Ted writes: > If we base ourselves on hourly fees, do we not hurt our income in the >long run? No. I don't think so, but that is up to the individual tech: I know how long it used to take me to do an action regulation >on a Yamaha Grand. I now can do that same job in less than half the time >due to speed gained through experience. Am I now to be docked because >I've attained more experience and skill? Only if you are still charging what you did when you began. Whereas the complete novice's time is worth less than the instruction they receive when the are just learning, (and if they can manage to glue the pedal box on backwards,even less), a 30 year pro should charge a lot more per hour. How much more depends on the reputation and the competition. The more experience one has, the more their time is worth, and those that don't charge for it are cheating themselves while giving their customers a real bargain. There is no limit to how much a bargain a customer will accept, so that is a bottomless pit! Time is all we have to sell, and when we run out of it, there isn't any more, so I suggest that the only way to maximize your time's worth is to constantly strive to do higher quality work and constantly raise your prices to match. Fear of losing work due to raising your prices will, in the long run, cost far more than the lost work itself. Regard, Ed Foote RPT
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