but I don't have to be so organized to know what my "life" schedule will be like 6 months or a year out. Paul This is the reason why I never liked the idea of pre-scheduling when I was on the mainland. But now, I can't afford to go anywhere, except next summer to go to the convention and visit relatives. So I've got that "pre-scheduled" also. What it takes is a lot of pre-planning. Last year, when the convention dates were?changed,?I had customer scheduled for the new dates. I solved the problem by writing each of them (about 12) a letter, informing them of the conflict, and assigned a new appointment date. I think only one customer called to change that date. So it is possible to change a pre-schedule, It just takes a little effort on your part. Wim? -----Original Message----- From: paul bruesch <paul at bruesch.net> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Wed, Oct 7, 2009 1:04 am Subject: Re: [pianotech] Scheduling On my way out the door, I'll ask a new customer if I should call in 6 months or a year (<either/or>, not <yes/no>). Then when I get home, I "pencil them in" for that timeframe and call them in 5-1/2 months or 11-1/2 months to schedule. Sometimes they beg out when I call (e.g. someone got laid off) and sometimes they schedule another month out. When they beg out, I offer to call back in a few months. Only one comes to mind that said "We have your card, we'll call you." (That was a donated charity auction winner, decent newer Boston vertical which actually gets used and was terribly flat when I tuned it.) Doing it this way, I do have to do dreaded calling (to schedule), but I don't have to be so organized to know what my "life" schedule will be like 6 months or a year out. Paul Bruesch Stillwater, MN On Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 11:00 PM, Matthew Todd <toddpianoworks at att.net> wrote: That sounds good, thanks! ? Anyone else care to chime in? TODD PIANO WORKS Matthew Todd, Piano Technician (979) 248-9578 http://www.toddpianoworks.com --- On Wed, 10/7/09, wimblees at aol.com <wimblees at aol.com> wrote: From: wimblees at aol.com <wimblees at aol.com> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Scheduling To: pianotech at ptg.org Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 3:31 AM Matthew ? I had never done pre-scheduling before I came to Hawaii,until I bought the client list from the widow of a tuner. He had his customers "programmed" to where they were insisting to pre-schedule, not just 6 months ahead, but even a year ahead. I've been doing this now for 2 years, and it's great. Before I leave,?I get out my palm pilot and schedule the next appointment, and write it on the tuning ticket as well. When I get home, I've created a spreadsheet on which I keep track of all my pre-schedules. I also have programmed my data base to show me which customers are pre-scheduled. Then by about the 15th of every month, I look at my calendar/palm pilot, and cross reference that with my spreadsheet and database. I send out a reminder card 2 weeks before the appointment to remind my customers I'm coming, giving them a chance to cancel or change the appointment. ? No, it's not fool proof. Some customers will call to cancel. Some will re-schedule. Some will totally forget to call me, and won't be home. I had one the other day, after I showed up, say. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to call you to tell you not to come. I don't need it tuned". And when I?got to one house a couple of months ago, there was a for sale sign in front of the house, and the house was empty. But, by the same token, I've had customers call me 3 or 4 months ahead of schedule to re-schedule to another day, because they knew they were going to be busy, or off island, for the day?I was supposed to show up. ? So while it may be a hassle for some customers, and for you, to keep it all straight,?for the most part it works great. Most of my customers are home, and they appreciate not only the post card, but also that I am conscientious enough to make sure their pianos are kept in tune, even though some of them don't even play it any more. Almost two thirds of my customers are pre-scheduled for either 6 months or a year. This month alone, I have 32 appointments already scheduled. ? Wim -----Original Message----- From: Matthew Todd <toddpianoworks at att.net> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Tue, Oct 6, 2009 5:03 pm Subject: [pianotech] Scheduling I would like to get everyone's input on scheduling appointments six months out before leaving the customer's home.? I just scheduled a few this past week.? I don't want to do too many until I get a feel for this method.? On one hand it can be good because you have that time slot taken.? But on the other hand, how often would a customer call to cancel right before the appointment, creating a hole?? I guess there is no way to know, which is why I only did a few. ? Just wondering who has had success with this, and who hasn't. ? Thanks! TODD PIANO WORKS Matthew Todd, Piano Technician (979) 248-9578 http://www.toddpianoworks.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20091007/0d1f8108/attachment.htm>
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