Alan writes: >>THE DILEMMA: If I knew what I know and were a plumber or an accountant, I would sure speak up. But as a tuner, SHOULD I speak up? How on earth can I do it without sounding like a self-serving idiot carping about a competitor?>> Greetings, I don't know what idiocy has to do with this, and anybody that is self-employed must consider "self-serving" as a survival skill,so really the question, as I see it is: Do you want this job enough to tell the church that you can deliver a better tuning for the same price, or a better tuning for a higher price? There is no need to run down the competition, it only creates liabilities. However, if you think that you are offering a better value, there is nothing wrong with advertising that fact to potential customers. The results will prove/disprove your words. This is the beauty of competition, it makes us better at what we do or we go hungry. All beginning tuners in the trade should understand that they will either have to wait for first time buyers to seek them out, or they will have to take business away from more established tuners, that is a simple fact of life. The rank beginner will usually have to do this with price competition, and hopefully gain experience without stacking too many skeletons in the closet that will haunt them in years to come. I say take a shot at it, losing one account will not ruin a traveling tuner's life. You gave the church a free tuning, if anybody else noticed that your work was superior there is no need to apologize to anyone. If no one noticed the difference, then you are not likely to get heard. Good luck, Ed Foote RPT
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC