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The Dreaded No-Show
Hi Folks,
This year, I’ve been reworking certain aspects of how my workshop runs, and I’ve come up against an unusual problem. I was curious to hear if others have had similar issues as well as what you decided to do about it. It’s really sort of a good problem to have, but a hurdle nonetheless!
Last year, I went back to operating the workshop solo. Working alongside another person was increasing admin time & customer interaction time too much, and although it raised turnover, the additional admin work was keeping me up all hours, and revenue didn’t balance out. On top of that, my mental health was definitely suffering from working non-stop, so I rolled back my hours as best I could, and capped the number of jobs/appointments that could be dropped off in a day to help towards that goal.
So far, so good; the new strategy was implemented, and it worked well for a while. However, the further into this year I went, the crazier things became with appointments and scheduling, particularly as people would book further and further into the future. Once things crossed the three-month appointment lead time (which in itself seemed awesome!) It’s gone totally off the rails. No-shows, very last-minute cancellations, angry emails (about having to wait, or otherwise), people constantly wanting to move around and rebook multiple times because they’ve got ’something else on now’ etc, and so on. I try to be as flexible as I can, but I think people are simply booking ahead without consideration, and it’s taking loads more time to manage what should essentially be an almost automated system. Now with all the no-shows and super last-minute cancellations, I don’t have time to get people in to fill the empty spaces, and nobody wins.
At the moment, here’s how scheduling a drop-off appointment works:
– Head to the website, which shows a list of available times
– Choose a date and time, drop details in about what your instrument is, what the issue is, any special requests, etc
– Book it, pay a £15 deposit for the appointment
– Get confirmation email (with calendar links) with date and time- Confirmation email has links for the customer to cancel, re-book, or move the appointment
– Get sent a reminder email 48 hours before appointment time (48 hours is the now locked-in time, before that you are still able to cancel or re-book for the next available time, granted that will likely be weeks away since all other spaces are often taken)
– Then ideally, show up at the right time, hahaha
(I won’t go into the checking-in process, completion, or collection notifications here since there haven’t been as many issues, but you get the idea.)
So, I’ve had an explosion of people baling out, and I’ve been trying to come up with ideas of how to not only limit this, but also shorten wait times since most people and a lot of my clients don’t want to wait 9 weeks or more for a setup. Understandable!
I’ve got some ideas, but I’m also curious to hear about what others have done or are doing in the face of this modern hectic lives issue. How are you keeping things organised, keeping the flow of people showing up, and also not burying yourself behind the dreaded wall of admin, so we can get back to repairing things
So far, I’ve got these brainstorms:
– Increase booking deposit (Seems obvious, but even doubling it might discourage the small money maker jobs that I rely a lot on in the centre of London)
– Run at half booking capacity, leave spaces open for walk-ins on the day (Again, not bad, but really messes with the workflow if I have to stop/start and keep cleaning up. Also, I’d be relying on those possible walk-ins to turn up. If they don’t, I’m down on the day cash-wise)
– Open my appointment system rolling four weeks in advance (So only open the books up to four weeks ahead of the current date, and once the space is filled, that’s that)
– Open a whole month’s appointments two weeks in advance (So say two weeks before a month begins, I open all the spaces for that month, and once filled or not, so be it)
– Only do simple jobs (I actually do something similar to this now. My workshop is fairly compact & I rely on a fair turnaround and decent footfall to be able to operate in a high-cost-of-living city centre. The appointment system actually helps with this because I can know in advance if my shop is going to be the right place for the work, and not waste the client’s time and my own if it isn’t.)
– Add a regular on the day emergency slot/s for quick fixes – (This might be something to add after things are more organised, but it ties in to the idea above, helps get people in faster if needed, and is also a guaranteed arrival if they need it ASAP)
– A waitlist function was another great suggestion; however, the booking system I use now does not yet offer it (hopefully soon!), and I currently do this manually. It’s annoying but not terrible, so long as people give me at least a couple of days’ notice, which they are no longer doing.
Clearly, getting admin help or a ‘front desk’ type person would be great, but I’d have to increase my fees reasonably significantly, or work loads more, to be able to afford this/pay them.
