Tuning price

[Sarah Fox]

Hi David et al.,

This is all a matter of supply and demand.  Whenever there's a tech or 
tooner who's hungrier than you are, he's going to undercut you.  That's the 
only way he's going to get your market share.  You're certainly not going to 
*give* it to him willingly!  Ultimately, this sort of competition will drag 
professional rates down to the point where it's only marginally "worth it" 
for you to be in the profession.  If you want plumbers' rates or cable guys' 
rates, you have to engage in price fixing, just like they do -- negotiated 
or even "understood" rates that everyone charges, more or less.  If your 
local rates aren't high enough, have a "pow wow" with the other techs, 
tuners, and/or tooners in your area.  Piano tuning/repair/servicing is 
effectively an oligopoly, and that's how oligopoly's stay profitable.

Having said all that, I find it hard to feel sorry for anyone who gets 
$50/hr, with only a few years of training.  I worked my tail off to get my 
Ph.D. and to go into research and teaching.  Altogether, all of my 
involvement in teaching and research would have brought in perhaps 
$20-30/hr.  Unfortunately the research funding ended up not being there for 
me, so there was no incentive for me to continue.  (I hated teaching.)  So 
when you talk of years of study and preparation for a measly $50, consider 
the folks who train harder and don't even get that much!

The ultimate irony is that photography is starting to pay off much better 
than teaching, and I didn't have to go to school to learn photography. 
After another year in the business, with a growing client list, I think I 
might make as much as you guys, and I'll be ticked to death to have that 
much money coming in!

I'm not writing any of this to vent or to argue.  I'm merely offering this 
as a point of perspective.  Ultimately, what matters is whether you can put 
food on the table, send your children to college, and be happy doing what 
you do.  I stopped caring long ago whether the plumber makes more money than 
I do.  OF COURSE he does; good for him!  (I do my own plumbing, and he can 
get rich off of other folks just as much as he pleases.)  To feel like I had 
to be the highest paid person on the block would only lead to 
disappointment, resentment, and frustration.  I don't need that, as it 
detracts from one of my big three professional goals (1, survival; 2, kids' 
survival; 3, HAPPINESS).

Yes, I could be a plumber and turn a pretty decent income.  Or I could 
become a piano technician and do something I'd enjoy much more.  But best of 
all (for me), I can be a photographer and create artwork!!  I choose the 
latter because the profession "fits" me, even though it doesn't pay as well. 
Now, would YOU want to be a plumber, or would you rather be working as a 
piano technician?  If you're doing what you like, and if you're earning a 
livable living...  Don't worry; be happy!  You'll be a richer man for it! 
:-)

For you bottom liners, break out the pencil and paper.  Figure your costs, 
your estimated client load, your time, etc.  Figure out your "break even" 
point, below which it's simply not worth the headache for you to 
tune/service a piano, and or below which you couldn't support your minimum 
acceptable standard of living.  If you get paid more than that, GREAT!  It's 
gravy.  Enjoy!  If you get paid less than that, buy a snake, and unplug 
people's toilets.  Doing what you enjoy doing is a luxury, and if you're 
able to do it, be happy!

Peace,
Sarah



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andersen" <david@davidandersenpianos.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 2:35 AM
Subject: Re: Tuning price


> So I thought I was gonna just let this one go, shock everybody with my 
> high
> LA prices, and leave it at that, but I can't.  Thank you, Brad Smith, for
> saying eloquently what I'm going to say a little more forcefully.
>
> Most of us have an unbelievably varied and custom skillset; we are honest,
> and careful, and do the best job we can; why the HELL do some of us 
> persist
> in thinking we're not as worthy as the plumber or the cable guy of getting
> paid what we're worth?  Fifty bucks for 60-90 minutes of focused, 
> difficult,
> custom professional work? That's pathetic, in Minot, ND, or anywhere else.
> $91.00 in London or Amsterdam is pathetic. Can I vent?
>
> We have spent our entire history as piano artisans, by and large,
> undervaluing our skills and work; I see it all over; if I hear another
> pianotech tell me they can't charge any more because people don't really
> give a s**t, or can't hear the difference, or whatever excuse they come up
> with, I think I'll throw up. I work my a** off to do the highest quality
> work, provide my customers with beauty and enjoyment, educate them, and
> allow them to relax and trust that they will be taken care of.  How much 
> is
> that worth?
>
> I heard a guy teaching a class at a national convention say that a pair of
> pliers that cost maybe $60 was the most expensive tool he ever bought, and
> that he just can't see spending money on tools for "just pianos."
> What can I say? What if your doctor felt that way?  Or your accountant?
> Or your gardener, for God's sake?  Wake up, ladies and gentlemen.
> You need to take care of your families and get paid what you're worth.
>
> You caught me in a cranky, preachy mood....rrrrrrrr.
>
> David Andersen
>
>
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