[pianotech] Dealing with customers

[tnrwim at aol.com]

Joseph

First, tipping. I never expect it, but when they do, I show surprise, and thank them profusely. I get a tip maybe once every two months. 

When I was in college, we gave instructors 5 minutes, professors 10 minutes, and women 15 minutes before we walked out of class. 

I consider now shows, and having to wait for an appointment part of doing business. It's going to happen, Get used to it. Build it into your schedule and pricing for getting paid

I give a customer, (man or woman), 15 minutes, before I give up. I leave a voice mail and a business card, "sorry I missed our appointment, please call to reschedule. When a customer calls as I'm on my way, I thank them for letting me know they are going to be late. 

I don't understand your deal with the store. Do they set up the appointments for you, and collect the fee? Or are these free tunings? If your getting paid by a store, be sure to let them know that you got stood up, or that you had to wait an extra half hour. They can bill the customer, and then pay you. 

BTW. Rich people are sometimes the worse as far as schedules are concerned. Somehow they have gotten used to the idea that the world revolves around them, and they don't seem to understand that you have other things to do. On the other hand, are you sure she didn't have a different time than you did for the appointment? As far as she knew, she was on time for the appointment. So as far as she was concerned, she didn't owe you and apology, much less a tip. 

Wim Blees, RPT
Hawaii 

 



-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Rosenberg <rosenbergpiano at gmail.com>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 3:19 pm
Subject: [pianotech] Dealing with customers


Hi everyone:


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.


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.


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.


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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