Ethics on a "Wim"

[A440A@aol.com]

Del Gittinger writes;

>  I can't justify charging different fees to separate
>customers for different work.

and also;

>I'd feel ripped off if  I was charged $100 for something my brother got for
>$75.00  and if I got the low price I'd question the integrity of the
>technician and/or their skill and/or the quality of the service that I
>received.

Must we expect all jobs to take the same amount of effort?

      If we are to charge one price for "tuning" a piano , isn't the price
set for the "average" amount of work done?  If so,  those customers with more
difficult pianos get a little extra for their money, and those whose pianos
tune like silk are having less work done for the same price. Is somebody
being cheated here?

     My point is,  having a fixed price assumes a fixed job,  and most pianos
are different.  To end up with the same result, ( in tune, at pitch), on
different pianos,  requires different amounts of work.  Why should one not
charge different prices?
     Is it the fear of the perception of unfairness?  This is a poor
rationale for making business decisions, IMHO.  If you are doing clean,
dependable work,  and  pricing it honestly,  you will build a customer base
that will trust you,  and differing prices will have no effect.  If you are
competing for the customer that considers price first/quality second, and
this forces you to fix your price to an unchanging rate,  either the work or
your time will be compromised on the difficult tunings.
     It is perhaps not a paradigm of salesmanship to quote prices on a  "not
less than" basis,  but that is what my first time customers hear.  I charge
more to tune a difficult piano because it takes more time,  and my time is
all I have to sell.

..02c there..............keep the change

Regards,
Ed Foote