In a message dated 3/24/2010 6:31:09 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, tunerboy3 at comcast.net writes: f full time tuning that music teachers for the most part, do not always follow through with recommendations. Offering free tunings for them does not necessarily mean recommendations for us. But, it does mean free tunings for the teacher. Once they receive their free tuning, they tend to "forget about us" and could use any number of excuses as to why we did not hear from their students. On top of that, they still have to convince the students parents who most of the time could care less, because they do not play it themselves, to tune it and most often, they will not. If you insist on giving the teacher something, you might consider offering them $10 per referral off from the price of your tuning. This would be AFTER you actually tune their students piano. You would not pay them this in cash but rather would deduct it off from the teachers next piano tuning. This $10, would be per year, per recommendation up to the cost of a tuning. You might have better luck with that. Jer Terrific advice here, Terry. I also find Piano teachers to be very neglectful (read cheap) in keeping their own pianos in tune. They also are not very qualified in determining whether or not a piano is really in need of tuning. If asked, most really cannot tell the difference between in tune and out of tune. Exception to this, of course, is the obvious slipped unisons that scream out to them. In my over 40 years of experience, I also find most piano teachers with very little knowledge of what regulation or voicing is and for the most part cannot tell if a piano is in need of these kinds of attention. We, as professionals, must somehow advance past this vast ignorance, and teach the teachers without seeming to be doing it for the money we need to charge for those services. Not an easy task. I am sure this has been a problem for more years than most of us have been in the business. These things are not taught in Conservatories or in home schooling. And these are the same people that are asked to judge prospective piano purchases! What a shame that they are listened to as if they really know what they are talking about. And we somehow must overcome all of the ignorance and misinformation they feed their students and students' parents. It is what it is. I suppose there are other larger problems out there- like Obamacare, for instance. Bob Bergantino, RPT Willoughby Hills, Ohio -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100324/8afb6092/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC