Service fees

[A440A@aol.com]

Greetings all,

     It was recently asked, "Where do our fee schedules come from?".    It
comes , I think from our own experiences.  Whereas the beginning tuner will
have to compete on price, to some degree,  the techs with many years in the
trade will have found the most efficient market for their services, and the
most efficient level of billing to maintain that market. ( if you charge $20
to tune, you will have LOTS of business!)

     I remember many years ago, standing in the door, hold the bill from the
refrigerator repairman.  As he drove, whistling, out of sight,  I realized
that he had been in my house for 35 minutes, installed a $22 part, and i had
just spent $125.
     This was on a piece of equipment that only cost  $700!  I was spending
90 minutes, tuning a piece of equipment that cost $20,000 and I was charging
$60?
     I decided that I would raise my prices right then, and I did.  It didn't
change my appointment sheet at all.

     Good, solid, work, and honest business practises will provide the steam
to lift your prices, but one has to learn to read the gauges.  The big gauge
in the middle is "Reputation" ,  the two along side are labeled, "Good will"
 and "Fairness".

    (Yep, I am snowed in, in Nashville that takes 2 inches, after which the
drivers make the street into a demolition derby! I choose to have the brandy
by the fire rather than the white-knuckle terror behind the wheel)

Regards to all,
Ed Foote
Precision Piano Works
Nashville, Tn