<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" 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"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content=Word.Document name=ProgId> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <META content="Microsoft Word 10" name=Originator><LINK href="cid:filelist.xml@01C4CAD4.276D2B80" = rel=File-List><o:SmartTagType name="PersonName" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagT= ype> <STYLE>  </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US style="tab-interval: .5in" vLink=blue link=blue = bgColor=white> <DIV><SPAN class=GramE><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Hi David,</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=GramE><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=GramE><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">>Bad idea.</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>I would say that most of the = time my tuning fee exceeds my hourly rate.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><![if = !supportLineBreakNewLine]><![endif]><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Hmmmm...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Then you may be = charging too much for your tunings or too little for your other work?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Or if you think your = fees are about right, mix flat fees with hourly fees.  For instance, charge a flat = rate to come to the house, plus an hourly fee on top of that.  If you feel = the tuning work demands more money even so, charge a higher hourly rate for = the tuning work, explaining to the customer that it's more intensive work, = requires more expertise, or however you want to justify it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Or perhaps have a flat = rate  to come out, a flat base rate to start tuning, and your typical hourly rate = on top of that.  Structure your flat rates and hourly rates so that you = come out where you want to be, on average.  Justify the base rate however = you wish.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Or perhaps charge your = normal tuning fee as a flat rate, but allot a certain amount of time for the tuning = and charge a steep (double) hourly rate for any time you have to go = over.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>However you do it, it's = your option how you respond to the vacuum.  If you're running behind schedule = and have several other clients waiting on you, you can just suffer through, = without as good an outcome.  If you're ahead of schedule, take a paid break = while you wait for the noise to subside.  Your choice.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Of if all that = complicates life too much for you and/or your customers, and you would still rather charge a = flat rate for tunings, don't complain when the job gets longer because of = doodads atop the piano, vacuum cleaners, etc -- or difficult pianos, for that matter.  That's the cost of simplicity.  But guaranteed, if = you charge by the hour, you'll either walk into houses with pianos stripped of = doodads, or you won't mind spending the time ($$$) carefully moving them = out of your way.  And the vacuum cleaner probably won't be fired up, but = if it is, consider it a paid coffee break.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Anyway, it's all a = tradeoff:  complexity of fee structure vs. aggrivation on the job.  = ;-)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Peace,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>Sarah</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 = size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>