Matthew, I have a minimum service call charge, which, in addition to covering me showing up, would cover 1/2 hours worth of time..? If it's just a binding keyslip, I do as Patrick suggests and give them their moneys worth by adjusting pedals, touching up unisons, etc., etc. for 1/2 hour, then leave.? Having a minimum service call charge helps establish that yes, they will pay you something for your time, no matter how little time might be required for the job they called about. I have all of my rates posted on my website and listed at the bottom of my invoice in order to eliminate any feeling the customer might have about being ripped off, or that I have a sliding scale. If it's an old upright, I can almost guarantee you'll get more of a repair than you bargain for, like broken brass flanges, broken shanks, etc. This is just the kind of situation where you will benefit from an hourly rate.? But you have to be fair about it.? Don't charge full pop for something that takes longer than it should.? G Piano Works Repair Guide is good as a guideline for average time for common repairs. Dave Stahl, RPT Dave Stahl Piano Service dstahlpiano at sbcglobal.net dstahlpiano.net -----Original Message----- From: David Ilvedson <ilvey at sbcglobal.net> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 7:44 pm Subject: Re: Rates, etc >Well, for starters have you informed them of your minimum fee? Even if >fixing the "stuck" keys is a super fast fix, can you provide them with >further value for the appointment? Such as, a considered opinion as to the >piano's overall condition and appropriate asking price? Clean up the worst >unisons so it's a bit more presentable? You could say "OK I fixed that in x >minutes but you're paying me $Y, and that covers a full hour if necessary -- >I can do this or that, and it will make the piano more sale-able (clean >keytops, whatever, etc.)."To your basic question -- ethical? -- yes. Good >business sense? Your judgement call. >Patrick >On Mon, Aug 11, 2008 at 9:25 PM, Matthew Todd ><toddpianoworks at att.net>wrote: >> Hello friends, >> >> I will be going to a new client in a few weeks. They have an upright they >> will be selling, but a couple of the keys do not work. So I will be going >> to repair them so she can sell it. >> >> When I go on a service call, I don't charge any less than my tuning fee. >> My question is, what if the only problem with this pianos keys not working >> is a binding keyslip? Would it be ethical to still charge my standard >> service call charge, whether I am there 5 minutes or one hour? >> >> >> Thanks, >> Matthew >> Matther -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080811/0ab373e2/attachment.html
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