Working Cruise Estimates

[David Skolnik]

Hi Karen  -
Sorry I missed your original question.  I have a few.  How long have you 
been working for this company?  What is the nationality of ownership?  Is 
the electrical service on board compatible with your tools (ie rechargeable 
tools, glue pot, etc.).  How's their recent health record?  How many 
outfits will you bring...a whole new enterprise awaits...cruise-ware for 
the working tuner.  Do you think you could get your husband to film the 
gig?  Cruise-ware AND a documentary!  Now, if you also manage to fit in a 
couple of sets with the band, that would be a memorable week.

Regards and good luck -

David Skolnik
Hastings-on-Hudson


At 05:34 PM 4/9/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Thank you for the replies to my question about what to charge when on a
>"working" cruise. (March 5th "What to charge a cruise ship")
>
>I submitted my estimates last week, and here's what I based them on:
>
>No way will I consider this a vacation, although my husband and I will
>welcome a break from living with his aged father.  We're not really cruisers.
>  When it comes to foreign countries, we're more of your backpacking on 
> trains
>types.
>
>I know it costs the ship virtually nothing for me to bring my husband, as
>he'll be sharing the cabin they'd have to set aside for me, anyway.  And they
>always have enough food!  I should even charge extra to cover the exorbitant
>costs of his beers and my umbrella drinks and tequila shots.  It will make
>things easier to have an extra pair of hands.
>
>The Music Department on the ship will get back to me after meeting.  I know
>the cruise line has tons of money, but how much of it they give to the music
>department for maintenance is the unknown factor.  If they decide to bid it
>out, I'll see if I can post the bid here so some of you snowbirds can vie for
>it.  I hope they'd demand RPT's.  If some low bidder were to mangle my
>pianos... Hell hath no fury like a woman technican whose stable has been
>@#$%ed with.
>
>By the way, the parts estimate really held me up because the Yamahas were't
>purchased in the USA, so the USA Service Department had to jump through a
>bunch of hoops for Japan to get clearance to deal with me.  It took two
>weeks.  Cruise ship tuners take heed!
>
>I sent three estimates with progessively more extensive work to be done in
>the five days I'd be aboard.
>The easiest (rebushing six front and two balance rails) would almost be a
>vacation, so I charged by the day away from my business, including the one
>flying back from Texas (their ticket).
>The medium estimate involves adding repairs for a fruit drink spill:
>Cleaning bass strings, replacing the dampers and damper rail cloth.  I
>estimated that one by the hour.
>The heavy one substitutes replacement of the bass strings for bass string
>cleaning in the spill piano.  Some of you may work faster, but I'd be working
>like a DOG getting all that done in five days (I do fastidious work), and I
>gave myself enough paid hours to make it worth the trouble.  Probably wouln't
>see any ports or drink too many umbrellas, there.
>
>Thank you to Marcel for reminding me to request/demand a workspace,
>especially if my cabin is one of those dinky ones.  I also have to get
>clearance for all my solvents and adhesives.  Since I service these pianos at
>a port of call, not the home port, I do have to work around the performance
>schedule, and often have passengers (mostly Texans, some pesky or drunk)
>observing (and commenting).
>
>Karin Schmitt
>_______________________________________________
>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives