<!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 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Okay, my thoughts on this!   = Most people do not want to wait more than a few weeks for an appointment.  Part = of customer service is just that - service.  You need to please the = customer by being able to make an appointment within a reasonable length of = time.  As a tech you can only service X number of pianos per day/week.  As = a customer, waiting longer than three weeks is too long (my = opinion).  So, once you get too booked, how do you control it?  Price.  You = tune fewer pianos, have more time for your customers and yourself and earn = the same amount of money (or more).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Debbie</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=pianotune05@comcast.net href="mailto:pianotune05@comcast.net">pianotune05@comcast.net</A> = </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 08, = 2006 5:07 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: What's a fair = price to charge for tuning a piano</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm = curious,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Why would it be a bad thing to be booked well = in advance.  I know a guy who 's booked 6 weeks or so in = advance.  I think that would be a good thing, and knowing my financial situation, = I sure wish I was booked solid.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Marshall</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px = solid">-------------- Original message -------------- <BR>From: <A href="mailto:A440A@aol.com">A440A@aol.com</A> <BR><BR>> Joseph = writes: <BR>> <BR>> << Whe I facture that sales tax, car = <BR>> <BR>> expenses (tolls, gas, etc.) and travel time are <BR>> = <BR>> deducted from the gross fee, I do not see how I can <BR>> = <BR>> charge less than $100 for a basic tuning. >> <BR>> <BR>> In the = beginning, you will have to charge little enough to simply attract = the <BR>> customers that are price shopping. You will want to move = out of this category <BR>> as fast as you can. You will do this by = impressing enough customers so that <BR>> word of mouth, (is there anywhere = else words come from?, uh, I know a couple <BR>> of people that talk = out their a. ahhhh, well, I'll just let that be), begins <BR>> to fill your = schedule. <BR>> As soon as you realize that you are missing = customers b! ecause you don't <BR>> have time to get to them, you will realize = that you are not charging enough. <BR>> You will then raise your price = until you have more time than customers, oops, <BR>> charging too much? = You will know if your calls begin to drop off. (or maybe <BR>> you = let your quality slip). <BR>> Return customers are the lifeblood of a = service business, unless you <BR>> advertise so heavily that you don't = need them, (hard to do). Do what you can to <BR>> make your customers feel = like they got their money's worth. Customers usually <BR>> don't think in = terms of dollars, but rather, what value they think they are <BR>> = receiving. Also remember that 90% of communication is non-verbal, so if you are = <BR>> confident that your price and the quality of your service are equal, = your <BR>> body language, tone of voice, and general bearing will put = the customer at ease. <BR>> A long term tech, with a large body of = work and customers behind th! em, <BR>> will comfortably charge more than = the beginner. In Nashville, the price of a <BR>> tuning varies from = $60 to $130, depending on who is doing it. I have customers <BR>> that = feel much better paying me twice as much as the last tuner they employed. = <BR>> <BR>> If you are booked two months in advance, you are not = charging enough. <BR>> If your phone is not ringing, you may be pricing = yourself too high. The only <BR>> way to find your comfort zone is to get = in the business and learn. <BR>> good luck, <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> = Ed Foote RPT <BR>> http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html <BR>> www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html <BR>> <BR>> _______________________________________________ <BR>> Pianotech = list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives </BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>