Terry and service vehicle/Phil Ryan

[Phil Ryan]

Joe,

You paint a bleak picture for piano techs as being "luxury" workers.  When
we hear the $450. bill for a plumber, we gulp and pay it,  thinking our
plumbing will be functioning  again and there will be no further expense.
With  piano tuning, we look at it as a temporary fix to be repeated over and
over again and for some people, they are not even aware that it has been
tuned.   Likewise, unless it 's under warranty, don't we all put off making
repairs to our vehicles or appliances until they become "major?"  So too
with pianos, people put off tuning them until something is happening  that
bothers them;  for many, this can be a long  time as they don't have an
"ear" for out-of-tuneness. Should a tuner not charge a lower fee than other
repair people since our service is not permanent.  In the meantime, my wife
is going to keep her day job.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Garrett" <joegarrett@earthlink.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2002 9:25 PM
Subject: Terry and service vehicle/Phil Ryan


> Phil,
> I have to completely disagree with your assessment of "the Market". WE are
> the ones who provide the service. And we are the ones who set the tone of
> fees! Yes, we can price ourselves out of business. BUT, I contend, (and
> always have), that piano technicians, (in general; being the mild manner
> sort that we are), have little or no experience in business. AND, we, (I
did
> say "we"), do not keep track of the economy, thereby seldom charge an
> appropriate fee!
> I must say, that I will go along with the fact that some areas of our
> beautiful country are economically depressed. But, let's be serious and
> consider that we are dealing with a commodity that is a "luxury" item. We
> are not allowed to discuss prices because of the Fair Trades Commission.
So,
> the only thing we can do is to privately discuss what we "think" should be
> an appropriate fee, for the locale that we live in. Also, we cannot berate
> another tech for being too cheap, we can only, "privately" think it!
> I should say, that Teachers fall in this same mess. They don't charge
> enough. Therefore, they can never afford to keep their piano in decent
> shape! What an abyss!
> In closing, I would suggest that each of us, check out the prices that
your
> local auto mechanic, electrician, plumber, TV repairman, etc., charge.
This
> is a good indicator for establishing you base "Man Hour" price. Once you
> have established what you consider as a fair hourly rate, then you can use
> the "Repair Labor Guide" to set your tuning fees, and repair rates for the
> jobs you do.
> End of Rant/Commercial!!
> Best Regards,
> Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
>
>
>