This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment "The way I think of it is that I simply make the same=20 amount of money in less time with a lesser piano." "The finer instruments take more time and it costs=20 the customer more to have them serviced." I'm really just trying to understand various philosophies for fee = schedules. I know many techs basically sell a service call as a specific = amount of time for a given fee. In that situation, the piano gets = whatever it needs most in that amount of time - High-end grand or Betsy = Ross spinet. I certainly understand Conrad's point about diminishing = returns on tuning effort. But if one person is getting 2 hours service = for $X, and another is getting only 1 hour service for the same $X, that = seems less than fair to me. The two quoted statements above appear to = contradict one another. In the first it appears that the console owner = is getting lesser value than Mrs. DeepPockets. In the second, it appears = that a greater fee is being charged for a higher level of service on the = finer instrument. Please clarify. The following frustrates me sometimes. I am still building my business. = I am busy, but not so busy yet to be turning away business - so, yes, I = still tune old uprights. My tuning skills have increased steadily, and = the time required to do a tuning has decreased steadily. I wish we could = charge strictly by the hour. It is now common for me to tune - lets use the easiest piano in the = world - a good-condition Yamaha P-22 in less than an hour (I think my = record for an easy piano is about 42 minutes). A bad console - i.e. 1959 Sorry & Yuck than has been mistreated - will = take longer because, even with diminishing returns, it will be slower = because of all the wierd noises. The bad console will take me 75 minutes = on average. The grand usually takes about 75 to 90 minutes. The good ones - I will = spend more time with just becuase one can do a better job on them - = takes longer to get to that point of diminishing return. The bad ones = are no different from the bad console - sometimes even worse because of = their age - but I guess those horizontal strings fog my thinking and I = try a little harder on these (sometimes) than the bad console. The old upright. The old upright. Geeeeezzz. The old upright. Hmmm. = First you spend 20 minutes trying to talk the owner out of doing = anything with it. After failure at that (although I do not always = fail!), you tune three notes - pound in a tuning pin - tune a few more - = now you gotta stop because you have a jack flange unglued - fix that - = bla, bla, bla, - hammers flying off - bla, bla, bla, - you know the = picture here - even though you charge extra to fix the jack flange and = unglued hammer butt leather, and broken hammer, etc., etc., it still = slows you down big time. I find that old uprights will take anywhere = from 1 to 2 hours to tune - plus the repairs. =20 So here I tune pianos in 45 minutes to 2 hours and charge the same thing = (actually I do charge the same for all except $5 more for spinets and = $10 more for old uprights). This is dictated by piano owners expecting = one price for tuning. The point? Just trying to understand how others work some of this out. = Thanks. Terry Farrell ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Billbrpt@AOL.COM=20 To: pianotech@ptg.org=20 Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2001 12:32 AM Subject: Re: Under an hour tuning (was labor rates) In a message dated 8/4/01 11:19:37 PM Central Daylight Time,=20 mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com (Farrell) writes:=20 "Concert pianos on stages and console pianos in living rooms are not = the=20 same=20 kinds of instruments. I know, for example that when I am going to = tune a=20 Steinway grand in someone's home, the time I spend will be much = more, maybe=20 even double."=20 Is that because a Steinway grand is harder to tune? Do you charge = 50% for=20 the console? I don't understand your policy here. Please clarify. If = my=20 auto mechanic did a significantly better tune-up on my neighbor's = new Lexus=20 than on my 18-year-old car, I would not be happy with him/her at = all. Is=20 this what is going on here? I'd have to hand it to Conrad for answering the question quite well. = The way=20 I think of it is that I simply make the same amount of money in less = time=20 with a lesser piano. When people inquire about "How much does it cost = to=20 tune a piano?", you can't really start giving a list of sliding scale = prices=20 for various brands of pianos in various conditions.=20 I spend more time on the Steinway or other fine grand because it and = the=20 customer deserves it. You can't make a "furniture" piano sound much = better=20 than it will in 45 minutes, no matter what you do. But that does not = mean I=20 disrespect the instrument nor the people who own it, I simply provide = an=20 appropriate level of service. If the console or spinet piano needs = cleaning,=20 regulation, action tightening, alignment, voicing, etc., I use = techniques=20 which get the job done quickly and efficiently and for an appropriate = fee. =20 The finer instruments take more time and it costs the customer more to = have=20 them serviced.=20 Bill Bremmer RPT=20 Madison, Wisconsin=20 ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/4f/02/ab/02/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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