Having a ’no-show’ fee like they do in restaurants was another option explored. For those who don’t know, if you book a table and cancel at the last minute or don’t show up, the establishment will charge you a minimum per person, say, £60-70 (like you had ordered a meal) Looking into it though, there was a whole other wealth of legal requirements especially if it meant holding credit card numbers. Data-protection, regulations, financial info, and so on, it was going to be a huge swamp, and I’m not that big of an enterprise, so nope. If someone does know of a simpler way to do this, or if there’s a service that would handle it off-site, I’m all ears and would put it back on the table!
Thanks for reading through this mammoth post, and yeah, floor’s open to ideas! What do you think of what I’ve come up with so far? Suggestions? How have you coped with this situation? Let me know,
(And cheers to Trevor for suggesting I post this in the forum!)
With much appreciation – Kev
Richy, Bryan Parris Parris Guitars and Al Pachter Al’s Guitar Workshop17 Comments-
Hey Kev,
I feel your pain. I have a busy repair business in downtown Toronto and sometimes get more work coming in than I can handle in within a reasonable time frame. I’ve only been operating for 5 years and seem to have a good reputation. Plus I’m in a busy city with lots of musicians and wealth. Seems like a good problem to have of course, but dealing with all this can really disrupt the work flow.
People are always happy to put their name on a list and wait but as you mentioned, the waitlist can get out of hand and admin can take up a lot of time. This is what I’ve found works better for me lately and maybe it will for you to!
In my small one room shop I have space for about 20 guitars. When I get to about 2 months turnaround time or roughly 20 guitars in-shop and 10 lined up to come in, I close intake and my waitlist in order to catch up. These jobs will be mostly $300- $1000 jobs. During this time, which is usually about 2 months, I have only the pick ups to deal with and I can focus much better. When people call or email, I refer them to other locals or I tell them “sorry, I’m not taking work and catching up. Check back with me in a month or two”. Some people will, and some won’t, but there will always be work that comes in later when I’m done catching up.
This also gives me an opportunity to pick and choose my jobs a bit. As my backlog thins out, I can start letting stuff in that I really want to work on, while turning away the things other people can easily do quicker than me. I do this also while making sure I’m not perpetually unavailable “closed” because I like to be accessible to the any person who needs work done.
Another key thing for me— and this still comes at a sacrifice of my time— is that people don’t always like automated systems or being processed through an app. I don’t use a scheduling or appointment booking app (maybe to my detriment) but it’s because I find it much easier to pick a time within a few days of when the client is actually dropping off.
When I am booking people in to drop off in say 4 weeks, I say “I’ll contact you the week of the (blank)”. Their name goes in my reminders in my phone with the date and type of job. When their name comes up I just shoot a text or email saying “are you still interested in getting the work done?”. At that time I’ll figure out when they can come and when I’m available. That’s just two emails/texts per person before they come by. I’ve had very very few angry or fed up customers and I think it’s because I’m interacting with them personally and I’m not booking too far in advance. I guess this is sort of the waitlist or shorter scheduling brainstorm you mentioned.
I also like this because I don’t have people choosing a date and time months in advance and dictating my schedule. Some weeks I’m too busy to take appointments and I need to work— this I can only know when it’s happening.
For me, it’s really key to try and make sure that the list of people in my reminders app never goes over 10 and that I always have about 15 guitars lined up in the shop already. This way I never have more than 25-30 people to deal with. To everyone else I say the truth “no, sorry I’m too busy catching up. Try this other great repair person” or “check back with me later, my sincere apologies”.
I guess my main point is don’t overload yourself. 3 months of appointments is way too much to deal with in my opinion. And people like to be dealt with personally and they also like to know that you’re human and can’t handle the admin involved in a list of 200 guitars to repair. The good customers will stick around and kindly check back with you, and the angry impatient ones will go somewhere else.
I hope this helps! I’m only 5 years in the business but I’m really starting to strike a balance and the people I deal with seem very happy with this structure.
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@wood_instruments Hey Alex, What a great system. Very personal, I’m sure your customers appreciate the time and attention you give to them directly, without electronic interface. There are so many ways to get this job done. Yours is clearly very well thought out and streamlined!
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@als_guitar_workshop thanks Al! This is what works for me right now because of the scale of my business and because I work from a home shop. I can see that I might need to move to a system more like yours in the future so thank you for sharing!
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@wood_instruments my shop is also a home shop. And your system sounds like it works well! Honestly some people like my system and utilize it in their shop and others think it sucks or that it doesn’t really fit their style. Lots of ways to get this done!
