Tuning price

[Michael Gamble]

Hello David and Listers
Right you are to rant. I recall someone on the List saying the other day he 
went 80miles only to be turned away by the Hubby. No-one seems yet to have 
brought car mileage, maintenance, insurance, depreciation etc. into the 
equation so far.
You guys go long distances and boil in the sun doing it - to get peanuts for 
that is ludicrous isn't it! Here in the UK my furthest is about half-an-hour 
drive away. I get a fair number in the vicinity and then head home. The 
London guys have the parking and inner London driving bans to contend with. 
Even Bluthners told me the other day they frequently have a ticket just 
off-loading or on-loading pianos at their premises off Berkeley Square. All 
this is COST to the business and must be reflected in the charge PLUS the 
time it takes to do the job. For myself I reckon on £40 to £45 an hour. 
Tuning takes about 50 minutes or 90 minutes if it's a pitch raise (using my 
Quadrant System - it is very speedy) So I get home after about three or four 
tunings with £160 (plus parts!) have lunch and take the rest of the day off. 
Don't know off-hand what the rate of exchange is but simply multiply by 2 
gives an approximation in $. I used to tune 8 - 10 pianos a day - but I'm 
trying to take it easy now as my pre-war status dictates. (I don't mean the 
Boer War!)
Regards from a Sunny Sussex-on-Sea and Sports Day at the School this 
afternoon. Take the Video Camera.....
Michael G.(UK)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andersen" <david@davidandersenpianos.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 7:35 AM
Subject: Re: Tuning price


> So I thought I was gonna just let this one go, shock everybody with my 
> high
> LA prices, and leave it at that, but I can't.  Thank you, Brad Smith, for
> saying eloquently what I'm going to say a little more forcefully.
>
> Most of us have an unbelievably varied and custom skillset; we are honest,
> and careful, and do the best job we can; why the HELL do some of us 
> persist
> in thinking we're not as worthy as the plumber or the cable guy of getting
> paid what we're worth?  Fifty bucks for 60-90 minutes of focused, 
> difficult,
> custom professional work? That's pathetic, in Minot, ND, or anywhere else.
> $91.00 in London or Amsterdam is pathetic. Can I vent?
>
> We have spent our entire history as piano artisans, by and large,
> undervaluing our skills and work; I see it all over; if I hear another
> pianotech tell me they can't charge any more because people don't really
> give a s**t, or can't hear the difference, or whatever excuse they come up
> with, I think I'll throw up. I work my a** off to do the highest quality
> work, provide my customers with beauty and enjoyment, educate them, and
> allow them to relax and trust that they will be taken care of.  How much 
> is
> that worth?
>
> I heard a guy teaching a class at a national convention say that a pair of
> pliers that cost maybe $60 was the most expensive tool he ever bought, and
> that he just can't see spending money on tools for "just pianos."
> What can I say? What if your doctor felt that way?  Or your accountant?
> Or your gardener, for God's sake?  Wake up, ladies and gentlemen.
> You need to take care of your families and get paid what you're worth.
>
> You caught me in a cranky, preachy mood....rrrrrrrr.
>
> David Andersen
>
>
>