[pianotech] poly repair charges

[pmc033 at earthlink.net]

Hi, Wim:
    You can pretty much write your own ticket.    I generally a minimum of $150 for an in-home repair, maybe an area of 1-2 square inches if I have to fill a chip.  Usually takes about 45 mins to an hour.  If you have to buff out scratches on a lid, or other large area, you should charge by the time it takes.  If the lid is badly scratched, it could take 3 hours or more of sanding and buffing out.  Because of the specialized nature of the work, you should also charge more than your regular rate.   Because I'm familiar with this work, I generally know how long it will take to repair an area, so usually over the phone I can give a ballpark estimate.   This question will also be answered by Ruth in her class.  She charges a LOT, and isn't shy about it.  I guess it depends on the market, and where you are.  Be prepared also to have some failures, and that has to factor in to your equation.  Sometimes, you have a void in your repair, or some bubbles have appeared, and you may have to redo the repair. Sometimes, you may be charging close to the replacement cost of, say, a lid.  Maybe you will be charging more than replacement cost, because often a new part doesn't fit, or perhaps isn't available anymore.  All these things will affect your price.  
    I guess my advice would be, aim high.  Even if your repair isn't perfect, they will appreciate how much better it looks when you're done.  It's not like tuning, and often is more like work, especially if you have to spend hours buffing with a machine.   
    If you have any questions, I'll be glad to share whatever I know.
    Best of luck,
    Paul McCloud
    San Diego

----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
To: Pianotech at PTG.org
Sent: 04/01/2009 8:51:43 PM 
Subject: [pianotech] poly repair charges


This is for those of you who do polyester repairs. 

I am going to MARC in a couple of weeks just to take Ruth's class on polyester repairs, because, according to the piano stores, and the other tuners I know, there is no one on Oahu who does this kind of work. 

I know how long it takes to tune a piano, and do most repairs, and my hourly rate is based on that. But I know that poly repairs can be completely unpredictable. Not only that,  people are not going to pay an estimate fee for a scratch. 

So how do you charge for this kind of work? Do you have a minimum, and then so much per hour after that? Or what?  


Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Mililani, Oahu, HI
808-349-2943
Author of: 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com



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