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@wood_instruments Hey Alex, that’s a really great system you’ve got going, and I’m impressed at the personal touch you’re able to employ, really going above and beyond! I do miss the days when I could do that sort of thing. I had to switch it up a few years back once things were building up beyond what I could manage. I will message if needed in addition to using the online system (sometimes I need to clarify a request, or let a client know that their guitar that was burnt in a fire will cost more than their £50 budget, lol), so ther can be a personal angle and i can be selective over what jobs are coming in, but one dramatic difference I noticed is volume.
I might have 50, 60, even 80 emails a day to answer (Can’t always tell which ones will lead to jobs & at least I have nearly 40 pre-prepared responses that I can fill in with further detail), and I’ll typically need to complete anywhere from 13-18 guitars per week on average to keep going. I’ve had just over 450 guitars come through so far this year, & that’s a lot I suppose, but the average spend on a repair here is just below £100 (I’m already considered expensive at £85 per hour, plus tax, but I won’t argue that it should really be more in a place like this) so I need to keep turnover up, to balance the books with the large overheads of operating in Central London. In my experience over the years, there just aren’t enough higher-paying jobs around to maintain things, and the number has been dropping post-COVID, as folks spend less. There is an element of competition on price vs. convenience here; I’m much easier to reach, but if the bill’s gonna be big, people look outside of London and travel for much lower rates for sure. (A bit like nobody drives into the center of downtown to do a big grocery shop, lol)
Although I get a decent amount of it, I’d love to attract more of the better value mid-size work, so there are fewer people to deal with, and greater focus on the work, and from what both you and Al have mentioned, I really think it’s time to increase the deposit amount. I’m certainly not short of work if it’s potentially booking this far ahead, so that’s a start for sure. I also really like how you have a ‘check-in’ a week or so before you’ll be looking to get the job dropped off. That’s an excellent idea, and it allows you to move through possible jobs fast. I’m definitely going to adapt this into the bookings in some form! Good boundaries definitely help too; If it’s something I won’t do, not available or overbooked, I will also kindly decline and try to suggest one of my colleagues around town, a few of whom are also members here 🙂 Perhaps a modified form of what you’re suggesting could be a great start, like opening up to a month’s bookings, just slightly in advance, say, tops 6 weeks ahead of time, and that would limit the number of people I’m interacting with at any time. Beyond the bookings being filled, it would have to be clients either having to wait for the next booking block being available, or adapting the schedule for either short-form, or ’emergency’ jobs, which would be charged at a higher rate.
Thanks Alex, wonderful food for thought, and I really appreciate the input!
-Kev
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@kev No problem! And holy crap, that is a LOT of emails to address everyday. I definitely underestimated how much admin you’re dealing with and think it’s funny now that I was attempting to give business advice to someone running such a busy shop 😂. I forget that not everyone can be the hippy working out of their basement. If I woke up to that many emails I’d probably pass out—or at least implement a system like yours or Al’s for sure. Good on ya for answering all those everyday, it totally makes sense how you’ve automated the booking and designed your queue. And no doubt, I’m sure rent where you are is not easy to maintain so double props to that! A repair shop in central London sounds like the dream to me so I must admit I’m envious.
I should also say that I agree with Al— this is a great topic and is something I’m always rethinking, so it’s interesting to hear peoples different approaches. Thanks for sharing yours and getting this conversation going. I can definitely see myself having to implement something more structured in the future, so it’s helpful to read about yours in detail.
Good luck with all this!
-Alex
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Hey Kevin, Great post! My favorite topic! I’ve posted on my booking system so you can probably find that in a search but here is a summary, and I am happy to schedule a video or phone consult as well, to discuss and brainstorm. The system I developed for my shop has resulted in a drastic improvement in all aspects of the business and has helped me restore my own sanity as well. If you (or anyone reading this) email me at al@alsguitarworkshop.com I’ll send you the documents that I use, but here is a summary of my system. Its easy to use and has eliminated virtually all of the customer bs that I was dealing with, including complaints about turnaround, nagging emails and “check-ins,” attempts to haggle/negotiate fees/requests for discounts for multiple guitars. The system I use can take a little time to adjust as it is a pretty hard turn from the way many shops do business, and it can make you feel “mean” or “selfish” if you are accustomed to bending to the will of unreasonable customers, but if you stick with it, you’ll get the results you want. I will say that there are variables in culture and economics from region to region, so your mileage may vary, as the saying goes… For reference I am located in Virginia, the DC suburbs and my shop is my 2nd business, and I work 20-25 hours a week doing guitar repair. Sometimes more, but I try not to. Also for reference the shop grosses about $4k-$5k gross per month, and I average $500/job, to give you an idea of what size business I have. Anyway, here is my system:
-I use Square for all transactions, and all of my jobs are paid prior to customer pickup. I offer refunds if anyone isn’t happy with the work, but that has happened very infrequently. Square is well worth the fees they charge. When I started using Square, I raised my overall rates to cover those fees. Square fees are simply a utility cost, like gas/electric/rent etc. Customers will take you much more seriously if you use this method, and everyone is accustomed to online payments now, thanks to the pandemic.
