Hi Dale. Great post. I'm thinking about raising my rates. Do you have any specific philosophy regarding raising rates? Raise your tuning fee $5 per year? Always charge $79.95 or $89.95 - make it look good? Go from $65 to $75 to $85 - the idea being that $75 feels the same as $70? How did you go about more than doubling your rates over the last 11 years? Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ward & Probst" <wardprobst@cst.net> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2001 11:46 AM Subject: RE: Hourly rate > Dear Clyde, > > Yes, I know of a technician who raised his rates and then lowered them, then > raised them again. In my conversations with techs at convention (in class and > out) the two most common scenarios I have run into are: > 1) Techs who tune anywhere from 5 to 10 pianos per day and complain about > having too work so hard to make what they think they should be making > 2) Techs who have raised their prices with the hope that they would reduce > their work load then raised them again and again with no reduction in > clientele. This is what happened to us personally during a time when four other > technicians in our area left the business for other jobs. > In my experience most folks ask what the fee is in order to determine whether > they have enough money to pay the bill. I know that when I seek a service > person, I try to find the best I can because in my experience that is most > satisfactory for me in the long run. We recently took a service vehicle to a > mechanic who is a nice guy and attends our church. He replaced a timing belt, > spark plugs and a fuel filter for less than what the dealership would. The car > did not run as well so we took it to another mechanic whose work we knew: he > replaced the spark plugs(one was cracked on the previous installation) and the > fuel filter which was apparently original. There endeth the lesson. > I guess most folks really don't know how to figure their expenses, what they > are entitled to deduct and what not or even what business scenario fits their > personal needs best. At least that has been my experience in teaching in our > region and at the Annual. Unfortunately, many of these folks are so intent on > upgrading their technical skills they don't attend the business classes. IMHO, > the saddest thing to see is a really fine tech who has all the skills in the > world struggling to make a living or living in retirement on a very limited > fixed income. I've seen both. When your figuring your charges, please remember > that when the time comes for retirement you won't be able to go back to your > customers and say "Look I didn't charge enough and now I need some money for > retirement". > Climbing down from a soapbox I have been on too many years, > Dale > PS FWIW- in the last 11 years (a period of relatively low inflation) we have > more than doubled our fees (of course they were too low to start with). Lost > one regular church account and one piano teacher over the increases though > their places were taken by better customers with better instruments. Remember > if a client leaves over price they were not really a customer, they were just > using you until they found someone cheaper. The best businesses are built with > customers who appreciate us as technicians and as individuals. Our loyalty to > them and their loyalty to us must balance for the relationship to be satisfying > for both parties. OOOPPPS, forgot I was off the box!! > > Dale Probst, RPT > Member, TEAM2001 > PTG Annual Convention > Reno, NV --July 11-15, 2001 > email: wardprobst@cst.net > (940)691-3682 voice > (940) 691-6843 fax > TEAM2001 website: http://www.ptg.org/conv.htm > > > > On Saturday, April 14, 2001 6:27 AM, Clyde Hollinger [SMTP:cedel@supernet.com] > wrote: > > Friends, > > > > I would really be interested in any response to the question below, whether > > anyone raised the rates too high and then had to back off. I have a theory. > In times past I didn't charge enough, and I think a few new clients still call > me because I had a reputation for charging a meager price. > > Nowadays my business grows mostly through referrals from satisfied clients, > and I charge > > a competitive rate. But if I charged much higher than the average, I suspect > I > > would get a reputation for being expensive that would last many years and > could hurt > > business, even if I returned later to a fee closer to what others charge. I > don't want > > that scenario to develop. In this part of the country people are pretty > frugal. > > Thoughts? > > > > Regards, > > Clyde > > >
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