Price of Ivory/Dave Nereson's reply

[Dave Nereson]

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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Joseph Garrett=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Friday, June 13, 2003 8:35 AM
  Subject: Re: Price of Ivory/Dave Nereson's reply


  Dave,
  If one thinks cheap......!? Cheap..Cheap! (Dat's what da birdy =
said<G>) If
  you don't properly value your SKILLED work, then your client sure as =
hell
  won't.
  The original question was clarified, in "how much to charge for the =
Ivory. I
  charge $5 per piece of Ivory, (used or new Ivory). Why? Because I took =
the
  time to sort/clean and grade each piece that I salvaged. I've been =
doing
  Ivory for my entire career. I'm very good at it. It still takes me at =
least
  1/2 hour to do the job CORRECTLY. Am I slow? Doubt it! Do I do =
excellant
  work? Damned right! I charge accordingly for my KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL.
  The problem with most Techs is they think CHEAP, when they should =
think of
  the piano and all the "allied arts" as a luxury item. "If you have to =
ask,
  you can't afford it", comes to mind. Yes, more than 3 Ivories, =
replaced, is
  more costly than doing a full set of Plastic. Once the Ivory starts to =
fall
  off, it's time to bite the bullet, one way or another, because the =
GLUE is
  FAILING! If the customer doesn't want to go the PROPER replacement, =
then
  just rip em all off and do plastic! (Flack Jacket/Flame Suit in =
place!) BTW,
  after 20 years +/-, plastic will start to come off also! What to do? =
What to
  do?
  Bottom line: I get so tired of techs debasing themselves in this
  realm!!!!!!! Quote the correct price and let the chips fall were they =
may!
  (Who knows, you might make a good living out of it!<G>)
  No Regards Here,
  Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)

  Been There, Didn't Like It, So I'm Here To Stay! [G}

  _______________________________________________
  pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives

      Yeah, I know.  I just remember quoting a customer "about $5 a key" =
once, for replacing ivories, when they were a little more readily =
available  (this was at least 15 years ago), and her jaw dropped.  She =
said something like, "Well, at that rate, I'll just glue them myself."
      Yes, tuners do often underrate themselves, or sell themselves =
short.  But sometimes if you quote less than you're worth, you at least =
get the job, rather than quoting what you should and not getting the job =
at all, thus making NO money because the rates were too high and the =
customer couldn't afford it. =20
      I just reconditioned an old upright action this weekend for about =
$250.  She said she could put about $300 into improving the piano.  So I =
make $250 to $300.  If I had told her $500 or $700 (what I really should =
be charging), I wouldn't have gotten the job at all.
      --David Nereson, RPT   =20


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