tuning cost

[Nichols]

Whew!
     For a while, I wasn't the lowest bidder, and the university gig 
vacation was nice. Once again I've got the contract, and I did it at my 
"regular" institutional price of $60 per, which is based on my standard fee 
less discount. What is you standard "outside" fee? Seems like $40 per is 
low, but.... how do we define "tuning", right?

Whatever floats your boat, I guess,

Guy Nichols, RPT
Ft. Stinkin' Desert, NM


At 10:48 AM 1/5/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>I was wondering, on the institutional level; what is the average 
>cost/piano tuning.
>
>Being an independent contractor working for a school with 22 pianos,
>I charge $40/piano tuning with technical work billed at $40/hr. This tuning
>price is for bulk maintenance, concert or singular tunings are/may be bill
>at a higher rate, especially on Sunday.
>
>Of the other tuners in the area and the few newbies, I asked for assistance
>with the tuning but they wouldn't think of tuning for less than $60, and this
>was a few years ago when I was 35 / piano. One newbie even refused floor
>tunings for a dealer for the $35 price, go figure.
>
>I bumped it up to 40 this year.(at 35, that was still an hourly rate of 
>40; so now
>it's per piano or per hour. Now when I tune 5 in four hours; they actually 
>get a break.
>
>Even though it's less money than last year for say 5 pianos (35 x 5 = 175 as
>opposed to 40/hr x 4 = 160)  the use of the VT has made it that much easier.
>
>Another aspect which I had been trying to get through the old 
>administration was
>a maintenance budget. But their policy was to fix only what is broken to 
>keep it working.
>The new director this year is different. On my first meeting with him I 
>proposed a budget
>and he immediately granted a $6k/yr discretionary budget dispersed at $500/mo.
>Now I can do things as I see fit to keep things above minimal 
>:-)  Rebuilding is billed separately.
>
>It's a pretty good gig.
>
>Jon Page
>
>
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