explaining Pitch raise....

[Clyde Hollinger]

Terry,

If you are just starting your business and have a lot of first-time clients, I'm
sure it is wearying to cover the same territory over and over.  It will get
better after you've built up your clientele; probably 5-10% of my appointments
are for first-timers.

If you think it might be best not to bring up the pitchraise in the first place,
you could try it for a month or so and see what happens, then evaluate.  But I
suspect you might have disgruntled clients, because they may think a tuning
should *include* a pitchraise.  I nearly always discuss it with them on the
phone first.  As you say, they are generally not surprised that the appointment
may cost more than a standard tuning if the piano has been neglected for years.

Regards,
Clyde Hollinger, RPT
Lititz, PA, USA

piano lover88 wrote:

> I'm wondering if the best way to explain a pitch raise to a customer, is to
> NOT bring it up in the first place..at least not over the phone when your
> making initial contact. In the past, when asked my tuning fee, I would first
> ask: "how long ago was your piano tuned?" If the answer was "more than a
> year", or "i can't remember", I would mention that their piano may need a
> pitch raise, which cost roughly 1/2 the tuniing fee. Then THEIR their
> questions and MY explaining begins! Usually they do not object, but it's
> getting really tiring trying to explain the procedure to each and every
> customer over the phone. I'm thinking maybe I should not even mention it
> until I actually SEE the piano, and assess the situation. Then, if a pitch
> raise is indicated, I can at least SHOW the customer what is necessary to
> bring the piano "into the ballpark".  I'm curious to know how other members
> of this list handle the P.R. question. Thanks!
>
> Terry Peterson