[pianotech] Charging by job, or by hour?

[Matthew Todd]

Hey Wim,
 
Do you quote action regulation jobs over the phone, without ever seeing the piano?
 
Just curious...


TODD PIANO WORKS 
Matthew Todd, Piano Technician 
(979) 248-9578
http://www.toddpianoworks.com

--- On Tue, 7/20/10, tnrwim at aol.com <tnrwim at aol.com> wrote:


From: tnrwim at aol.com <tnrwim at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Charging by job, or by hour?
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 10:48 PM





On my web page I publish my price list with a list of estimated times for 
various jobs. ( http://aftune.angelfire.com/prices.html ) Most of my customers 
and many of my prospective customers understand this and are willing to go with 
it. It has worked out rather successfully for me since I instituted it 2 years 
ago. Some, however, prefer the fixed fee, and end up calling someone else.

Wally
Wally
 
First of all, I don't know if it is a good idea to post your prices on your web site. There are way too many variable in any job to stick to a price. If a customer sees that you charge, lets say $500, for an action regulation, and you get there and the back rail cloth is moth eaten, it's going be very difficult to explain why that job is going to be more.  
 
My price list is not published. While my prices are based on the amount of time I take to do the work, my customers do not know that.  When a customer ask how much a particular job is, I look at my price list, and give the amount it will cost. The customer doesn't know how long it will take me to do the work. When I quote an action regulation job, I say about $450 - $550.  The customer doesn't know if that job will take me 2 hours or 2 days. 

Just my thoughts on the matter. 
 
Wim 




-----Original Message-----
From: Wally Scherer <afinetune at yahoo.com>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Tue, Jul 20, 2010 8:26 am
Subject: [pianotech] Charging by job, or by hour?


Comparisons: 1. Many of us will remember that in the earlier days of the 
internet, some companies charged by the minute or by the hour. This seemed fair. 
But when companies figured out a way to charge set fees, people seemed to like 
that too - especially those who used more hours.

2. Cell phone service providers also charged by the minute in the beginning, but 
now some are switching to a flat rate. For instance, my MetroPCS service charges 
me $45 a month for unlimited talk, text, and internet. (All taxes fees are 
included.)

One has to assume that the company has figured out the averages, then charges 
enough to come out ahead. If we use a lower amount internet or cell phone 
minutes, we are actually paying MORE per minute than those who use a larger 
amount.

The same is true for our business. If we charge a flat rate for tuning, some 
customers are paying more per minute of our time than others - obviously not 
fair to ones whose pianos take less time. But they accept it for the convenience 
of knowing IN ADVANCE what the charge will be.

Quote from Wim Blees: 

One of the problems we have in our industry is, we try to combine a set fee, 
(tuning, and pitch raising), with work that is done at an hourly rate, 
(regulation, voicing, etc.)   The way I have solved this discrepancy is to make 
a list of all the jobs I do, and estimate approximately how long it "normally" 
takes me to do them, including tuning.  I try to stick to this list as best I 
can, deviating occasionally when I think a particular job will take me a little 
longer. If there is a job I have never done before, I try to estimate how long 
it will take. If it takes me longer, I usually eat the time. If it takes me less 
time, I reduce the amount I charge. I realize there are some techs that charge 
by the "job", and ask for that amount, regardless of how long it took, because 
the customer paid for the job to be done, and is happy to pay that amount. I 
don't work that way. I sell my time, and if a job takes me less than I 
originally estimated, I give the
 customer a break.
Wim

On my web page I publish my price list with a list of estimated times for 
various jobs. ( http://aftune.angelfire.com/prices.html ) Most of my customers 
and many of my prospective customers understand this and are willing to go with 
it. It has worked out rather successfully for me since I instituted it 2 years 
ago. Some, however, prefer the fixed fee, and end up calling someone else.

Wally

A FINE TUNE - Piano Tuning & Repairs
Wallace T. Scherer, piano technician, music educator
5020 Canal Drive, Lake Worth, Florida, 33463-8014
Telephone: 561-432-4121
Web page: http://aftune.angelfire.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-FINE-TUNE-PIANO-TUNING-REPAIRS/129845010366185
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