[pianotech] Shop rate vs house call rate

[Gerald Groot]

My shop rate is no different than my in home rate.  My business expenses
have not stopped because my car is parked so my rate remains the same either
way.  The only thing I am not using at that time is gas.  

 

Seeing as how we have to use our vehicle to pick up the action and return it
to the location, I charge two separate charges for this.  One for pickup, a
service call charge and one for returning it, another service call charge.
This gets me to and from the location.  I also add on the time involved for
removing and installing the action.  I gave an estimate on filing hammers
and regulation for example, not removing a spinet action and re-installing
it too which will take at least 1 hour labor removing keys etc.  I think of
it this way.  If I were in their home and had to remove the action to repair
a broken hammer shank, I would charge my normal labor rate for removing and
installation of the action.  Doing likewise removing and installing of the
action to bring to my shop for any other work is no different.  

 

Jer

 

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of kurt baxter
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 1:35 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: [pianotech] Shop rate vs house call rate

 

Ok, so I am in the process of updating and organizing my fee schedule, and
was wondering how others figure rates for work in-home vs in-shop.
Do most technicians charge less per hour for the same repairs/regulation if
they do it in their shop? If so, why, and by how much?

No need for actual dollar amounts, just a percentage of what you normally
get for an hour of tuning or repair, and your thinking behind it.

I figure my house call rate needs to cover:

Driving time.
Gas
Car expenses
Tools and training
The inefficiency resulting from working in someones living room with limited
tools.

On the other hand, my shop rate needs to cover:

Shop rent 
Utilities  
Maintenance
Even more tools (and training).
The work involved in moving the action to and from your shop (unless of
course you just charge two service calls on top of your shop rate)


It just feels odd to try and calculate how much my time is worth based on
where I am standing at the time.

-kurt







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