<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7> <DIV> <DIV>  Susan</DIV> <DIV>    Loved it.  The unexamined life isn't worth living.</DIV> <DIV>  Dale</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><= FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size= =2>For the second time in not so very long, someone is talking about me "working f= or free" if I don't charge a bundle for various minor services. In fact, t= he previous time, someone said that my opinions didn't have to be consider= ed, because I "worked for free." I think I can make a good case for my pricing practices, which suit me, my area, my customers, their pianos, = and my bank account just fine. I suspect that this hustler mentality= is forced upon people by their choice of location ... or perhaps their cho= ice of location followed naturally from a hustler mentality. If someone cho= oses to live in a region where living costs and overhead expenses are sky-hi= gh, that's up to them. Perhaps they like having to put in all that time on freeways getting to jobs in a large region. Perhaps they like mak= ing six figures by hustling all day 6 days a week, so that they can support= our government by being in a high tax bracket. Perhaps, they simply have a = lot of dependents or illness in the family, and must work that hard. (If so= , my condolences ...) Perhaps, they even like working for super-rich people = and big, up-tight institutions, which I have found, with some notable exceptions, to be very over-rated. Whatever one's income, region= , needs, etc., there are two ways to price: either one sets one's basic f= ees high enough that the little extras like vacuuming are already covered, = or one nickels-and-dimes customers by fattening up the little chores into full-fledged "services" for which one must extract sizable fees. To achieve this, one must put on a salesman's hat. It doesn't fit me. Nor do I enjoy spending 30 minutes or an hour thoroughly cleaning a gran= d, when I can get the worst of the detritus, dust, grit, fingerprints, pap= er clips, etc., seen to in about five minutes. By making the little st= uff a normal part of basic piano service, one has the freedom to choose how= much of it to do or not to do. One also does not need to chat up a cust= omer to wring some more money from them. And what happens if they don't feel= like paying for a big-deal cleaning? Does one just leave the piano filthy, and wade through the grime for the rest of the tuning? And if they turn down "extra" $-costing service, there is that sour taste in everyone's mouth afterwards. I can get along quite well without t= hat sour taste. Everyone is welcome to run their businesses exactly as = they please. If someone wants to charge a second full tuning fee for sticking around, touching up a tuning for five minutes, and going for f= ree to a (good) concert, also getting known by sight (and liked) by a lot<B= R>of the audience, that's fine with me. Do whatever suits you. I chose a= n easy-going laid-back informal place, with lots of educated and enlighte= ned people living nearby, in a lovely region (somewhat over-damp some times= of year, like now) where living costs were reasonable. I settled down, my = work got more and more interesting, the concert work arrived, steady repeat customers gradually appeared (without phoning or postcards from me) and= I'm moving toward a lighter work load as I near retirement age. It all s= uits me just fine. I don't intend to burn out, pushing for $$$ all the time.= I'm solvent, I like the freedom, and I'm doing it all in a way both I and m= y customers like. So -- what's a holiday without a good rant? -- you = can take your six figures and stuff it into the mortgage of your overpriced= home, your "health" insurance, your liability insurance, your tool insurance, your annuity for when you just can't hack it anymore, your high car insurance, your exorbitant state and local sales taxes, your advertising, the upkeep of your fancy vehicles, your high grocery and restaurant costs, lots of bookkeeping to keep track of it all, and a good chiropractor to deal with the physical results of too much tuning and driving, etc. etc. etc. And of course, I cou= ld be completely wrong about your lifestyle, your customers' lifestyle, an= d your cost structure. It's always possible to be completely wrong. If th= e shoe doesn't fit, just don't put it on. Do what suits you -- as I do, without apology. Happy New Year, anyway. (thanks, Conrad, fo= r the sleek new 2006-model flamesuit ...) Susan Kline</BLOCKQUOTE>= </DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>