well for me is everyone who calls my number gets call
transferred to my voice mail.  It pages me and I call it to see who it is
and what they want.  I can then make the choice whether to call them back
right now or wait till I get home.  It works well if something comes up and
you have a void to fill.  Most of the time someone will call up with a
request for a tuning in a hurry.  It happened for me just yesterday to fill
a last minute cancellation.
James Grebe
R.P.T. from St. Louis
pianoman@inlink.com
"Only my best is good enough"

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> From: Brad Smith <bsmith006@sprintmail.com>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: software/technology question
> Date: Tuesday, November 18, 1997 5:47 AM
> 
> Thanks for your responses.  It may be too early to do it.  Also, I had
> not planned to depend on a web page to attract new customers, only to 
> help eliminate phone tag for my existing customers. I have used fax,
> email, voice mail, carrier pigeon, etc. to book appointments. Right now,
> my wife is booking tunings, and she has almost doubled the amount I was
> booking before I finally delegated the task. 
> 
> A customer could log on to a web site with an ID#, see a display of my
> monthly calendar, then  click on days and times to choose an
> appointment. My parameters would already be in the calendar such as: 
> No early rush hour appointments in Boston, or late rush hour from
> Boston, etc. (Sounds like I'm prejudiced against Boston, doesn't it?) 
> Or, tailored routing of different towns which are adjacent.  
> 
> I have purchased over the web, and it looks like it is getting more
> common.  Many businesses are opting to steer people toward their web
> page, instead of sending them brochures for instance. Look at us now, we
> are conversing regularly with this list, and I would dearly miss it if
> it were not there. Same goes for my cell phone. 
> 
> I have asked several customers if they would use such a service, and
> they have all been receptive to it. I figure if it cost me a week's work
> to set it up, it would not be long before it paid for itself in time
> spent doing phone tag. I'm just not sure how to do it. And, what
> software could I use at home, which could be reflected on the web page
> as appoinments get booked. Thanks again, I'll let you know if/when I
> get this happening. I appreciate any insights you have.
> 
> Brad Smith, RPT
> Manchester, NH