Wim said: " Several of us on this list have pined our opinions on discounting our services. There are some who flat out refuse to offer any kind of discount, no matter what, while there are others who regularly offer a discount, to both individuals and non-profits, like churches. What we need to take into consideration when we offer a discount is how it effects our business. If you have all the business you can handle, and are regularly booked several weeks in advance, then you are in a position to stick to your regular service fee and work on only those pianos you deem worthy of your talent. I envy all of you who can do that, because there used to be time when I was in that position. But, unfortunately, such is not longer the case. With the current economic condition in our country the way it is, one we have not encountered in over 70 years, "tough times call for tough measures". It used to be that servicing 20 or more customers in a week was the norm. But often times I end the week with no more than 12 - 15 appointments. And those were hard to come by, in that I did have to offer a discount. The discount was offered, or promoted, not so much to get my customers to use me instead of a competitor, but just to get the customer to have her piano tuned. There are many people who are now making tough decisions on how to spend their money. They don't have the discretionary income to spend going out to dinner or buying a new flat screen TV. So when they call to get their piano tuned, and the fee is more than they think it should be, they will opt to delay getting that done. They will, instead, use that money to take a trip, or fix the house. Discounts are becoming a way of life in our country. Everything is "on sale", and that includes getting pianos tuned. There is nothing wrong with offering the discount. It might be the only way to stay in business. And this includes offering discounts to teachers who promise to recommend you to their students, and working on rat infested spinets in a stinky house. There is nothing wrong with doing what needs to be done to make a buck, while maintaining your self respect and dignity." Wim, Well said!!! I agree with you assessment of how things are a changin'.<G> Joe Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon) Captain, Tool Police Squares R I -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100325/67558856/attachment.htm>
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