Regulation

[A440A at aol.com]

<<   Is a regulation a regulation, or can there be different levels of 
service with this particular job, depending on what the customer wants to pay for?  
I want to give my client a quote for this, so I was wondering if I can give 
him several options for this service. >>


     Options often confuse.  You are expected to know what is the best value 
for your customer, so I would suggest being careful about expecting your 
customer to know what is needed to achieve that value.  Find out what they expect, 
and tell'em what it will cost. 
    The degree of regulation can be taken to virtually any level.  Are you 
going to stop leveling the keys when you get to the .005" punchings, or will you 
go all the way to the thinnest?  Are you going to reset the springs after you 
repin the hammer line, or will you just do the springs once and let all the 
other adjustments land on them?   Often, a piano can be adjusted as is, but too 
many times, pinning and spring cleaning have to be included to attain even a 
rudimentary state of regulation.  You gonna include string leveling, tuning 
and voicing in that, too??  
    Labor repair guides don't take into consideration the wide range of 
refinement that can be found under the overall term "regulation".   I have seen 
freshly regulated pianos that would not have passed even a cursory exam at a 
Guild convention.  i have also seen art in action.  Both were "regulated" by 
"experts"!  both had happy customers.  go figure. 
    It all comes down to the number of hours of your time do you think makes 
the most sense for your customer.  Neither overselling, nor scrimping on the 
minimum work needed will ultimately create a clientele that rnd of clientele we 
build. 
     Over the long haul, you will develop a sense of how much the job will 
take out of you, and what it is worth to you to do it.  In the meantime, I would 
suggest that you simply put the price out at how many hours you think will 
need to spend,then add 25% more time(which is always needed).  Your hourly rate 
will determine the cost.  When you give your estimate, you will know that you 
have covered yourself, and if you tell the customer that it is on a "no more 
than" basis, they will relax because they know there is not going to be a 
hidden whack in there,(which is seeminly more common everwhere, these days). 
That is what worked for me,  
   
Regards,  



Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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