-I developed a shop info sheet that I send to every new customer. It outlines all my policies and emphasizes that I am very busy, which communicates indirectly that I don’t have time for bs and that I am established enough not to need to be offering discounts or begging for business.
-I almost never answer the phone. I respond to phone calls with a text that requests an email to start the intake process.
-I require a $100 deposit (or $150, see below). It is refundable up until the customer drops off the instrument. The amount seems to be the sweet spot for weeding out customers that I don’t want anyway. This amount is applied as a credit toward any work done, if the customer decides to have the work done. Otherwise, it serves as an assessment fee. I don’t do free assessments.
– I have 2 queue options, standard and expedited. The standard queue offers no guaranteed turnaround time. A guaranteed turnaround time carries an additional fee, which usually is equivalent to the $150 an hour rate (or 50% additional fee to my standard rates).
-The most helpful part of my system is the option for expedited work. I charge $150 an hour for this option. It allows for quick turnaround work but only for customers who are willing to pay for that as a premium service. The same as any other trade industry service (plumber/electrician/carpenter). I find that this option really helps eliminate the customers who complain about turnaround time, because it communicates that a fast turnaround time is available but costs extra. I was inspired to start this option after talking with Doug Proper about the topic of “there are no guitar emergencies.” Customers needing fast work suddenly need it much less quickly once they are told that fast turnaround costs 50% more. It also means that nobody can ever accuse you of being slow or having a long turnaround time. “Yes, I can do the work today (tomorrow). Here is the fee for that turnaround time.” Very empowering to be able to say that!!!!
-I use google calendar for booking, which allows the customer to book their own appointments using a link that I send. I set up my calendar to allow pick ups and drop offs during certain hours weekly. I don’t allow walk in business in general, with some exceptions. Generally my standard queue books 2-3 months out and stays full. I allow for extra times in my week for quick turnaround jobs so that they don’t all require me to work overtime. The expedited queue stays full as well, meaning on a weekly basis I am doing at least one or 2 expedited jobs. That queue usually books the same week or sometimes a week out and carries a guaranteed turnaround that gets negotiated with the customer depending on their need. That queue is my “priority queue.”
Let me know if you have questions or want to talk by phone or video. And for anyone reading this who wants to learn more, I am happy to schedule time to talk as well. I hope this helps!
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@als_guitar_workshop Hi Al, that’s amazing, thank you, & I’ll drop you an email in a minute if you’re happy to share the documents you’re using, and I’ve read through the summary of how you go about things here. I actually don’t think it’s harsh or mean at all! Quite the opposite, I run some very close parallels to a lot of what you do, and like you, I don’t haggle, or do discounts for multiple instruments, or negotiate. All I will say to people who ask is that I work as quickly as I can to deliver a good quality result (because I have to in order to keep up!), and I will always charge honestly and fairly for the time spent. I’ll be kind, but firm, and if someone doesn’t want to work with that, it’s ok by me, and there are other places with different ways of operating that they might prefer.
– I use a similar service to Square over here in the UK, and it does keep the payment process streamlined. Payments in advance are optional, vs payments in person. That and the deposit system are all handled through their own respective systems and set up to automatically populate the main accounts, so everything is easy to visualise and keep track of. I agree that the cost of doing this was certainly worth the results, and the prices were slightly increased some years ago to accommodate it.
– I’m curious to see what sort of sheet you work with. I also have a digital form that gets filled out during a drop off (and another when invoiced), with the basic info about the job, estimated costs, any additional particulars like special due dates, etc, and a brief at the bottom with some of the policies as well. I’ll see if I can attach one here, but I can always email one across if you’re interested
– I too, almost never answer the phone! I got frustrated with having to keep up with multiple forms of contact, and across several platforms, so I made a decision a while back to funnel it all through emails, in one account only. Folks can still contact me via other methods, but in most cases, there is an automated reply that will direct you to send your message to my email, if it doesn’t already redirect it there. This was a great move!
