Hourly rate

[Ward & Probst]

Dear Clyde,

Yes, I know of a technician who raised his rates and then lowered them, then 
raised them again. In my conversations with techs at convention (in class and 
out) the two most common scenarios I have run into are:
1) Techs who tune anywhere from 5 to 10 pianos per day and complain about 
having too work so hard to make what they think they should be making
2) Techs who have raised their prices with the hope that they would reduce 
their work load then raised them again and again with no reduction in 
clientele. This is what happened to us personally during a time when four other 
technicians in our area left the business for other jobs.
In my experience most folks ask what the fee is in order to determine whether 
they have enough money to pay the bill. I know that when I seek a service 
person, I try to find the best I can because in my experience that is most 
satisfactory for me in the long run. We recently took a service vehicle to a 
mechanic who is a nice guy and attends our church. He replaced a timing belt, 
spark plugs and a fuel filter for less than what the dealership would. The car 
did not run as well so we took it to another mechanic whose work we knew: he 
replaced the spark plugs(one was cracked on the previous installation) and the 
fuel filter which was apparently original. There endeth the lesson.
I guess most folks really don't know how to figure their expenses, what they 
are entitled to deduct and what not or even what business scenario fits their 
personal needs best. At least that has been my experience in teaching in our 
region and at the Annual. Unfortunately, many of these folks are so intent on 
upgrading their technical skills they don't attend the business classes. IMHO, 
the saddest thing to see is a really fine tech who has all the skills in the 
world struggling to make a living or living in retirement on a very limited 
fixed income. I've seen both. When your figuring your charges, please remember 
that when the time comes for retirement you won't be able to go back to your 
customers and say "Look I didn't charge enough and now I need some money for 
retirement".
Climbing down from a soapbox I have been on too many years,
Dale
PS FWIW- in the last 11 years (a period of relatively low inflation) we have 
more than doubled our fees (of course they were too low to start with). Lost 
one regular church account and one piano teacher over the increases though 
their places were taken by better customers with better instruments. Remember 
if a client leaves over price they were not really a customer, they were just 
using you until they found someone cheaper. The best businesses are built with 
customers who appreciate us as technicians and as individuals. Our loyalty to 
them and their loyalty to us must balance for the relationship to be satisfying 
for both parties. OOOPPPS, forgot I was off the box!!

Dale Probst, RPT
		Member, TEAM2001
		PTG Annual Convention
		Reno, NV --July 11-15, 2001
		email: wardprobst@cst.net
		(940)691-3682 voice
		(940) 691-6843 fax
		TEAM2001 website: http://www.ptg.org/conv.htm



On Saturday, April 14, 2001 6:27 AM, Clyde Hollinger [SMTP:cedel@supernet.com] 
wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I would really be interested in any response to the question below, whether
> anyone raised the rates too high and then had to back off. I have a theory. 
 In times past I didn't charge enough, and I think a few new clients still call 
me because I had a reputation for charging a meager price.
>  Nowadays my business grows mostly through referrals from satisfied clients, 
and I charge
> a competitive rate.  But if I charged much higher than the average, I suspect 
I
> would get a reputation for being expensive that would last many years and 
could hurt
> business, even if I returned later to a fee closer to what others charge.  I 
don't want
> that scenario to develop.  In this part of the country people are pretty 
frugal.
>  Thoughts?
>
> Regards,
> Clyde