After all of these discussions about fees, and how to figure out how much to charge, a thought just came to me. When my dad started tuning in the late 50's, he charged $7 per tuning. I don't know how he figured that fee out, but I presumed he called some of the other tuners and went along with the "going rate". When I started tuning in the late 70's I did the same thing. I didn't know about hours worked divided by the amount of money I needed to feed a family. I just went along with the "going rate". In 1974, a technician asked a question in the Journal on how much to charge for his work. This is when I first did the math. I found out I was charging just about the right fee. But, I got to that figure, because my expenses equaled what I was making. There is nothing wrong with calling other tuners in the area for fee comparison. But how fast you work, how much traveling you do, what other expenses you might have, will make a difference in wheter you are going to make a "good" living, or just squeek by. One technician in my area is very maticulous, but he works at about half the speed as I do. Although his tuning fee and hourly rate is about the same as mine, it take him twice as long to do everything as I do. As a results, he make about half as much as I do. There is also nothing wrong with charging a set fee for a set proceedure. And if you feel compelled to charge more because of experience and knowledge, that is your right. But again, keep in mind how much money you generate doing this work, and make sure it is enough to make the living you want for yourself. Willem Blees
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