– I operate exactly in this manner when it comes to booking deposits and assessments, albeit with a much smaller number when it comes to the deposit amount, something I will likely adjust given the input of you and Alex, as well as others I’ve spoken with. My main concern with going too high was chasing off small, quick moneymaking jobs that can really quickly bump up the weekly totals (and almost nobody else in town actually asks for any kind of deposit), but I think it may be time to move past this way of thinking now.
– Funny enough, I also have a ‘fast lane’ queue, but one that I don’t advertise publicly, and it is usually offered to more commercial-based clients and touring acts that are coming through London with limited time, and need a guaranteed result in a very short space. They are charged at double my normal rate, so £170 per hour, and are handled virtually immediately, although I do need a little heads up to make sure I’m in town, available, and able to do it. No point promising what I can’t deliver! I have also brought it out occasionally for other clients who are in a hurry, and as you said, just like in any other trade, I tell them they can have it faster for an increased cost. Agreed, it is surprising how many people vanish when they have to pay more for it to be done immediately, and that’s ok to. Some folks absolutely understand that I’ll likely be staying in at night doing overtime to get it done for them, and they are willing to pay. Perhaps it might be a good idea for me to expand on this and offer it more publicly (with limits to how many) and/or tie it in with the ’emergency-type’ jobs for on-the-day, last-minute sort of stuff. Good call there!
– I don’t generally allow walk-ins either, but if the timing is just right or if the work sounds minor, I’ll still try and help. I’ve got my calendar tied in with Google, and I also have set parameters and days where people can drop off, collect, or consult online. The idea being that there will be uninterrupted days where I can focus on simply getting the work done. Although I think I’m more rigid when it comes to the available times, I think you hold fast to your system better, and perhaps I should try the same. Not with an iron fist, of course, but a bit more of a grip. I think you have a really wise breakdown between the types of jobs you take on. You might have seen from my response to Alex, that I might have 50, 60, or even 80 emails a day to answer, which is brilliant, but too many. (AI can step in anytime there, hahaha) I can’t always tell which ones will lead to work & at least I have a large number of pre-prepared responses that I can fill in with further detail when required.
I’ll typically need to complete anywhere from 13-18 guitars per week on average to keep the doors open and my accountant happy. I’ve had just over 450 guitars come through so far this year, & that’s a lot I suppose, but the average spend on a repair here is just below £100 (I’m already considered expensive at £85 per hour, plus tax, but I won’t argue that it should really be more in a place like this) so I need to keep turnover up, to balance the books with the large overheads of operating in Central London. Tricky, but doable if I can achieve what I’m hoping to here with managing appointments, lowering admin & wait times, and ensuring people will show up for their scheduled drop-offs.
It is really excellent of you to take the time to share your knowledge and experiences with me, and I truly appreciate it! I’ll send over an email now about those documents you use, thanks again 🙂
-Kev
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@kev responding now to your email but also you can look in the archive section of this site and search the video subsection under my name you’ll find a video I made that outlines my model.
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@kev also once I instituted the $75 no-show fee, my no-show rate went to zero. I subtract that out of their deposit so essentially everyone pre-pays that fee.
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Great conversation! Very interested as my business is new but ramping exponentially up. Trying to be proactive. Love looking at models like Al and Alex’s and both look great and I’ve been thinking what might happen beyond that to go to what Kevin is saying.
So what happens when the expedited queue fills up? The analogy I was thinking of is the paid for “express etc.” lane on the highway. They put one in that costs hoping to to gain funding and somewhat alleviate traffic but people are willing to pay and that lane simply fills up just like the other lanes. My demographic is quite different from many in that I’m the only shop in the area. It’s a four hour drive in all directions to the nearest shop. People have been willing to pay for expediting. It would cost more in gas for them to go elsewhere. Don’t at some point, you just have to put fear of losing work aside and simply say no?
I’m very much liking the conversation. And Al, thanks for all you hard work on this. You got me thinking about it when I started the business. Your articles and the “loothing for dollars” series has been instrumental from the start.
