What's a fair price to charge for tuning a piano

[Wayne M. Williams]

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Dear Will:
waht part of NYS is that. there aren't alot of tuners up here. A basic =
tun depends on distance traveled, time needed to tune, and if the =
clients are repeat customers or institutions.
Rural areas demand a lot of traveling.

Regards,
wayne
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Will Wickham=20
  To: Pianotech List=20
  Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 10:01 PM
  Subject: Re: What's a fair price to charge for tuning a piano


  For what it's worth: on those rare occasions when I've been booked =
more than 3 weeks in advance the "missed"/forgotten appointment rate =
goes up. I also suspect that there are a lot of folks that start =
shopping for other tuners as well. I've found that in many cases, even =
with repeat customers, people call today because they are having a party =
or sing along next week and wouldn't be willing to wait that long =
anyway.

  As for pricing: In my area of upstate mostly rural New York prices =
range from $45 to 80 for a basic tuning.=20

  will wickham




  On Feb 8, 2006, at 5:07 PM, pianotune05@comcast.net wrote:


    I'm curious,
    Why would it be a bad thing to be booked well in advance.  I know a =
guy who 's booked 6 weeks or so in advance.  I think that would be a =
good thing, and knowing my financial situation, I sure wish I was booked =
solid.
    Marshall
    =20

      -------------- Original message --------------=20
      From: A440A@aol.com

      > Joseph writes:
      >=20
      > << Whe I facture that sales tax, car
      >=20
      > expenses (tolls, gas, etc.) and travel time are
      >=20
      > deducted from the gross fee, I do not see how I can
      >=20
      > charge less than $100 for a basic tuning. >>=20
      >=20
      > 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 b! ecause =
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=20
      > 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 =
th! em,
      > will comfortably charge more than the beginner. In Nashville, =
the price of a=20
      > 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.
      >=20
      > 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,
      >=20
      >=20
      > Ed Foote RPT
      > http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
      > www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
      >=20
      > _______________________________________________
      > Pianotech list info: =
https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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