[pianotech] age-old question of what to charge for almost nothing

[Jim Busby]

David,

Just do it. (Don't charge, unless she's WAY out of the way) Trust me, it'll come back to you (bread upon the waters). No one will take advantage of you for this small "sacrifice". Refuse to take her money. One lady said "Well, please take this..." and gave me 4 nice T-bone steaks. We became very good friends and over the years she's given me dozens of referrals. But even if she hadn't, the moment was precious.

Someone once told me "sacrifice means that you give up something good for something better".

Have fun with it. Oh, and when the girl comes to your door selling Girl Scout cookies, buy three boxes instead of one, give two away. It'll make her day, and yours too.

Best,
Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Nereson
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 3:50 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] age-old question of what to charge for almost nothing

    A piano teacher (not my client) calls me out of the blue to 
come remove a pencil as soon as possible.  It sure seems 
callous, unfeeling, gouging, and unprofessional to charge a full 
minimum 1-hour billing fee of $75 just to remove the pencil. 
But if we don't, then word gets around that we're cheap, so 
everyone calls expecting low rates, and we end up working for 
free, almost.  So do I go ahead and charge $75 just to remove a 
pencil?
    --David Nereson, RPT