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@patreon_150226515 I’m thinking some possible directions to take when that issue arises might be to either call a limit to how many expedited spaces can be offered before you lose your mind, raise the prices of only the expedited service directly, relative to the fuel/travel costs you metioned (plus you must be good at what you do, otherwise folks would travel the distance to go elsewhere 🙂
Or, raise the prices slightly overall to balance your investment of time, but like me, you’re probably not trying to penalise your clients for liking your business, so I’d consider it a final resort.
Some ideas to work from, if that helps!
Cheers,
-Kev
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Great ideas. Yes, So far all my clients have been good and I like meeting with them. Also, since it’s the only game in town, and at least 16 hrs. (Drop off instrument, drive back, wait a month, pick up instrument, drive back), My turn around is much quicker so far. But I am getting swamped. I don’t want to penalize them and also have been using a sliding scale. My favorite customer was my first customer, a native girl who loves playing. No way she could afford the pricing. Doug P gave a great piece of advice. Said it’s not a 501c charity but it is a bit more touchy in a small town. Plus I like that I’m helping people play music which I consider to be the best of human constructs. Had a Trump hat, a transvestite and a snowflake lefty in shop at the same time and all had a great conversation about music.
So yes, the pricing I don’t think, will be the fix in the long run. And I hate having to say no to a neighbor. Thank you so much for continued interaction. Can’t wait to see how we all handle it.
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@patreon_150226515 Tony, I’m sure in time you’ll figure it all out! Hope to see you Tuesday at HAWFL!
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Hey Kevin, I may not be a 1 to 1 comparison to your situation, but I will share the approach that I am taking now days to make sure my work doesn’t overtake my life. I actually had the idea while I was in my dentists chair waiting for an emergency filling replacement. The dentist I use has an ‘in house’ insurance program that allows for emergency work or convenience visits to take priority over normal scheduling. That comes at an upfront cost, like most insurances, but allows me to “cut the line” to address any issues.
I decided to try out a prescription service to local musicians that basically allows them more direct access to my services. I charge a yearly fee that gives them certain perks and priority privileges to my schedule (some exclusions apply). In sort, I have attached a monetary value to my availability. In general I split my time between building and repairs on a weekly basis and was getting frustrated that repair work was cutting into the building time which I enjoy far more. With this service I am able to bank money that only guarantees my attention, and still allows me to charge my normal hourly rate. I use that money for shop investment, vacation, or pretend that I’m actually getting paid to build.
I limit the number of prescriptions to create a micro market demand that allows me to set the price at $15 per month(minimum of 6 months), or $120 per year. Last year I made $5400 without losing any business, and gives me the piece of mind that I can work normal hours and take time off.
All my non-prescription work is a first come first serve basis that when I have ten guitars in my rack I stop taking work till a slot opens up, or if the person buys a prescription.
There is an overwhelming amount of guitars in this world that need work with a limited number of people willing to do it. Attach a value to your availability, don’t let others take advantage of it.
Cheers,
Jeremy
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You’re in central London — I absolutely recommend raising your prices. The ones complaining about your prices will go elsewhere, and those who won’t bat an eye and appreciate your time and experience will ask “Why are you so cheap??”
There are no really elegant ways to go about this when running a shop in a major city. I sympathize with your numbers having similar issues in Los Angeles.
I didn’t take deposits but I also didn’t take appointments again from no shows. I made it clear when they were making an appointment to be communicative if they needed to change their appointment time and to be respectful of my time by giving me 48 hours notice. If they adjusted more than once I considered them a no show.
When you have more business than you know what to do with — take back control of your job and your business that you have a job in. Dictate the terms that work best for you, and don’t price yourself based on what (soon to be precious) customers are saying about your prices.
Price according to what the business demands of you. Mark your hours and how long jobs take you. Price accordingly. You also aren’t in business as a charity or to break even. You are in business to make a modest salary. Make sure you don’t forget that. It’s easy for people to complain; it’s hard to fix guitars.
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Another side effect of raising your prices (not an insane amount but I recommend 100-125 per hour) is —
The type of person who no shows will not be your client any longer.
When I raised my prices, my quality of customer also increased. Serious collectors were more interested in my work and what I was doing.
This isn’t to say your target clientele needs to be moneybags. I was a poor musician once too. The whales pay the bills so you can give sweetheart deals to those who actually need it.
I find luthiers psychologically on a whole are very pleasant people but also people pleasers. They don’t want to offend their clients by charging what they think is reasonable and fair. But consider as well — you might be unfair to yourself in doing this.
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