Terry and service vehicle/Phil Ryan

[James Baker]

I have heard the same lately from someone who actually talked to the
Commission.  We are quite free to tell each other what we charge, just not
to conspire to fix prices (this is what I understood him to say).  There is
way too much diversity in this profession to fix anything except pianos.

James Baker

----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2002 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: Terry and service vehicle/Phil Ryan


> "We are not allowed to discuss prices because of the Fair Trades
Commission."
>
> Hi Joe. I see the above idea expressed now and then. My understanding is
that there is no problem what-so-ever for pianos techs to discuss prices and
professional fees among themselves - unless they are collaborating and
trying to "fix" prices. I believe that if I were to post that I charge $75
for a basic tuning, $40 for a pitch raise, and $50 per hour for repairs and
shop work, I would not be doing anything illegal or unethical. I think
problems only arise if two or more folks were to try to make agreements
about how much to charge - i.e. "if you raise your price to $85, I'll do the
same thing..."
>
> Anyone more knowledgeable than I care to clarify this? Thanks.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> ----- 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)
> >
>