[pianotech] Charging by job, or by hour?

[Dean May]

Not an issue of using more of the brain in court, it is an issue of flexible
time. Court schedules are dictated without much flexibility. 
 
And I know some lawyers charge by the job, not by the hour.

Dean

Dean W May                (812) 235-5272

PianoRebuilders.com    (888) DEAN-MAY

Terre Haute IN 47802

 

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From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of tnrwim at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 2:48 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Charging by job, or by hour?





Several of my clients are lawyers. We talk. Most charge by the job, a few by
the hour. In the end, it probably all works out about the same.

Regards
Ron.


 
I respectfully disagree. Most lawyers charge by the hours. They are called
"billable hours". Lawyers will also charge more per hour when they represent
you in court than they do when they talk to you in their office. My question
has always been, "do you use more of your brain during court?" 
 
The hours they charge in a day presumably add up to an 8 or 10 hour day.
Back in St. Louis, a public defender was fired because according to his log,
he billed the city 23 hours in one day. Not just once, but on a number of
occasions. 
 
Wim 



-----Original Message-----
From: RONALD SHIFLET <rlshiflet at msn.com>
To: Pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wed, Jul 21, 2010 6:26 am
Subject: [pianotech] Charging by job, or by hour?


There are many ways to figure the price of a piano job. Generally, I will
base it upon my tuning price. I know how many tunings I can do in a normal
day, and my daily rate runs about the same. You can easily break it down
into half days, etc.  

I used to charge by the hour, but not very often anymore. For me, I have
found that when quoting by the hour, you also have to estimate how many
hours it will take so the customer will have an idea what it will cost (ie,
have the money). Often, the customer doesn't really listen to you anyway,
they just remember what you said it will cost so even though you quoted an
hourly rate, they heard you quote the job....interesting isn't it?  If you
go over on time, it costs more and they're upset. If you go under, you
probably lost money in unscheduled work you could have done. Anymore, I just
quote the job. If I go over, I may make a little less on an hourly basis,
but this is rare. If I go under, I have a little extra time. Either way, I'm
making money. 

Examples:

*If you charge $100 for a tuning and can tune 4 pianos in a normal day, then
you will have income of $400, provided that you tune 4 pianos. In an all-day
repair job of about 8 hours, you would charge $400 plus parts. 

*You are tuning a vertical piano and notice the keyboard is seriously out of
regulation. You explain this to the owner and demonstrate. You might even
adjust one for an example. She then tells you why she hates her piano but
loves the one at church. You know it will take the better part of a day to
regulate the action and complete the tuning. You charge $400 for both jobs
inclusive. 

*A set of bridle straps can be installed in about the same amount of time as
a tuning. If you charge $75 for a tuning, you would charge $75 labor plus
the cost of the bridle straps. A good technician would also check the tuning
and if it was out of tune, they would try to sell the package of a tuning
plus straps...probably around $160-$175 for both.

*Several of my clients are lawyers. We talk. Most charge by the job, a few
by the hour. In the end, it probably all works out about the same.

Regards
Ron.
	

	

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