I see, I guess I missed that part of the thread. FWIW I don’t think one should charge more for tuning a cheap spinet. What’s the justification? Honestly, since they often sound bad no matter what you do it’s a less demanding bit of work. Anyway, I solve the problem by having a basic fee that includes other contingencies. Meaning it covers tuning and a bit more. Not likely even a few little problems, even a pitch correction (or the pain of tuning a cheap spinet) will add more to the cost. I schedule only enough time for what my fee covers and if there’s more to be done then it’s an onsite estimate and another appointment to follow. Saves the guesswork. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Todd Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 10:12 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] business David, I was responding to Wims post and Terry's reply about charging more for tuning a cheap spinet. Obviously we can't quote a price over the phone about a dysfunctional key, since there could be over 35 reasons why it doesn't play. What I was responding to was the fact that Wim asked if he could charge more for tuning a cheap spinet. Well, customers really expect a price for a tuning over the phone, and how could we do that if we charged based on the condition of a piano we haven't seen yet? TODD PIANO WORKS Matthew Todd, Piano Technician (979) 248-9578 <http://www.toddpianoworks.com/> http://www.toddpianoworks.com --- On Fri, 7/2/10, David Love <davidlovepianos at comcast.net> wrote: From: David Love <davidlovepianos at comcast.net> Subject: Re: [pianotech] business To: pianotech at ptg.org Date: Friday, July 2, 2010, 4:57 AM You just give them your basic fee info and let them know that the final cost can vary depending on what the problems are. It’s like calling a auto repair and asking how much to fix my car. It depends on what’s wrong with it. If they want to insist on holding you to a specific price before you’ve seen the piano, pass. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Todd Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 9:35 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] business And how do we charge as we "see fit" if we haven't seen the piano yet, and most customers would like a price over the phone before you have a chance to "see fit"? TODD PIANO WORKS Matthew Todd, Piano Technician (979) 248-9578 <http://www.toddpianoworks.com/> http://www.toddpianoworks.com --- On Fri, 7/2/10, Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com> wrote: From: Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com> Subject: Re: [pianotech] business To: pianotech at ptg.org Date: Friday, July 2, 2010, 2:06 AM Right. Charge as you see fit. Terry Farrell On Jul 1, 2010, at 6:39 PM, <http://us.mc838.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=tnrwim@aol.com> tnrwim at aol.com wrote: Non digital player pianos fall into the same category as squares for me. I like regulating grand dampers. I don't use clips on bridle straps. I don't mind tuning cheap spinets. Terry Farrell So should I charge extra to regulate grand dampers and tune the cheap spinet? When I mean extra, I mean more than my normal hourly rate. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Terry Farrell < <http://us.mc838.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com> mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com> To: pianotech < <http://us.mc838.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=pianotech@ptg.org> pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Thu, Jul 1, 2010 2:14 pm Subject: Re: [pianotech] business Non digital player pianos fall into the same category as squares for me. I like regulating grand dampers. I don't use clips on bridle straps. I don't mind tuning cheap spinets. Terry Farrell -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100701/12e3ddf3/attachment-0001.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC