[pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises

[Paul T Williams]

Thank You, Terry, That's exactly my point!

Even my "normal" tuning rate outside work is higher than the other techs, 
and IT SHOULD BE!  the last thing I want to do when I leave work is to 
tune yet another piano! I don't care if Im "better" than other techs from 
my position, or not. I just don't want the extra work: but, if they want 
ME to tune, then I'll tune it for the higher rate. It just so happens that 
they're the higher end economic situation folks and usually (re-emphasise 
usually) have nicer pianos. (re-read the Balmer part of my last post...Top 
ten richest in the world??? Lester spinet???? really!) $90 bucks and they 
were all set!

This is all stated right up front. If they go further, then I'm all for 
it.

Paul




From:
Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>
To:
pianotech at ptg.org
Date:
10/31/2010 03:46 PM
Subject:
Re: [pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises



Ed - "This doesn't compute.  If you charge by how wealthy the customer is, 
your rate is NOT constant, it is opportunistic, and it will only be a 
matter of time before some customers find out that they are being charged 
more because they have more."

I think you may have mis-read Paul's post. Did you perhaps read 
......wealthy folks will still ask for me ..... so I give them my higher 
than normal (for Paul) rate......     Paul stated that his tuning rate is 
constant. Most of his work is done in a university and he only does 
limited work outside of the university. When he stated that he gives 
wealthy people a higher than normal rate, he was saying that because his 
rate is higher than the normal rate (higher than other local tuners), 
piano owners requesting his services tend to be wealthy and that his 
tuning rate is higher than other tuners in the area.

I don't think he was trying to suggest that he charges a lower tuning rate 
for less-than-wealthy clients, and a higher rate for wealthy clients.

Terry Farrell

On Oct 31, 2010, at 
kdjk





3:46 PM, Ed Foote wrote:

 Paul writes:
>>  Even here at UNL when the weather changes, find some pianos horribly 
wild and will struggle with them for 2 or 3 hours, sometimes... 

           I am astounded that it would take 3 hours to tune a piano.  It 
only takes 15 minutes to get a piano to pitch, and then perhaps another 90 
minutes to fine tune.  Exactly what takes 3 hours? And, if a piano is 30 
cents flat or sharp(!), there is no point in trying to end up with a 
super-fine tuning, since the wood will move around in the next 48 hours, 
and that tuning will not be there afterwards. (see below)
 
>>My tuning rate is constant, (much higher than the local techs...for a 
reason) but the pitch adjustment charges will vary, not by time, but by 
how far out they are....sharp or flat (being wildly both ways in the 
midwest). 
Of course, some wealthy folks will still ask for me ( I guess it's the 
position here...) so I give them my higher than normal rate; they like it; 
and off I go. <<

      This doesn't compute.  If you charge by how wealthy the customer is, 
your rate is NOT constant, it is opportunistic,   and it will only be a 
matter of time before some customers find out that they are being charged 
more because they have more.  This will not be a happy day for anyone. 

>>I will also advise them before I start when nasty flat or sharp, that my 
first visit will require a follow up tuning (or 2 or 3) in the coming 
month or so, if they want the piano to get to a stable point.  

   That is the point; a horribly out of tune piano will need another 
tuning, later.  Is it in the customers best interest to be charged for 3 
hours of work when it will have to be redone in a couple of weeks? 
Wondering, 
Ed Foote RPT 
 


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