-----Original Message----- From: William R. Monroe <pianotech at a440piano.net> To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 7:46 pm Subject: Re: Mark-up (was Steinway parts) SNIP ?We have never, not once, raised our price on a job after the estimate is signed. And we have eaten a lot of mistakes and unseen stuff over the years. Keeps us on our toes! Paul Paul, Ed, and others, ? Note: what follows is my own personal business philosophy, and should be taken as just another perspective.? No disrespect intended. None taken. ? I truly don't understand not being paid for work you do. Neither do I, which is why we have gotten really good at our estimating skills. ? Mistakes, mind you, are another thing, and I wouldn't think of charging clients for errors in procedure or judgment. Which is what a bad estimate is. ? However, when we discover a surprise - whether during a rebuild or a house call - fix it (with approval), and charge accordingly. Apples and oranges, Bill. I should know what's in a piano, even a Chickering from 1910 :-), and the dangers and risks and possibilities. If I don't, my bad. If a string breaks, properly put in the passive voice, since good technicians never break strings :-), I discuss the situation with the client and charge accordingly. I'm responsible for the restoration of the piano in major work, and cost accordingly. I'm not responsible for the minor aches and pains of the household piano or piano owner. ? When?I am?tuning and a string breaks, I charge for that.? I didn't expect a string to break, but?I won't replace strings for free because I didn't anticipate it happening.? To me, it's the same in a rebuild situation. It's not the same at all. ? I don't think it serves either my clients or me to either write an estimate to include every possibility of things that could be found, or, conversely,?to eat the cost if it goes over.? Neither do I?see the lesson to be learned in absorbing unexpected costs.? For my person,?I think that would lead me toward creating artificially high estimates to cover the "just-in-case" scenarios.? Actually, I suppose one could do that, thereby allowing them to come in "under-budget" and end up charging the client less than the initial estimate.? I suppose that would be reasonable too. We do neither. We give an estimate (proposal) for a rebuild and the cost stands. Over time, we may have made extra on a job (man, I wish I could remember when that was!), and we certainly have lost some money on a job. But they balance out over time. ? In my business, however, I specifically have a clause in my contract that stipulates?that?there are occasionally?unseen issues, and if I can solve it within? [X] % of the estimate, I will proceed with the repair without any additional contact with the client.? Their signature on the contract is written approval.? If it exceeds [X] %, I will obtain additional written permission before I proceed. That's an interesting idea. I'm glad it works for you. Personally, I've seen overage percentages on lots of different kinds of contracts, and you know what? In almost all cases, the overage was charged. Hmmm. Bad estimating? Probably not. Probably perfect estimating, including the overage. We have done what we do for over 30 years, and the losses balance the gains, but the real gains are in 1) client trust and referral, and 2) our increased savvy at estimating and costing, what we consider good business practices. ? Certainly, I think it behooves us all to be very thorough in assessing pianos for rebuilding, and not just writing a "form estimate" letting all the details be discovered at teardown.? But I think as long as we are conscientious and thorough during our initial assessment, the infrequent surprises that surface should be billed accordingly. How big a surprise will you hand your client? A new keyboard because the keys turn to be too punky to rebush? A new back action because you weren't familiar (I know you are) with Steinway short-arm underlevers? Where do you stop? Simplicity says: create situations from which you will learn. Thanks for your full response, Bill. Paul ? My thoughts, William R. Monroe ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080219/84b2109e/attachment-0001.html
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