[pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises

[David Love]

You may not need to justify your fee but if asked you should be able to
explain. It's a courtesy since people don't understand, and if they are
paying they have a right to know why something costs what it does.  The
explanation can be simple--it takes more time, the materials cost x, it's
outside of the scope of my normal service call...  I don't hesitate to ask
the mechanic why something costs what it does if I don't understand why or
if it seems unusual.  Most people don't mind explaining and we shouldn't
either, unless we have no explanation.  It's certainly better than "up
yours, I don't need to justify my fee you jackwagon, just pay the damn
bill".  Won't likely get you a return visit.  

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Gerald Groot
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 11:16 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises

I agree with Joe.  First and foremost, I don't justify anything to any
customer.  That is something I hear far too often from technicians.  How do
you "justify charging this or that."  We do not have to justify anything.
That is, so long as we are honest and are charging a fair price.  Does a
plumber "justify" what they charge us?  Does a car mechanic justify what we
pay them?  Learning how to operate a tuning business as a business is
imperative if we want to make a good living.  

At least 50 % of what we make goes to pay for our expenses.  We do not have
the luxury of having free anything being self employed.  As I have said
before, we have to make $100,000 a year in order to take home roughly
$50,000 after taxes, insurance and the rest of our business expenses.  So,
remember, what we are charging, is NOT what we are actually taking home by a
long shot.  

I go strictly by an hourly rate after the initial tuning itself takes place.
So, if I charged $100 for a tuning only and $100 an hour, the first hour
would be $100, the next 1/2 hour would be an additional $50.  Total = $150.
So, if it normally takes YOU 1.5 hours to tune the piano and your normal
tuning fee is $100, I would charge $100.  If it took YOU 2 hours instead, I
would charge an additional $50 for that additional 1/2 hour or, $150.  

I do not include any repairs whatsoever with my tuning or pitch raising
charges because people already falsely presume that tuning is a cure-all.
"I have a key not working.  Can you tune the piano for me?"  Sure, but,
tuning does not include repairs.  "It doesn't?  Why not?  I thought if I had
the piano tuned, you would fix it too!"  

Jer

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Joe DeFazio
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 12:22 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises

> David Nerenson wrote:
>   
> Say the pitch raise took 1/2 hr, and the final tuning an hour.  That's an
hour an a half.  How do I now justify charging extra for the pitch raise
when a "plain vanilla" tuning also takes an hour and a half and I only
charge $X for it?

Hi David,

I don't justify my fee in terms of tuning time to the customer - it can make
them wonder about the appropriateness of the hourly fee I'm charging (which
may be more than they make per hour in some cases, and perhaps they are a
trauma nurse helping to save lives everyday).  

Instead, I just give them the total before I start without reference to any
time comparison (whether it is a normal tuning or a more expensive pitch
raise). If it is a pitch raise, I tell them that the cost ("cost," not
"expense" or "price" or, heaven forbid, "damage") is greater because it is
more work. Or, as one of my friends puts it, "there are only so many tunings
left in my hand/arm/shoulder, and we're using up about two of them today,"
or something to that effect. 

And that's accurate, I believe. Ask yourself how you feel after a day on
which you happened to do three pitch raises in a row as compared to a day on
which you did three single-pass tunings. 

Joe DeFazio
Pittsburgh=