Standard Newbie Line

[Farrell]

Terry:

I like just telling the truth. No problem glorifying it as much as possible
(did you go to a good school? - tell 'em what great training you have), but
no fibs or misleading information. I have been tuning in the field for two
years now. I have tuned perhaps 700 pianos so far. I estimate that about 5,
but certainly not more than 10, people have asked me how much experience I
have. We are talking about maybe 1% of calls. Nobody ever asks. In all
honesty it blows me away. I was kinda concerned about it at first also.

Just be careful to not overstep the boundaries of your experience. About a
year ago I got a call from a guy with a Bluthner grand who just moved here
from Washington state. He started asking me all about Bluthner actions and
how they differed from others & about the hi-end regulation work he was used
to. I asked him at what level does he play and about who previously serviced
his piano. He said he was a good concert pianist in college and that Steve
Brady took care of his piano in Washington. ...OK, ...change of
gameplan...:-(.... I gave him the phone numbers of two very good local
technicians that have lots of hi-end action experience. Oh, well. Better
that than to really blow it.

When someone calls me on the phone and asks about appointment/cost/etc., I
immediately start asking them questions about their piano - type, make, how
long since it was last tuned, any other problems with their piano, etc. and
then ask if they wish to make appointment. I don't talk their head off, but
I don't allow dead time for them to ask me 1,000 questions ('cause even 2
years ain't long) about my background - I don't avoid it, but they don't
ask. I hope my clients are not reading this ;-)!

How does that sound? Good luck!

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: <pianolover@worldspy.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2000 2:47 PM
Subject: Re: Standard line


> On Fri, 04 February 2000, Jon Page wrote:
>
> >The truth will not lead you astray, anything else 'can lead
> > a newbie into trouble.'<br>
> > <br>
> > Jon Page<br
>
> There's no doubt that the truth is always the best policy, but when you
were first starting out, what would you tell customers (if it came up)to put
them at ease, if they knew you were new to the field? I know that if I were
hiring a piano tuner/tech, my first impulse would be to hire someone with
LOTS of experience. So if I, as a customer asked about the tuner's
experience, and he/she informed me that they were new to the field, even
though they may have had training with a mentor, etc, i would still feel
somewhat uneasy about letting that person work on my piano, especially if it
was an expensive one! So, with this in mind, what might a Newbie say, to
alleviate /lessen a customer's uncertainty?
>
> Terry
>
> Terry
>
>
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