Ooohhhhhhh, that is a sticky one. I too would like to see the range of opinions on this question. I do not charge extra if the piano is 5 cents or less. I do charge extra if the piano is more than 10 cents off (average). If the keyboard is between 5 and 10 cents off, I sit there for a while and wish that I knew what to do. I know what the piano needs, but what should I charge extra for. In part, I try to get a feel for what the client expects. If the client is a good pianist and has a good piano, I talk to them about the need for a separate pitch raise (and separate fee), and likely two additional passes for a fine tuning (both for the standard tuning fee). If the client is Suzie 6yo and the piano is a 45 yo Winter spinet, I have a dillemma, do I charge for a pitch raise and then just do a one pass tuning? Do I do a two pass tuning (with the first one raising the pitch)? Do I do a one pass tuning while raising the pitch (using the AccuTuner)? I don't know. Fortunately, most 45 yo Winter spinets are a half-step flat - and I charge for however many pitch raises it takes. What do others do??? Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com ----- Original Message ----- From: <Staccatomusic@cs.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 9:28 AM Subject: pitch raising survey > Just wondering, at what point do techs start charging for pitch raises? (or > lowering) > I always include a little pitching in my standard tuning fee but what is a > little? I believe if a customer has failed to keep the piano tuned they need > to pay for the extra work. It is normally expected for the pitch to drift > some between schedule tunes but how far until we start charging for those > pitch fees? Care to comment? > BP >
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