How's business?

[Michael Magness]

On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 7:39 PM, Willem Blees <wimblees at aol.com> wrote:

> If it weren't for my prescheduled appointments, my business would be next
> to nothing. I've only had one prescheduled appointment cancel on me, but
> other than that, the phone just isn't ringing. Considering today's Wall
> Street collapse, except for, of course, the Gulf states, how's business on
> the rest of the mainland?
>
> Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> Honolulu, HI
> 808-349-2943
> www.bleespiano.com
> Author of
> The Business of Piano Tuning
> available from Potter Press
> www.pianotuning.com
>  ------------------------------
> Looking for spoilers and reviews on the new TV season? Get AOL's ultimate
> guide to fall TV<http://television.aol.com/feature/fall_tv?ncid=aoletv00050000000037>
> .
>

Hi Willem,

The phone isn't ringing as often as usual for this time of year. My shop
work, rebuilding, etc. and my schools are keeping me working but not busy.
I'm in the midwest, Southwest Wisconsin, the other bump for my business and
the others left in the area is one of the fulltime guys moved away, his
fiance couldn't find a job here so he followed her.
We have a semi-retired ex-PTG and a couple of tooners and 4 of us fulltimers
to serve a population area of roughly 130,000 in the immediate area and at
least another 100,000 in the surrounding area.
We also have 2 colleges with music departments, one a small renowned private
catholic college with about 25 pianos. They host the symphony and other
concert events through the year.

Could business be better? YES

I've been in this business for almost 40 years now. The one thing that was
always true was, in hard times(recession)people don't buy new pianos, they
fix up the old ones, in good times(boom economy)the opposite is true. I'm
not talking about your hardcore musicians but Joe or jane average looking to
give their kid a start in piano lessons.

This one(recession) is different, people are thinking about it a lot more,
cutting corners on what they choose to do to their pianos.

Most of my tunings are new customers who hauled the piano they grew up with
from their parents home to theirs for their kids to learn on. In other
words, the used piano market even among everyday people isn't what it was, a
few years ago these same people would have bought a used piano locally
instead of going to the trouble of hauling one.

I like to think as they and we adjust to the new economic realities, things
will return to some semblance of normal, the question is how long will that
take?

Mike

-- 
I feel sorry for the person who can't get genuinely excited about his work.
Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything
worthwhile.
Walter Chrysler



Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike at ifixpianos.com
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