[pianotech] transferring clients

[Ron Nossaman]

On 4/15/2012 4:13 PM, Ed Carwithen wrote:
> In any case I need to
> transfer a number of clients to someone else. I tried to do this once
> before for clients in a town that was really out of the way for me. I
> sent a letter to the clients involved, and told the new person to
> contact them directly. Not one client transferred to the new tuner (an
> RPT yet). A couple responded that they felt "abandoned."

 >How do I make them comfortable with a new technician?
> How do I make the transition better?

I'm not sure you can. Problem is you're family by now, not just their 
tuner. They love you as you do them. Probably more since you regularly 
save them from the awful noise the piano makes. Raising rates a bunch to 
scrape them off might work, but that's just nasty and wrong. Hmmm, how 
about an offer to do the tuning every other time for a couple of years 
with your recommended replacement doing the alternate tunings? That way, 
they wouldn't feel abruptly abandoned, and you could "be there and care" 
to talk about any of their misgivings with the "replacement" guy on your 
trip, and hopefully ease the transition some or recommend a different 
alternate. It'll cost you more time, but it ought to be easier on old 
friends.

Ron N