tech/dealership relations

[micheal lipnicki]

This is a problem many of us have - we do work giving ,we think great value 
but it often isn't appreciated because we didn't "sell" or explain the job 
well enough
To do a days work the dealer feels that what he gets - the "low" price isn't 
the point to him besides how can you trade one day for work that isn't 
quantified - how many referrals do you get a week it must vary. The new 
arrangement seems much better since the 10 dollar fee is well defined - why 
not encourage it, it allows the store to give better service by being able 
to monitor the service the customer gets after calling them.Continue your 
day's work but perhaps bill at a full fair price and then give a "store" 
discount this way they may appreciate the great deal you give them.

Michael Lipnicki RPT
Calgary, Alberta


>From: JIMRPT@AOL.COM
>Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: tech/dealership relations
>Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 12:14:40 EDT
>
>Et Al;
>
>  I just talked to a newer tech who is faced with the following 
>circumstance:
>
>  The tech has a working realtionship with a local dealer and this 
>dealership
>has been a 'positive' in building a client base for this tech and a
>'positive' for the dealership in much reduced service problems/complaints.
>This realtionship has been ongoing for several years. In the past the
>dealership would receive calls for tuning and refer the customer to this
>tech.....the making of appointments and fees charged were completely up to
>the customer and tech with no more involvement from the dealership.  In
>return for the referrals this tech devotes one day a week to the dealership
>for floor tunings/misc regulations/repair, etc. at what the tech considers
>"very reasonable and much reduced prices". (in addition to any "emergency"
>stock/imminent delivery calls...my words not the techs)
>
>   Recently the tech has received a memo from the dealership stating that 
>it
>will be the practice of the dealership to:
>1. Take all customer calls for service.
>2. Take all needful information from the customer.
>3. Give/relay all the calls to this tech.
>4. After waiting a week or so the dealership will call the customer to see 
>if
>the service had been scheduled.
>5. The dealership will charge the tech $10 for each, I suppose, completed
>service call.
>
>   Given the past very amicable relationship the tech in question is 
>slightly
>bemused....... and is considering saying 'well OK but in return I will,
>charge the "National Average" for floor work on my weekly visits to the 
>floor
>of the dealership'. (paraphrased)
>
>  My take is that the tech and dealership are each gaining from the other 
>and
>that whatever future realtionship can be worked out should strictly depend 
>on
>value received by 'each' party and not on an arbitrary figure of $10 or
>"National Average". I hold that all relationships of this nature are
>negotiable according to all the variables in each.
>
>  I have faced this problem in the past and I know how I handled it...but 
>what
>are your opinions? Or how have you handled like situations in your
>practice?..............both from dealers viewpoint and techs?
>Thanks for your responses.
>Jim Bryant (FL)

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