About this driver keeping the customer away from the tuner.
I am of two minds, I think the driver should stay in the car.
Otherwise the customer, may think that he/she, has to keep him/her 'entertained'.
The driver part is a good idea, and it is a business deduction for income tax.
The driver could also be trained to do 'simple' things, like clean. Also he could be Marshall's eyes for things he can't see.
See what I mean about two minds, I just argued with myself. LOL
John Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia
----- Original Message -----
From: wimblees at aol.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Sunday, November 01, 2009 12:50 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] the thread regarding number of tunings
since I often have to travel by train/bus to reach my appointments. My wife does drive me to some of them that are not attainable by public transit. I'm also curious as to how I can up my numbers since I've been told, speed will come as I get confident. I feel confident. I know what to listen for, but I'm still not tuning under an hour and a half. sometimes two depending on the piano and how much the customer talks to me as I experienced today.
Marshall
As several other have indicated, more business will come over time. We are in a down economy, and even some of the old times are tuning fewer pianos. But hand it there, and soon you'll be tunings 3 or 4 pianos a day, 20 a week.
But I want to respond to two things you said above. Instead of taking public transportation, and if your wife can't drive you all the time. perhaps you should consider hiring a driver to take you everywhere. This will do three thing. One, it gets you to customers faster. Two, you'll be able to take more tools and supplies with you. More tools and supplies means you'll be able to do more on the spot repairs and regulations, which allows you to charge more on each visit. And third, and more importantly, the driver will be able to keep the customer busy and away from you while you're working. This person could engage the customer in conversation, or answer questions about you condition, etc.. But it will allow you to keep working. Perhaps you can find a retired person who is looking to earn a couple extra dollars. You can either pay him/her by the hour, or per tuning. And who knows, if this person is handy, he/she could help you taking a piano apart, look for buzzes, or retrieve dropped tools.
Just a thought.
Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
94-505 Kealakaa Str.
Mililani, Oahu, HI 96789
808-349-2943
www.Bleespiano.com
Author of:
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Marshall Gisondi <pianotune05 at hotmail.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Sat, Oct 31, 2009 5:18 pm
Subject: [pianotech] the thread regarding number of tunings
Hi everyone,
First I want to congratulate everyone who is tuning so often and doing so many in a week. That's great! Upon reading the thread concerning # of tunings, I am amazed and asking myself when will this occur on my behalf? I finished my training at the Piano Hospital now called the School of Piano Technology for the Blind, and I have a great foundation, plus what training I received in Chicago from who is my good friend Nick Kircher. I've read this thread with amazement and asked, "when will I reach this, and will I since I often have to travel by train/bus to reach my appointments. My wife does drive me to some of them that are not attainable by public transit. I'm also curious as to how I can up my numbers since I've been told, speed will come as I get confident. I feel confident. I know what to listen for, but I'm still not tuning under an hour and a half. sometimes two depending on the piano and how much the customer talks to me as I experienced today. So I'm not envious, but wondering is there a missing piece in this puzzle, or have I been at this not long enough to experience the awesomeness that tuning more than a piano or two a day brings?
Les also mentioned word of mouth as his way of receiving customers. So far no word of mouth going on here. Is this also a time factor since I've only been back here in Philly since early July? My customers are happy even the ones I tune as a subcontractor are happy, and they still try at times to pressure as to what I charge, which I cannot offer since they are not my customer. So will I be back to tune their piano or not, depends on the person I subcontract for, more than likely yes, so word of mouth cannot occur there.
So I apologize for my lenthly post, but I'm wondering am I missing something, or is it simply a matter of "not being in the business" long enough? I sit here and think, man 8 tunings a day? If I could tune that fast, my family would have everything they coud need and want, bills would be paid and not piling up. What am I missing? I have the training and continually learn of course, and when money picks up I'm joining the PTG again.
So please understand I'm grateful for the customers I have and the school district I have although the last guy I believe finished the fall tunings much quicker than I, but I'm told teachers are all positive about my tunings. So I'm thankful for what I have, but would love to increase this for my family's sake. I'm planting a lot of seeds, and seeing some results. Is this just a matter of time as Brooke Benton sang? Thanks for listenig everyone, You're all great and I appreciate you!
Marshall
Marshall Gisondi Piano Technician
Marshall's Piano Service
pianotune05 at hotmail.com
215-510-9400
Graduate of The School of Piano Technology for the Blind www.pianotuningschool.org Vancouver, WA
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