Charging for Pitch Raises

[Mike McCoy]

This is the only reply I have see so far that talks about the wear and tear on your body, and we need to account for that. I charge $90 for a tuning and $45 additional for each PR pass and I believe that is a GIFT. What I am considering doing is charging $90 for each pass. How can you convince a customer to tune twice or at least once a year for $90 ($450 over 5 years) when it only costs them $180 if they tune it once every 5 years? 

Mike



Mike McCoy RPT
Chapters 170 & 190 PTG
Langhorne, Pa
mailto:mjmccoyrpt@comcast.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "J Patrick Draine" <draine@attbi.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Cc: "J Patrick Draine" <draine@attbi.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 7:34 PM
Subject: Re: Charging for Pitch Raises


> 
> On Wednesday, April 17, 2002, at 06:33 PM, David Foster wrote:
> 
> > I have been gratified to find many respondents on this issue that do 
> > not normally charge for pitch raises.
> 
> In my case, it depends on *how much* of a pitch raise. I almost always 
> do two passes, first a pitch correction, then a fine tuning. BUT when 
> it's 50-150 cents flat, there's a lot of work to be done. Yes, it's 
> possible to work really really fast, but it's important to remind 
> ourselves that leaves us vulnerable to Repetitive Stress Injuries. 
> Carpal tunnel injuries, tendonitis and such are things we want to avoid. 
> If I'm raising a piano a half tone I'll go over the thing 3 even 4 times 
> in one sitting,  with occasional "breaks" tightening flanges, spacing 
> hammers, etc. The customer understands I need to get compensated for the 
> extra time.
> 
> Patrick Draine
>