This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment I appreciate what you are saying and I think you are right that many = good technicians are not good business people. I don't count myself = among those. I have business experience running a small company before = deciding to put all my energies in this field. My business is very = successful but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to refine it. The fact = is, that for regular field servicing I am trying to avoid the menu style = of billing. My time is worth so much per hour and I will accomplish = whatever I can in the time allotted. I think that's a better way to go = than to piece meal everything. People who service their pianos more = regularly benefit because I can do more non-tuning related things. For = shop work it might be different but my fees are ultimately based on an = estimate of time and materials. The conversation I gave was, of course, not a literal conversation. It = was a composite and fictionalized form representing the types of = conversations that can happen and are avoided by simply saying, my fee = is x and is based on a 1.5 hour service call. That says it all. I'll = be there for an 1.5 hours and if I'm there longer for other work, expect = to pay more. =20 I'm sure your video is worthwhile. I think the business side of what we = do is sorely neglected. I have spent a fair amount of time myself = developing a business model and strategy. So far it has worked very = well. David Love ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Wimblees@AOL.COM=20 To: pianotech@ptg.org=20 Sent: March 15, 2002 10:34 PM Subject: Re: Fees In a message dated 3/16/02 4:34:12 AM !!!First Boot!!!, = davidlovepianos@earthlink.net writes:=20 Don't take me quite so literally.=20 David Love=20 David=20 I realize that the story you gave is not a word for word telephone = conversation, and neither was mine. And I am not trying to persuade you = to change your practice. I wish you all the luck in the world with it. I = just wanted you to be aware that what you are doing might not solve the = problem you described. It doesn't make any difference what you charge, = and how you justify it. Someone is going to ask you to explain your fee = structure, and they will not be happy with it. =20 One of the problems we have in this business is that we are dealing = with two different price structures. One is a set fee for a set task. = ($80 to tune a piano). The other is an hourly wage to do everything = else. Now we may have come up with set fees for doing other things, = ($250 to put on a set of bridle straps, $800 to regulate an action, $350 = for a new set of keytops). but they are all based on the amount of time = we spend doing them, multiplied by the hourly rate we charge, (plus = parts).=20 That is why we should set our tuning fee by what we charge per hour. = But you first need to figure out what that hourly rate is. Vivian Brooks = and I both have excellent classes on this, and if you look in the = archives, or on the CD ROM, you will probably find many articles on the = subject.=20 One thing I find disturbing, is there are tuners who charge $70 per = tuning, and take an hour and half to do that tuning. But then they = charge $70 per hour to do technical work. That means if they need to = charge $70 per hour to pay the bills, every time they go do a tuning, = they loose $35. If they did 20 tunings in a week, they will have lost = $700. They should be charging the same for a tuning as they do for = technical work, which would be $105. But that would be way over what = everyone else charges. So something's got to give. My recommendation is = to learn to tune faster.=20 Again, David, please don't think that I am arguing with what you are = doing. As I said, if you think it is fair, and the customers are = satisfied, go for it.=20 Wim.=20 ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/53/f3/bb/09/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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