<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2716.2200" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The voice of reason!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm reminded of the man who went into a = brand new restaurant and was shocked to see that hamburgers were $3,495. "What is = this all about?" demanded the man. "Oh," replied the owner, "We plan to break = even our first week."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Alan Barnard</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=davidlovepianos@earthlink.net href="mailto:davidlovepianos@earthlink.net">David Love</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, September 18, = 2002 9:56 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Grand Island = Tuner</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>The national average is just that, an = average.  By itself it doesn't really mean that much and is hardly a reason for = great angst.  Prices will vary as a function of cost of = living.  You wouldn't expect a tech in some small town in the Ozarks to get the = same price as someone in a very high cost of living area like New York or San Francisco.   Certainly, other trade fees vary as well.   That being said, the best way to raise your prices = is by doing quality work and increasing the demand for your services.  = Testing the upper end when you are only doing 3-5 tunings a week doesn't = make much sense.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>David Love</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: = #ffffff" face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff = 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" TYPE="CITE">>The national average for a tuning is = $75?<BR><BR>Man oh man.  This really, truly -------- me off, to see such an = incredibly <BR>low figure published as the national = average.<BR><BR>Is your time worth less than a plumber? A phone repairman? a mechanic = at <BR>a car dealer?<BR>A waiter in a fancy = restaurant?<BR><BR><BR>DAVID = ANDERSEN<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BO= DY></HTML>