Fees - revisited

[Farrell]

Working on so many projects that are reletively new tasks for me, I find Joe Garret's and Newton Hunt's labor guides invaluable. They take the worry out of what to charge for a job. Example: your first grand pinblock replacement. Do you charge $50 per hour for the 40+ hours that you will spend screwing it up the first time you try to make one, install it, and drill it (and then try again with a second block on the same piano)? No way! You charge the going rate @ the 12.5 hours in Joe's labor guide. (And you keep replacing it until it comes out properly!)

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Ross" <jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 7:06 AM
Subject: Re: Fees - revisited


Could it also be said, that your hourly charge, when you were inexperienced, was too much. Now that you are experienced, it is what it should be. I think Wim's example is too extreme.
When I started, I had an hourly rate. But, if I thought, that I had taken too long, due to my inexperience, I would only charge, for how many hours the job, I thought the job should have taken. This was for shop work, away from the customer.
A flat fee at the customers house, is easier to sell.
Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia.
jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Wimblees@AOL.COM 
  To: pianotech@ptg.org 
  Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 5:49 AM
  Subject: Re: Fees - revisited


  In a message dated 4/12/02 1:15:31 AM !!!First Boot!!!, rohde@pdnt.com writes: 



    List, 
       I read with interest the discussion on how techs charge...hourly fees, etc.   If we base ourselves on hourly fees, do we not hurt our income in the long run?  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?   It seems wrong that a person like myself who has been working for 30+ years should have to contract more jobs just to keep up with the novice.  Even the auto repair industry has manuals listing hours per job to charge. 
       Interested to hear responses. 

    Thanks!! 

    Ted Rohde - Central Illinois 



  There is no law that says you can't charge more per hour. If you used to take 10 hours to regulate an action, and charged $40 per hour, and it now takes only 5 hours to do that job, you have obviously become more experienced. So reward yourself, and charge $100 per hour. You'll get the same money for the same job, but you're only working half the time. But don't stop at just action regulation. You aren't just more experienced in action regulation. I am sure you're also more experienced in doing key rebushing, tuning, bridle straps etc. So now you can charge the same amount doing all you r jobs. And when it come to charging for something you've not done before, you know how much to charge: $100 per hour. 

  Wim