[CAUT] mileage fees.

[Willem Blees]

Quoting Chris Solliday <solliday at ptd.net>:

> I like the $1.50 because it includes some travel time
> consideration,unless
> Wim is still driving that ol piece of ....
> but I disagree with not charging if there are four.Thisis too much
> customer
> consciousness/empathy and too little business self preservation.
> Spread it
> out over 4 if you like, although personally I charge all the same so
> I avoid
> having to explain a large difference when I can't line up the same
> schedule
> when I next service the piano. Yes I am happy to keep the money and
> if I am
> crazy enough to do 3 or 4 pianos that far away from home on the same
> day I
> figure its overtime anyway. 70 miles one way is about an hour and 15
> minutes
> each way without traffic (you haven't lived until you try this
> crossing New
> Jersey and doing 3 or 4 in New York City, and then there's
> PARKING!!!!!!!!)
> and twice is 2 hours and 30 minutes travel time. Service calls are
> 1.5 to 2
> hours at best so times4 is ten andhalf hours and counting. I keep the
> OT but
> find it difficult to charge the 4th customer all the overtime so I'll
> use
> Wim's $1.50 a mile one way and not be one bit apologetic about
> keeping it.
> Chris Solliday

Chris

Thank you for thinking $1.50 per mile is a good idea. But the main idea 
for eliminating it when there are four or more customers in that far 
off place is building raport, and supporting the customers that are 
willing to work for you. Yes, if you want to, you can charge all of 
them 1/4 of the travel charge, but when you've divided it by 4, and a 
5th or 6th comes along, what do you do, go back and give everyone a 
refund? It is also a way to build a clientelle in that town. I go to a 
town about 75 miles away, and always have a full day. I even give the 
piano teacher who finds me all the tunings a discount.  

BTW, if your're at the top of the food chain, as you call it, in your 
area, what are you doing going all the way to NYC? It would seem to me 
that you can tell those people to find someone else. 

Wim 






> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Willem Blees" <wblees at bama.ua.edu>
> To: <l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net>; "College and University Technicians"
> <caut at ptg.org>
> Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 9:42 AM
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] mileage fees.
> 
> 
> > Quoting Leslie Bartlett <l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net>:
> >
> > > I would like some help with travel fees.  The entire southern
> side
> > > of
> > > Houston is virtually without tuners. I'm called somewhat
> regularly to
> > > go
> > > that direction.  I know some people charge mileage outside
> certain
> > > boundaries.   I'd like to know how folks have figured that and
> > > managed to
> > > make it work.
> > > Thanks
> > > les bartlett
> > > HYPERLINK www.bartlettpianoservice.com
> www.bartlettpianoservice.com
> > >
> > > -- 
> > > No virus found in this outgoing message.
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> > > 07/19/2006
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Leslie
> >
> > If you're going to do more an more tunings in that area,, which
> also
> > mean you're going to do less in "your" area, I would do as Andrew
> > suggested, but instead of just those on the south side, increase
> your
> > fee for all your tuning. That way, customers won't feel "punished"
> for
> > living in an area where there are no tuner, while at the same
> time,
> > you're making up for the driving to that area, even when you don't
> > have to go there. This will also make it a lot easier to quote a
> > tuning fee over the phone without first asking where they
> > live.
> >
> > For customers who live outside both areas, I charge $1.50 per mile
> > from my house to the customer, one way. In other words, if a
> customer
> > lives 60 milea away, charge $90 plus the service call. Now, one way
> to
> > have the customers save some money, and make more money for you,
> > divide that fee between two or three customers, and if there are 4
> or
> > more, don't charge the mileage fee.
> >
> > Willem Blees, RPT
> > Piano Tuner/Technician
> > School of Music
> > University of Alabama
> > Tuscaloosa, AL USA
> >
> >
> 


Willem Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
School of Music
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL USA