[pianotech] repeat business

[Michael Magness]

On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 1:25 PM, Marshall Gisondi
<pianotune05 at hotmail.com>wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
> Does anyone here have the trouble of getting people to reschedule for their
> 6 month tunings?  I've been told I do quality work.  Maybe I feel it more
> because I haven't been in business as long as someone who might have 300
> customers and 30 of theirs don't return calls or reschedule.  do you guys
> run into things like people not returning calls, moving etc?  I'm finding
> this to be rediculous.
>
> Marshall
>
> Marshall Gisondi Piano Technician
> Marshall's Piano Service
> *pianotune05 at hotmail.com*
> 215-510-9400
> *www.phillytuner.com *
> Graduate of The School of Piano Technology for the Blind
> www.pianotuningschool.org Vancouver, WA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Hi Marshall,

I have always called my customers in certain instances & until recently,
waited for them to call me in others.
Let me explain.
I cover an area in southwest Wisconsin of about 8 counties which have
several small towns located in them. For my ease of scheduling I keep my
customers from the given areas/direction filed together, when I get a call
for a tuning for a church, home or am called for a school concert in a given
area I use that list to "fill" my day.
Most people understand that if you're driving 30 to 40 miles you prefer to
have a full days work, plus I split the milage among them. If I get a call
from an area where I have no one due, I'll suggest the customer, for a
discount on their own tuning, find me some more. Most people will talk to
church members, club members, neighbors &
find 2 or 3 more to round out my day.
I said at the beginning that I also wait for customers to call me, my local
customers don't always get the same treatment since I can run out & tune
them then return to the shop for work there. I also don't contact my
churches & schools, I've found they prefer to choose when they tune, usually
due to budget or upcoming holidays, concerts, weddings, etc.
 If I leave a message & don't hear back within a few days, I'll call again
perhaps in the morning before I leave.
I've found, frequently, the message never got to the customer, usually the
Mrs. of the household. Either the kids or the father checked messages &
erased it without writing it down.

It's the same reason I don't email customers, except school teachers & a few
others about tuning.
Spam/junkmail filters will invariably screen my message since I'm not a
"regular" communicator with my customers & not on their list of active
people they email with.
I do email with most of my school teachers some of my private piano teachers
& a few customers due to distance, public school teachers can't make long
distance calls from their own offices anymore. The others find it more
convenient for one reason or another & I have one lady who has trouble
speaking & prefers email.

Recently with the economy down I am setting up a customer management program
so that I can send out post cards. I have mentioned this to my customers &
they all seem to agree that they would like to be notified when their pianos
are due, in this manner.


I might suggest that you put together a flyer/mailer describing you
qualifications & the services you offer & send it to all of the churches,
schools public & private in your area. The cost would be minimal 7 any
results would pay for it.

Good luck,

Mike


-- 

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without
accepting it.

    Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

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