[pianotech] Conventions ( was Pianotech? )

[Tom Driscoll]

Duaine,
    Tough love coming your way here.  After reading your post it's clear 
that for all the very detailed reasons you listed that this profession is 
just not working out for you.
You obviously have a great deal of expertise in the I.T. field .  Perhaps a 
focus on returning to high tech as a vocation and treating piano work as an 
avocation would be worth consideration.
There is no shame in failure -- we have all been there to some degree but 
the facts are the facts.Since you can't make a reasonable profit in any of 
your ventures the only shame is to waste
more time on what clearly is not working .
   Have fun with the players on the side and get into a profession where you 
have the skills and talent to succeed.
I'll be blunt here Duaine and this is only my opinion but the lack of 
interpersonal skills you have shown here on the list do not lend themselves 
to a profession based on
 personal relationships. Sorry , but that's what your many diatribes have 
taught me about you.
I hope you can accept this in the contructive spirit in which it is 
presented.



Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of 
making excuses.

George Washington Carver

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence 
in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail.

Napolean Hill




Best of luck,
    Tom Driscoll RPT





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Duaine Hechler" <dahechler at att.net>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 1:45 AM
Subject: [pianotech] Conventions ( was Pianotech? )


> Mainly to Wim,
>
> Your Perennial is GREAT.
>
> BUT, you keep forgetting many multiple factors.
>
> 1) Is money - I don't have $3000 on a convention - any convention - not 
> even $1000. At least 95% of my profit goes back out in supplies. Leather 
> and felt punchings, bellows cloth, etc. ain't cheap. Along with glue and 
> other misc supplies. Plus, this economy is NOT helping any. And don't 
> think about telling me to raise my rates - as it is - people gasp when I 
> tell them how much a player rebuild will be (it is mostly labor).
>
> 2) I am currently doing a piano roll recut program where people order a 
> piano roll from my private collection, send it in to have it scanned and 
> recut as a new roll. Now, the recutting process requires a minimum run of 
> 5 rolls. So right off the bat, I have to pay for 5 of the same roll to 
> sell even one. So 1 from 5 is 4 - that I have to find a way to sell - 
> currently listing them on eBay - and that costs is monthly advertising 
> fees.
>
> 3) You say that I could hone my skills. Hone my skills on WHAT ? That 
> would be great of 99% of my clientele were GRANDS - which it AIN'T. I get 
> 99% of old beaters, studios, consoles, spinets, players, etc which once 
> every 5 to NEVER years gets tuned. Just about the only repeat customers I 
> have, for tunings, are player piano customers because they - USE - their 
> pianos. I've had several churches, but somehow they die on me - closed, 
> moved, abandoned, no funds, etc.
>
> 4) My main stay is rebuilding players and reed organs with an occasional 
> melodeon thrown in the mix. For players, by the time the customer pays for 
> the player rebuild, there is not much left over for nicety addons like a 
> new soundboard, etc. Its basically - fix - everything that is absolutely 
> needed - like cracks in the soundboard, bridle straps and new hammers - 
> just maybe new dampers. And of course, the necessity of piano - and - 
> player regulation.
>
> 5) As you can probably remember, there are many techs competing for 
> clientele in the St. Louis Metro area. And most of them have been around a 
> LONG time to get the - REPEAT - clientele.
>
> 6) Finally, as I have said my times before, the organization is geared 
> towards Grands - and - clients with lots of money to spend.
>
> 7) Furthermore, It has been 3 months since my last tuning !!!!!
>
> So, if, and when, I can ever get my head above water, I will go to the 
> next convention,
> Duaine
>