I'm considering charging more for shop time. The justification: I find I'm more efficient in the shop and give more value for time. If I can do 12 hours a week in shop on top of road time, that 48 hours a month has to cover the actual shop cost. Shop use to be in my home and I would discount this consideration; now shop is elsewhere. I need $10 per hour on that 12 hrs per week to cover space, heat, electricity, insurance on the seperate location now. Road car costs are not $10 per hour/$80 per day. Shop work carries with it more liability in some respects. I have two Boesendorfer grands in my shop this summer.......lots of money sitting there(insurance). And the finished product carries greater responsibility then a tuning for a longer time. Quality rebuilding demands a much larger skill set then tuning and basic road repair. Not to belittle the high skill level and years to become a concert tuner, but there is a whole other additional broad skill set to being a rebuilder. So I conjecture that good effecient shop work should command a higher rate. Then again I think concert tuning in a substancial hall for orchestra and recording and such should command a higher rate; but in my town it is all discounted on account of "commercial volume" Concert work is also often at 6-7am, weekends, and other odd hours, and requires dealing with large administrations that can take weeks to months to pay. So do others charge extra for concert and/or shop work VS. 9am-5pm meat and potato road tuning. Dave Renaud
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