Tuning price

[Susan Kline]

I don't envy you that parking situation -- worse than parking on campus, 
and I didn't think anything could be worse than that.

In semi-rural Oregon I charge $80 locally and $90 on the coast and in 
McMinnville, which are both about an hour or an hour and a half away. I'm 
aware that I've been at this rate too long, and am about to raise it. 
Compared to the cities, this doesn't seem like much, but my living costs 
are pleasantly low.

I agree with what people are writing about the benefits of actually making 
a living. However, I see a trend which I am very unhappy about -- the 
middle class is under siege, and most of it has either gotten much richer 
or much poorer (mostly much poorer).

I think this is deplorable.

Those who apparently are living well are often in debt up to their 
eyeballs, and have been eating up their home equity, which is usually 
inflated now, so that they are spending imaginary money. It's only a matter 
of time before the real estate bubble bursts, and many of them find 
themselves owing far more than their houses are worth. Many are now using 
credit cards for current purchases like groceries. The latest quirk I've 
heard about is that some people are taking equity lines of credit on their 
cars. Desperate insolvency surely cannot be fended off much longer, for a 
huge number of people.

What has this to do with pianos? Well, pianos have usually been spread 
widely among the different income classes, available to all but the most 
poverty-stricken. I would not like to see the middle class (what's left of 
it) lose the capacity to own a decent piano, reasonably maintained. I think 
we should consider what we can do to keep looking after our less affluent 
customers, especially since so many of our ordinary customers may be 
joining that group soon. We still have to look after ourselves, as well. As 
Peak Oil becomes impossible to ignore, we're going to need new ideas about 
how we book our jobs and get to them. For instance, for more distant 
places, if we were to find a local person with a spare room, we could book 
several days of work and only drive once. Thriftier vehicles, alternative 
fuels, lighter and more versatile kits which could be carried easily on 
mass transit (if only there _were_ usable mass transit ...)

I don't like the idea of a two-tier structure for tuning work, kind of 
means-tested, but I don't like being chronically underpaid and/or working 
only for rich people, either. I do agree that high end work for people who 
have plenty of bucks should pay us very well. Too bad that some of these 
people are not musical, while some who really get the most out of their 
pianos and can truly tell the difference are not as well-heeled.

Whatever economic crises we go through, I still want to do my best work on 
the loveliest pianos for the most musical players -- and I'm willing to 
bend the rules a little if need be. For instance, if we had a full-blown 
depression I might do some of the concert work pro bono, just to keep it 
going. A dead concert venue does no one any good. One also might work out 
barter for families with good piano students, who have something else one 
could use.

If you don't know what on earth I'm talking about, type Hubbert's Peak into 
your browser, and visit a couple of sites like 3-2-1 Energy and 3-2-1 Gold. 
For those who know about it, but think it's a false alarm -- well, I 
believe that time will cure that. No harm thinking about how to be more 
efficient, anyway.

Susan




At 10:12 AM 6/21/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi All.
>
>$120.00 in Hoboken NJ. Soon to go up to $135.00. Hoboken is one mile 
>square on the Hudson River, densely populated and NO place to park, No 
>mass transit. Taxis are $7 in town and if you go to the neighboring cities 
>that are spitting distance away the fair jumps to $15 to $20. Last week I 
>got a $45 dollar ticket and almost a boot. (immobilizes your wheel, cost 
>about $120.00 to have City Hall remove)  My customer's wife insisted her 
>husband pay my ticket. much appreciated, however I think the husband was 
>none too happy. (the wife did advise me it was OK to park in front of her 
>home) A parking permit in the next town (Jersey City) is $250.00 per year. 
>A parking permit is needed for each town
>in Hudson County. ( Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, 
>North Bergen, Secaucus, West New York, and Kearny) Plus the cost of 
>renting my shop. Let's not forget the gas prices. Most customer's pianos 
>require some repairs before tuning so I must always have my tool box with 
>me. I will however, make minor repairs and adjustments at no additional charge.
>So I have no choice but to raise my rates, however I will give a discount 
>to customers and studios who book multiple tunings. I have to cover my 
>expenses and pay my bills.
>
>My best to all and good luck.
>
>Aart M.
>Hoboken NJ