<!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 6.00.6000.16640" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">    Right out of piano tuning school, I was hired by a Yamaha dealer and was "full-time" right away, although doing floor tunings for not much more than minimum wage.  Joined PTG within a year and passed the old, non-standardized exams.  Worked for the Yamaha dealer (who also sent me to the Little Red Schoolhouse) for 7 years, then they went out of business, so I was forced to be completely on my own.  But I probably could've quit the store after 5 years, having built up a decent clientele.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">     --David Nereson, RPT</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=toddpianoworks@att.net href="mailto:toddpianoworks@att.net">Matthew Todd</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, June 04, 2008 10:52 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Competitive Rates</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Hi,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>How often does everyone evaluate their tuning rates, and overall fees?  In my area I have found, so far, that I am the most expensive.  Not because I charge high, but because I feel my services are of a higher quality, and my clients are paying for a skilled trade, if you will.  I am the only PTG member in this area working toward RPT status, by the way.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Have any of you had a lot of calls where they are only looking for the cheapest deal?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Just to remind you, I relocated to this area six months ago, and began building a full time business here in March.  Yes there are several other extablished tuners in the area, some are good, some we won't mention...but I feel if I get out there and do quality service, and great customer skills, I shouldn't have a problem building a very reputable business.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>How many years did it take all of you to begin your business to when you began full time?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks in advance,</DIV> <DIV>Matthew</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>