[pianotech] Dealing with customers

[Ed Foote]

 >>How would you handle these 2 situations with dealer tunings that I had today:



1. Customer 1 - lives in a $4 million house. I made the appt. for today @ 10am. Got there 9:45am. Woman didn't show up until 10:30am, no apologies or explanation. Very warm day, didn't offer anything to drink. Customer had some stuck key issues, which I stayed extra 1/2 hour. Usually I call dealer to get his okay so I can bill him, but couldn't reach him. Total time there - 2 hours, including waiting for her to come home. I get paid for 1 hr. only. No tip (only the poorer people tip when I do dealer tunings, NEVER the people with money).


2. Customer 2 - Small house. Husband & Wife both out of work. Appt. was made for 1pm. I rushed to get there on time after delay of first job. When I was 5 minutes away, she called and asked me to come at 2pm. When I explained that I was almost there, she said she wasn't home and would be back at 2pm. I had no choice but to wait. At least she offered me a drink. Again, there were repairs that she hadn't told the dealer about, I couldn't reach him for approval, and did them - Total time: 1.75 hours. I got paid for the 1 hr. only. No tip.


  There is no "handling" these situations.  There is only coping with them. It doesn't matter how much their house costs, or how poor your dealer's customers are, what matters is how much your time is worth.  Your contract is with the dealer. You  should expect this treatment as a constant, not  a special event, so if you are resenting what you are getting paid, you are not charging enough.     I don't know how you got to the point of only getting paid for 1 tuning, regardless of what that entails, but I would change it.  The way it is now, you are assuming all of the risk.  If the dealer can easily replace you, you have little leverage for a higher rate.  If you can make yourself more valuable, he will pay you more.  
  Ultimately, you will have to decide what your time is worth, and then prove it by making those that employ you pay that much.  You are an expense to the dealer, and only worth, to him, what you can help him make.


>>The dealer gives me enough tunings that I want to keep working for him. He basically pays me what he charges the customers, so it's not like he's being unfair to me.<<


    I don't understand this logic.  He is paying you what he is charging the customers?  That means he has no incentive to raise the price for the customers as long as you are willing to work for free, for him. (see above).  He would love to sell tunings for as little as possible, but how does that work for you?    

Ed Foote RPT
http://www.piano-tuners.org/edfoote/index.html















While I think the dealer or the customers should pay me for the waiting time, the reality is they won't.


If I didn't wait for them, I would have to go back again anyway, or would lose this dealer's tunings.






Is this just part of doing business, or do other tuners have ways of dealing with these things?


Do other tuners who do dealer tunings generally get tips? Should I expect them?


FYI, I am always professional and polite to the customers, even when they keep me waiting. I always try to be very nice, but the customers don't care.




Frustrated Piano Tuner :(
 
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