Charging for pitch raises

[Wallace Scherer]

Ted,

This in response to your note about the Whitney spinet:

Different technicians go about charging for pitch raises, and other jobs,
in different ways. Each one of us charges as he wishes according to the
local market and conscience dictates. In my area I only charge a set fee
for tunings and then charge all other work by the hour, actually by the 1/4
hour. A pitch raise generally only takes me a half hour in addition to the
tuning, so I only charge for a half hour of extra labor. If I see that
there may be a possibility for a string breaking, I will inform the
customer and explain what the charges may be; the type of piano you mention
may be more troublesome, and therefore warrant a higher price.

I talked to a friend of mine recently (not a PTG member) who charges more
for the pitch raise than for the tuning. He reasoned that since the
customer had neglected the piano for so long, he was justified. It seemed
to me his attitude was that of "punishing" the customer for not taking care
of the piano.

My philosophy is that my charges should be related more closely to the
actual work I do on the particular piano in question. That way I can say I
am being fair to my customers and will hopefully establish a "regular"
clientele. 

I realize that others have a different philosophy about charging for their
services, which is why they may make a better living than I do. Oh, well,
maybe I should learn a few things from them. I'm still learning this
business.

Please, any responses, reply directly as I am signed off the list until I
get some research projects done for school.

Sincerely,

Wally Scherer, Piano Technician, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Associate member of the PTG, Hampton Roads, Va. chapter
mailto:WallyTS@iName.com 
Web page: http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/2411
"Old piano tuners don't die - they just go beatless!"