<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] stand-by & pitch change charges</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> Hi Barbara,     In general, I agree with Jon: charge your hourly ra= te. But that could be negotiable should the contract be amended to say &#822= 0;The tuner will return at X o’clock (say an hour before the concert) = to touch up and deal with any problems.” Then it’s a service cal= l. I would think that solution would meet everyone’s approval.     About charging for pitch change back to 440, that&#= 8217;s a complex question. Whose piano? What’s the status of the event= ? Is the orchestra renting the hall, or the hall presenting the orchestra? I= ’d say the policy is the hall’s responsibility. I would advise t= hem, if this is a rental, to charge the orchestra an additional tuning to br= ing it back (and for two tunings to get it to non-standard pitch and stable)= . Just tell them the next time they have it tuned, it will need two tunings = – that should be sufficient to persuade them. Of course if it is a co-= production, or the concert is produced by the venue, it becomes a different = kettle of fish. But make sure the folks in the hall know that non-440 means = extra tuning in both directions. And leave it to them as to who pays (as lon= g as it isn’t the tuner working for free). Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico   On 8/5/05 2:36 PM, "Barbara Richmond" <piano57@insightbb.com&g= t; wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>Howdy all,   Just had a note from the director of the big auditorium.  A contract f= rom a big orchestra has come through specifying that the piano be tuned not = more than 6 hours before the concert and  "The piano tuner should = remain available and on stand-by until concert start time."   What's a fair charge for stand-by?  Would it be my normal hourly fee, = even if I'm sitting in the tech office reading a book?  :-)   Unless I'm planning on staying for the concert for my own enjoyment, I usua= lly stay until I get the OK from whomever, but it usually isn't long after I= 've finished working.  At this point I haven't been informed what the a= fternoon schedule is.  This is the first time I've had this in a contra= ct ('tis only my second season).  Just wondering how you all handle the= se things.   Also, this orchestra has requested something other than 440, so I'm thinkin= g they should not only pay for bringing the piano up in pitch, but also taki= ng it back down again.  Comments??   I realize a lot of you on this list are salaried techs, but someone out the= re must be servicing additional concert facilities.  (Oh, yeah, I'll be= getting to that report after "going to the lake" season........)<= BR>   Thanks,   Barbara Richmond, RPT </BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY> </HTML>