New Customer Fee

[Tom Cole]

> Larry Gardner wrote:
> 
> Dear list,
>
> Lately I've been considering charging a "New Customer Fee" since I find that
> servicing a new customer is typically extra work due to pitch raises as well as
> extra work cleaning the piano.  I typically clean the soundboard on grands and
> like these are the customers that haven't tuned their piano in 10 years (or who
> knows!) and have the 40 to 100 cent pitch raises.  Also, these are the customers
> with a few little problems that only take a minute to fix, so I end up not
> charging.  Does anybody else charge a "1st time customer fee" ?


I've considered it myself and people in other professions do it
routinely. If you do more work the first time around, why not charge for
it?

I have a little different approach, though, and have found very little
resistance to it. I expect to spend an hour and a half on each customer
- tuning, voicing, regulating, cleaning, repairing, tracking down buzzes
- whatever I can do in that amount of time according to the circle of
refinement.

If the piano needs a pitch raise because of a lack of service, I charge
extra for that automatically. My aim is to leave the piano at pitch and
stable, piano condition permitting, which often means that I exceed the
allotted time. People seem to understand that some making up for lost
time is called for. The customer knows about the additional fee because
I have informed them of it over the phone. And it's a pleasant surprise
when sometimes I only ask for the basic tuning fee because the piano
held pitch so well, in spite of the ten years or whatever.

If I don't know the piano and it sounds like it may need more than
tuning, I also tell them that I will evaluate the condition of the
instrument when I get there and recommend repair procedures and prices
for each. It is then up to the customer to decide if they want the
additional work done.

I suppose what I do amounts to a "1st time customer fee". You can call
it what you like and see what works for you.

Susan Graham's advice on the subject was to charge at least _something_
for everything you do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go look that up to
see if she really said that ;-)

Tom
-- 
Thomas A. Cole, RPT
Santa Cruz, CA
mailto:tcole@cruzio.com