Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum When the Customer's Teacher complains....

Hahahaha, that's funny!!!!! So much for spell check which I don't have and wouldn't help in that case anyway!! I guess, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades me thinks?

Kind of reminds me of an email I received recently. She asked how much I charge for a piano tuning, that she has an old upright that has been regularly maintained. I write back "My standard fee is $x".

She writes back "How much to tune a spinet?"

It amuses me to see how some people think the price of a tuning is outrageous, even though they only tune once every several years. On the other hand there are those customers that tune regularly and never complain about the cost.

We are a colorful and varied lot.

She must have one of those rare big old uprights with the spinet conversion option. Saw one of those once. It was on the wrong end of a catapult......

Had 3 this week like that.

One lady called yesterday and insisted that I charge her X amount to tune her piano instead of my regular fee which was $40 more. I said nope. She was very persistent. To the point of becoming very annoying. So I was just as persistent. Well then, she said, I will just have to look around. OK I said, good luck finding someone that is willing to compromise quality to meet your price. It doesn't work that way. There are elcheapo tooners out there. If all you're interested in is price good luck.

Had another that asked if I would give a discount because the economy is down in Michigan. Nope.

Had yet one more that asked what my price was. After I quoted it she said "I haven't been able to find anyone that will meet MY satisfactory price for a tuning." I thought, yea, what is it $2.00? I said, and with your expectations, you won't either. I didn't get that one...

With each one of these, I said look, my expenses certainly are not going down, nor is my gas bill, electric, vehicle expenses or anything else. I cannot afford to give every person a discount that wants one and you really don't want me to compromise my quality to do so and I refuse to do that in any case so, no can do...

One thing is for sure, people are getting more and more gutsy.

That's happening around here too. I never give in to the price shoppers either. They must think that we're desperate. Another thing that I've experienced more lately is last minute changes and cancellations. People calling the night before to say their son needs to go the doctor in the morning or whatever. I'm almost getting to the point where I'm considering a one strike and your out rule.
You can usually tell if it is a real emergency or something else.

If you open the phone book and look for building contractors or plumbers or electricians, you will find MANY more than piano techs! Perhaps hard line negotiation works there-I don't know...but like most good techs we're booked WAYYY out into the future and we just don't need to put up with abuse.

People sometimes try, in good faith, to negotiate price...Jane takes the calls, and she's VERY up front about our pricing being consistent and fair.

I have never, ever, (not even once in 30 years!!) been happy with any client who starts the relationship on that basis. Last month I had an elderly customer tell me that, by offering to do more (very needed!) work on his much neglected piano, that I had been, in his words, "lowballing" on the phone so I could raise my rate in person. I calmly packed my tools, waived the service call and speaking kindly (he was elderly-its my upbringing!) I left. He called back a few weeks later and we arrived at an understanding and it turned out ok...I returned and did some work for him.

But, that illustrates that if you base your service on pricing alone, you really will have problems with price shoppers trying to hold you to exact numbers in a very NON exacting situation-namely, their non-maintained pianos.

But...you certainly can't blame them for trying every now and again!!..somebody reads a book on assertive business or something, and they assume that we technicians are going to leap at the chance to compete for their account...For our part here, we just decline the work and send them to somebody else. Life is just too sweet to spend it in negative relationships. Who was the famous financial teacher (?) who said "Trust me, there is some money you just don't need in your business!"

RPD

Everytime I've settled on a fixed price prior to seeing the piano, I've been sorry. You arrive to find everything sticking, a broken pedal, and the piano is two notes flat. I give customers a price range.

Here, we have a public school system that has or, had about 250 pianos in locations all over GR. Every year, they would send out bids to every tuner in the phone book. I never bid on them. Last I heard, they were still being tuned for something like $35 a tuning and that the school system is so demanding it's pathatic. I read the bid once for fun many years ago. It stated how a certain amount of pianos were to be tuned by such and such a date all throughout the school year. If they were not completed by that date, the bid was null and void and open to bidding again and you could only get paid upon completion of said work. HAH!

Recently, I got to view first hand a few of these pianos up close. What a fricken mess they were in. For that price, all they have been getting is tuning and nothing else. And rotten tunings at that IMO. They only tooners they could get was the worst of the bunch because nobody else would bother bidding on it. I finally sent them a letter telling them to stop wasting their paper on me.

Bid:

At 1st tuning (September), only the middle strings will be tuned. Temperament strip shall remain in piano to mute left and right strings. At second tuning (January), right hand strings will be tuned to center strings (which will still be in tune from September) (haa haa) and temperament strip will be adjusted accordingly. At third and final tuning (April), Left hand strings will be tuned to complete the unison and temperament strip removed.

hee hee

Ya... but what about the bass unisons...?

Leave um, they don't count.

Jerry,

Your comment about the GR Public schools hits home...

Way back in 1989-1990, when we first moved here, I accepted a contract to tune all the pianos in the Kalamazoo school district...it was $25 each THEN! I did it for a couple years and told them I was submitting a sheet on every piano and needed repair.

They were unable (or unwilling) to spend even an additional $20 per piano, and I gave up the account...

As for bidding, I don't bid for anything anymore. I used to get bid letters from one of the local colleges, but after a couple years I realized they were just using my bid to meet their standards of getting multiple bids, and I too asked them not to bother me again LOL!

Funny...we all have the same life experiences. So guys...I'm 50 this year. Those of you who are older, how about telling me what is coming next?!

On second thought, I think I'd rather not know!

RPD

3 more years of the same crap??? I turned 53 this past May. Congrats on the 50th. Big bash?

NO bash...I snuck up on it and the year is almost past and nobody's noticed...except, now I'm in the extreme youth of old age, rather than the extreme old age of youth. ;-)

RPD

Is there a difference? It's all in our heads. I've been accused of acting like a 10 year old. Gee, I can't imagine why!!!??? I refuse to grow up. Make me! Nope! Can't do it! Won't do it! Life is much to fun for that!

A customer today had an big ole ugly/cute bull dog. The dog sat next to me for the whole tuning, slobbering and snorting the whole time. I had to crawl under the piano to adjust the sustain, and I'm putting it off, because that dog would be slobbering all over me the minute I laid on my back under the piano. Finally, the dog left the room and I took my chance, and rushed under the piano. No sooner was I there, and the dog came galloping back in the room and I had to jump up from underneath. A minute later the dog leaves again, and this time I was able to make the adjustment. Back at the keys, I realize my adjustment is a tiny bit short, so I dive underneath the piano and in gallops the dog. I jump up once again - that adjustment will have to wait till next tuning!

Bob, you might want to stop at the pet store and pickup one of these... set it up and work inside..

Yes and make sure it's big enough for the Piano and you and the stool/bench. Rough!

Good one Monster!

The customer see our price for tuning the piano and thinks this person is earning a lot of money for a hour or so of work. They don't take in account for gas, traveling time and most important the government taking at least a 1/3 of our tuning fee.