HI Susan, Wow, that sounds bad. Double vision man O man. I have a bit of vertigo as it is!! No thanks on the double vision! My dad got so burned out from tuning so many pianos and for so long one time, that he just laid on the couch and slept for about 2 weeks and did nothing. He could not bring himself to go to work. After about a month, he started working again. He warned me then not to do likewise but, I have with not quite the same results. I had to take 2 weeks off. I guess working hard and staying at it until it is completed and finished correctly and on time runs in the family. My dad used to say that we should "work while the sun shines." So, I work about as hard as I can but, I am trying my hardest to cut back to about 3 a day instead of the 5-8 a day that I have gotten used to doing in order to complete everything that needs doing. I'm getting there... I don't leave things either. I can't walk away feeling good about squeaking pedals or sticking keys. If it is done in the same time frame I have allotted for tuning, then there is no extra charge otherwise, depending on what it is and how long it takes me, I usually charge a little extra here and there but, not always 100 % of the time. Sometimes I toss it in too. Jer From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Susan Kline Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 10:01 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises Hi, Jer A friend told me it was as if my life had pressed a great big RESET button. You know how some weeks you get so tired, and say to yourself, "if only I could take six months off!" (Beware what you ask for ...) I now feel lucky it was only five months, and it did do a good number on the chronic fatigue, just staying home. Double vision for five weeks was quite galling. $1,000 a year doesn't even get you in the door when it comes to medical insurance. I investigated it in 1981, when I had come back to the US from Canada. I was appalled. They wanted more for a month of insurance than I expected to pay for normal medical care in several years. I was broke. I just "said no." I'm sure it's only gotten worse since. I don't think I made a conscious decision about "full service" tuning (at least in a minor version.) It just seemed the natural thing to do. I hated seeing something wrong and just LEAVING it. Susan On 10/31/2010 6:30 PM, Gerald Groot wrote: I'm sorry to hear about your crisis. That really sucks. Spending what we do spend on health insurance, you are quite correct when you say you could buy a whole lot of health insurance for that but, on the other hand If we were to spend say about $10,000 a year or so with deductibles or more, in 10 years, that's an easy $100,000. In that regard, you're ahead of the game there. Thanks for the conversation. I enjoyed it. I do find the idea of full service quite interesting and have an open mind to it, believe it or not. J Jer From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Susan Kline Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 9:14 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises On 10/31/2010 5:15 PM, Gerald Groot wrote: We have phone's, insurance, business insurance, health insurance, life insurance, some even carry ear insurance or hand insurance. We would have phones anyway. Not all of us have all that insurance. I, for instance, carry home owners insurance and car insurance, and that's it. I admit people with a family would worry without life insurance, and maybe some kind of disability or health insurance. I think that unless they are very anxious types, most single people are better off without most of those other insurances: the tool insurance, (HAND insurance??), liability insurance (which just makes your pockets deep enough for someone to want to sue you). I went 30 years without health insurance, ever since coming home from Canada. And last spring I became the poster child for what can happen as an uninsured person gets older. Here I am, aged 64, and I had a medical crisis and a hospital stay last May, and found myself with a hospital bill for $30,500 (after negotiations.) Plus other doctor bills. Okay ... my gosh, how could she do without the insurance?? Well, first, if you prorate my hospital bill for thirty years, you end up with about $1,000 per year -- you couldn't buy a whole lot of health insurance for that. Second, these days if you have been a good and faithful customer for years, paying premiums the whole time, and you suddenly have a major medical cost, the companies have whole rooms full of people whose only job is to go through your history with a fine tooth comb, to find an excuse not to pay. Now, there is overhead for you -- pay the insurance (at what I think are exorbitant rates) and THEN pay the medical costs yourself anyway, plus maybe some legal costs trying to collect. To sum up again -- I think a very important skill for a person in business is to keep overhead to the bare minimum. I don't remember Jer mentioning advertising, but that's another one which I think most really good piano techs should do without. Word of mouth does it all so much better, and is scot free. Susan Kline -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101031/0b8eb9e8/attachment.htm>
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