FWIW, I also add one more thing to the appointment phone call regarding fees. I also tell the caller that every once in a while - not often - maybe two or three times a year - I run into a piano that hasn't been tuned in 20 or 30 years and that sometimes such a piano will require multiple pitch raises - but again, that is not common. That way they know the total tuning fee will likely be for a tuning and maybe a pitch raising fee will be added to that. And that there is also a slim chance it might be more...... Terry Farrell On Aug 21, 2009, at 8:15 PM, Ron Nossaman wrote: > Terry Farrell wrote: >> Which is why I always explain to a caller that if the piano is up >> or near standard pitch, my $95 tuning fee covers what I need to do >> regarding tuning. But if the piano is significantly below standard >> pitch, then we will have to do a separate proceedure called a pitch >> raise to get the piano up to standard pitch before I can tune it. >> My fee for a pitch raise is $45 - but, of course, only if your >> piano needs it. I approach this statement by asking how long it has >> been since the last tuning...... (Yeah, yeah, I know - but this is >> how I present my tuning fee structure to a caller. >> That way, no surprises come appointment day....... >> Terry Farrell > > > Me too, just like that. It gives them a chance to back out and go > shopping for someone who quotes a cheaper price and *doesn't* warn > them up front, and it takes the edge off the "service work = rip > off" angst inherent to the process from past experience. They feel > less cornered and more in control. Should I find a piano pleasantly > within the one pass tuning realm, I'll delightedly do it in one pass > and not, naturally, charge them for a pitch raise. Being presented > an invoice from a service tech that is (incredibly) less than > expected is something a lot of consumers have never dared dream of, > let alone experienced. This seems to endear me to them right off, > though I'm pretty endearing on occasion anyway (just not to you guys > <G>), and they'll actually listen honestly to whatever I try to tell > them about their piano, and it's care and feeding. I've gotten > adopted as the ancestral piano tech many times just by treating > customers as real people. Not as "bosses" who are always right, and > not as "sources of protein" in the victim pool, but more as harmless > relatives of the eccentric but benign (a nice boy, a quiet boy...) > second cousin on the father's side. When we get to the dumb jokes > and pithy quotes, I graduate to first cousin, or big brother, in > some cases, and have to schedule extra time with the tunings. > > It's really bizarre (to me, at least) how well showing up as > yourself and giving them the real stuff works in some situations, > and how abysmally it fails in others. > Ron N
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