Joseph writes: << Whe I facture that sales tax, car expenses (tolls, gas, etc.) and travel time are deducted from the gross fee, I do not see how I can charge less than $100 for a basic tuning. >> In the beginning, you will have to charge little enough to simply attract the customers that are price shopping. You will want to move out of this category as fast as you can. You will do this by impressing enough customers so that word of mouth, (is there anywhere else words come from?, uh, I know a couple of people that talk out their a. ahhhh, well, I'll just let that be), begins to fill your schedule. As soon as you realize that you are missing customers because you don't have time to get to them, you will realize that you are not charging enough. You will then raise your price until you have more time than customers, oops, charging too much? You will know if your calls begin to drop off. (or maybe you let your quality slip). Return customers are the lifeblood of a service business, unless you advertise so heavily that you don't need them, (hard to do). Do what you can to make your customers feel like they got their money's worth. Customers usually don't think in terms of dollars, but rather, what value they think they are receiving. Also remember that 90% of communication is non-verbal, so if you are confident that your price and the quality of your service are equal, your body language, tone of voice, and general bearing will put the customer at ease. A long term tech, with a large body of work and customers behind them, will comfortably charge more than the beginner. In Nashville, the price of a tuning varies from $60 to $130, depending on who is doing it. I have customers that feel much better paying me twice as much as the last tuner they employed. If you are booked two months in advance, you are not charging enough. If your phone is not ringing, you may be pricing yourself too high. The only way to find your comfort zone is to get in the business and learn. good luck, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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