Evenings and weekends

[Z! Reinhardt]

Hi Clyde!

If it is so important for those customers to have you over at their
convenience, then they should be required to pay for that convenience. 
Evenings and weekends come with a premium price tag.  Saturdays are 50%
surcharge and Sundays are double-rates.  Short-notice calls for such
service are priced to be a financial nightmare.  (Poor planning on their
part is not an emergency on my part.)

First, I ask the customer if there is any chance of arranging for someone
to be there during the week (housekeeper, neighbor, kids home from school,
etc.).  I also *warn* them that they would probably not want to know me
anymore come the afterhours or weekends.

"But I work ..."
"So do I ... This IS my work."

So far so good -- I get VERY few weekend calls outside of theatres.  And
yes, I did once collect a *financial nightmare* from someone who just *had*
to have the piano tuned on short notice ... on a Sunday, no less.  I told
them what was coming and they knew they had little choice, due to their
lack of planning.

As it is, I put aside the weekends for theatre-work, but I'm always happy
to get an entire weekend OFF from anything to do with Pianos.  We're all
only human, that's all.

Also ... Don't bend too much for existing customers, or you will get a
reputation for which you may have trouble collecting the surcharges for
off-hours work.

Z! Reinhardt RPT
Ann Arbor  MI
diskladame@provide.net

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From: Clyde Hollinger <cedel@redrose.net>
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: Evenings and weekends
Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 7:28 AM

Friends:

>snip<

+ Has anyone tried looking at these times as overtime and charging more? 
If so, how do clients or potential customers respond?  Are they grateful
or resentful if they can find someone to accommodate them at an extra
cost?  If this has worked for you, how much extra do you charge?  Your
input will be helpful. 

+ Maybe I should add, in case you're wondering, that I do bend to favor my
regular clients.  I am trying to build their loyalty to me, and I
respond by being loyal, and available, to them.  

Thank you.
Clyde Hollinger