<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)"> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PostalCode"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PersonName"/>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue> <div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>There is another way to look at it, and perhaps this is more along the lines of what Robin was thinking. There is practically no amount of money that would get me to go out on Christmas. About the only way I could do it would be as a favor. To put a value on it would be to make the customer believe they could actually hire me away from my family on Christmas for that amount of money. Conversely, doing it as a favor garners an incalculable amount of goodwill that no money could buy. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I do a similar thing when I work for close friends. I either don’t charge them and just let them give me whatever they want, or I’ll ask them to take me and my wife out to dinner with them. When it is the latter we always have a great time of much more value than what I would get for charging them for a tuning. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <div> <p class=MsoAutoSig><b><font size=6 color=navy face="Bradley Hand ITC"><span style='font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Bradley Hand ITC";color:navy;font-weight: bold'>Dean</span></font></b><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoAutoSig style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><u1:PersonName u2:st="on"><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt; color:navy'>Dean May</u1:PersonName>             cell 812.239.3359 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoAutoSig style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoAutoSig style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><u1:place u2:st="on"><u1:City u2:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Terre Haute</span></font></st1:City><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'></u1:City> <u1:State u2:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">IN</u1:State></st1:State>  <u1:PostalCode u2:st="on"><st1:PostalCode w:st="on">47802</u1:PostalCode></st1:PostalCode></span></font></st1:place></u1:place><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1> </span></font></div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Farrell<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, December 25, 2007 9:02 PM<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pianotech List</st1:PersonName><br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: Christmas</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>From what I understand of the situation from the original post, I agree completely with you Win.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>And, FWIW, $95 (standard tuning fee) + $45 (pitch raise fee) + 2 hours travel fee ($120) + 100% surcharge for not-normal-working-day (okay, let's reduce the travel fee to 50% because we ride a motorcycle and just love the #$%^ out of it - well, that equals: $340.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Did you charge less? (I mean, this wasn't your sister or anything - right?)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Terry Farrell</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid black 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial'>----- Original Message ----- <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div style='font-color:black'> <p class=MsoNormal style='background:#E4E4E4'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a href="mailto:wimblees@aol.com" title="wimblees@aol.com">Willem Blees</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>To:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title="pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Tuesday, December 25, 2007 8:30 PM<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Re: Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><wbr>Robin<br> <br> It was very nice of you to comp the pitch raise part of the tuning for the wedding. But unless you knew the family, and were invited to the party, and that was part of your wedding gift, in my opinion, you sent the wrong message to them, especially since they are a musical family. I'm sure the caterers, and everyone else who "worked" that wedding didn't do anything special or extra out of the goodness of their heart. I hope you at least charged them double for tuning the piano in the first place.  <br> <br> Mele Kalikimaka everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'>Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<br> Piano Tuner/Technician<br> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Honolulu</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">HI</st1:State></st1:place><br> Author of <br> The Business of Piano Tuning<br> available from Potter Press<br> www.pianotuning.com<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'><br> <br> -----Original Message-----<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_583fff20-d350-4157-a541-289627b8d07a"> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>About ten years ago, I got a panicky call from a client living an hour's drive away.... their daughter was getting married at home on Christmas Day!!! And, no one had thought of having the piano tuned. The poor old thing was about 60 cents flat and not a very good instrument at its best. What was most surprising was that this was a professional musical family, with a recording studio in their basement and quite a reputation in the area for doing good work. I gifted the pitch raise part as a Christmas/Wedding gift and felt good that I had helped make their special day a bit nicer. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Robin Blankenship</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Matoaca</span></font></st1:City><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>, <st1:State w:st="on">VA</st1:State></span></font></st1:place> <o:p></o:p></p> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <hr size=2 width="100%" align=center> </span></font></div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'>The best games are on Xbox 360. 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