FEEDBACK REQUESTED

[Ken Hale]

On 12 Nov 95 at 12:11, DaleP34429@aol.com wrote Re: FEEDBACK
REQUESTED:

> I agree with the posts by Keith McGavern and Steve Brady. Customers should
> know when and what that are going to be charged for. I don't do estimates, I
> do evaluations- a term I  filched from Bernard Mollberg of the Austin, Tx
> chapter. It better captures what I do- I evaluate the piano and its
> condition. I charge for this service because it takes time and expertise to
> do it well, the same as tuning, regulating, voicing, or any of a number of
> other services I provide.

I like the term Evaluations and will be adding it to my phone
interview tools. It fits in with the idea, stated in a few other
posts, of identifying our job with roofer or the doctor. Sounds
pretty funny to think about calling up a doctor for an appointment
to get an estimate for fixing your broken leg. I try to do as much
in the phone interview as I can, which saves time at the home and
also helps a bit to avoid misunderstandings.

I happen to be rich in painting contractor friends and for sure they
would like to get paid for their estimates, but historically the
building trades do free estimates. That may be changing, because I
recently paid a carpenter to work up an estimate, including drawings
and he was clear that some of the cost also covered the hours he
spent pricing materials and planning the work flow.



Ken Hale

khale@oro.net
CIS 74633,2474