Just Wondering

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "lgulli2586" <lgulli2586@rogers.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 7:01 AM
Subject: Just Wondering


Hi list......
I am an avid reader of the archives. Quite often I hear people refer to 
their shop. I wondered if the shop is in your house, and another building on 
site...or a separate building with public access.  Also after 5 years in 
business what is reasonable to expect number of tunings weekly, repairs, 
rebuilds, refinishing etc. Do you do all the above, none of the above.
I dont have much to compare to and am curious to see where I stand...or 
should I consider a new direction. FWIW I hope to achieve RPT in 2005.

Richard

    Probably many tuners' "shops" are converted garages, basements, added-on 
rooms, etc. and in some cases, separate buildings.  Then there are the very 
few who have actual storefronts.
    I spent six years living in a small carriage house (converted one-car 
garage), where I worked on actions on my kitchen table, stored tools 
underneath, parts under the bed, even refinished one outside on the front 
walk (in the landlady's back yard).
    I was working for a Yamaha dealer, doing usually 4 or 5 floor tunings a 
day, and, rarely, as many as 7.  If all the "first free tunings" were in 
people's homes, 4 was a full day, since they were all usually in different 
parts of town, and many needed a pitch raise and/or some regulating work.
    After 5 years, I was building up a pretty good clientele and reputation, 
but was still  quite "green" now that I look back after 25 years.  I was 
doing a lot of reconditioning but didn't (and still don't) have facilities 
for complete rebuilding (new soundboard, bridges, etc.).  But I do replace 
pinblocks and restring, install new hammers, dampers, etc., but I farm out 
keytops and refinishing.
    I do more like 3 appointments a day now, but charge more and include 
more work than just tuning.  If everyone's pianos were in great shape, up to 
pitch, pretty well regulated, and fairly new, yes, I could do 4 or 5 tunings 
a day like some on this list claim.  But I find most people's pianos to be 
older ones, and to have gone way too long without tuning, too flat to tune 
without doing a pitch raise first, and usually in need of much other work. 
Sometimes just two of those can take all day.  Heck, just the driving to 4 
or 5 houses in different parts of town can consume 2 or 3 hours of the day! 
(It seldom works out with people's schedules to where I can get more than 1 
or 2 tunings in the same neighborhood on the same day.)

    As to the similar question of "How much do piano tuners make?,"  I'd say 
the volume of your business depends on how good a salesman you are and 
whether or not you're a go-getter businessman.  If you're both, you can have 
a large clientele even if you're a mediocre technician, not that I recommend 
that, but some tuners do it.
    --David Nereson, RPT