[pianotech] i'll take a pass

[Dean May]

Yes, always, always explain your tuning fee at the scheduling of the
appointment so there are no surprises. 

 

My pitch raise fee is a sliding scale from my normal rate of 95 up to 175 if
they are really, really bad. I explain that if it needs a pitch raise almost
all of them run in the 125-150 range, very rarely will it go up to 175. I'll
be able to give them a better quote after inspecting the piano, but if it
has been tuned in the last 3-5 years then likely it will just need a
standard tuning. 

 

When a piano is 150-200 cents flat I find that two passes often just won't
do it. I generally have to make a third pass over octaves 3 through 5 or 6.
When pianos are that bad people expect to pay more, and they deserve to as
well. I'm not going to disappoint them, especially when it takes longer and
is more wearing on me. That pitch raise results in the 175 bill and I'm
thinking about raising it to 195.

 

OTH, if the bass is near pitch, the tenor is 25 cents flat tapering to near
pitch in octave 5-6, then a first pass from the tenor break to octave 5,
then a single pass over the whole thing, i.e., a 1.5 pass pitch raise. For
that I'll charge 120. 

 

Mostly I just use the force when it comes to setting the final price.
Really, give yourself some leeway. Some pianos are just bears on a pitch
raise and you should be able to charge more when that happens. 

 

Different strokes. Figure out what works for you and what you can sell your
customers. But try to always explain potential fees before you get there. 

 

Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 

PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 

Terre Haute IN  47802

 

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Terry Farrell
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 7:31 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] i'll take a pass

 

 Which is why I always explain to a caller that if the piano is up or near
standard pitch, my $95 tuning fee covers what I need to do regarding tuning.
But if the piano is significantly below standard pitch, then we will have to
do a separate proceedure called a pitch raise to get the piano up to
standard pitch before I can tune it. My fee for a pitch raise is $45 - but,
of course, only if your piano needs it. I approach this statement by asking
how long it has been since the last tuning...... (Yeah, yeah, I know - but
this is how I present my tuning fee structure to a caller.

 

That way, no surprises come appointment day.......

 

Terry Farrell

 

On Aug 21, 2009, at 6:08 PM, Britney Kirk wrote:





That's how I do it.  It gives bad vibes when you get to someone's house and
say, " By the way, it'll cost you even more than you originally thought!"

 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org]On Behalf
Of Noah Frere
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 3:58 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] i'll take a pass

 

So am I to understand you have one flat rate for every tuning, no matter how
long it takes?

On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 7:24 PM, Tom Sivak <tvaktvak at sbcglobal.net> wrote:


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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