<HTML><BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff">In a message dated 9/18/02 3:59:29 PM Central Daylight Time, bigda@gte.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> > To honor and support each other would be to understand the problems of low >pay scale and not infer it is necessarily the tuners fault because we >undervalue our time.  Most of the members in the PTG and on this list >understand the problems and participate, not only to learn, but to raise the >consciousness of the public and therefore our value.</BLOCKQUOTE> >David Koelzer <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> I'm open to what you say, and want to honor and support everyone. However, I've been doing this for many, many years, and have found that it's my tendency, as well as those of my compatriots that I know well, to spend a lot of time for a little money, to "throw in stuff for free," to be afraid that the total charges will be shocking to people, and shave some off.....so I'm talking to myself as well as others. I've learned to be more aggressive with my pricing through observing other high-end service professionals who seem to have less problems getting paid well and consistently raising their rates to reflect their raised skill level and the cost of living.</BLOCKQUOTE> David, what you say is true, a lot of tuner technicians do have the tendency to throw in extra work.  The problem is though, you get what you can and that is not necessarily what your worth.  Many tuner technicians don't have access to customers who have money and are aware of the skill and importance of our work.  Many tuner technicians live and work in areas where the piano is not a necessity and customers are not able or willing to pay what we are worth.  Many tuner technicians are barely scraping by and therefore take what they can get.  It is a testimony to the make up of a lot of our peers that even if they aren't paid enough they can't let the piano go out the door without making it right.  I too have been in the piano business for many years (33) and have discussed this subject with my peers over and over again. It has only been in the last few years that I have been able to charge what I'm worth and be able to maintain an adequate customer base. Educating the customer is a very slow process, and no matter what we wish,  just raising our prices won't solve the problem. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> 2 things: ---when you become perceived as both a consummate professional and a long-term associate or friend, it's easier to charge more money.  I believe common-sense people realize that in the service/craft sector, you DO get what you pay for. As I've said before, I have little interest in dealing with people who make their decisions based solely on price. ---As Norm Neblett said once: "just make a big difference in how the piano sounds and feels." In my experience, following other technicians on pianos for 27 years, most don't or can't do this.  If you do, you'll stand out. Thanks....David Andersen </BLOCKQUOTE> Lets look at the facts here David, the vast majority of pianos out there are not concert grands or Steinway "B's."  the vast majority of pianos out there are spinits, consoles, studios, uprights and PSO's.  The vast majority of tuner technicians fix these pianos and that is their bread and butter.  What are we to do?  Shall we ignore this sector and only take on pianos that we deem are worthy of our expertise?  That family living here in Texas in a mobile home with five kids struggling to pay for piano lessons, I am sorry to say, will probably never be able to pay more money, no matter how consummate a professional or long term associate or friend we become, or how easy it is for us to charge more money.  A lot of us can't afford to have "little interest in dealing with people who make their decisions based solely on price."  You said, " I  believe common-sense people realize that in the service/craft sector, you DO get what you pay for."  The truth is that common-sense people realize you get what you can afford. To quote a friend Jack Wyatt, "I live in the real world." I admire and understand what you are trying to do David,  I am trying to do the same thing, bring the value of our profession up to what it should be.  To do this we have to look at  underlying reasons and figure how to best change them.  Just raising our prices and turning away price conscious customers is not an option for many of us. David Koelzer Vintage Pianos DFW</HTML>