What we charge?

[John Lillico, RPT]

In his message of Wed, 26 Jan 2000 20:35:19 EST, Wim Blees says;

I make it a point that every one has to look at his or her own 
>situation. There are a lot of variables involved when setting fees. For 
>anyone to set his or her fee based on what the competition is charging is not 
>the way to go. A very highly respected member of the PTG once said he charged 
>a couple of dollars more for his services than the next highest competitor. 
>And when he finds out someone else is charging the same as him, he raises 
>his. That is not the right way to charge for your service.
>
>Fees should be based on the amount of money you need to stay in business and 
>make an honest profit for yourself. This figure can be based on a high 
>profit. But there will come a point at which only so much profit will allow 
>you to stay in business. In other words, if you charge too much for your 
>service, not enough people will call you.

I beg to differ. My local rival and friend (not a Guild member) charges much less than I. I'm not about to drop my prices down to his level and it's impossible for him to bring his up to mine. If I dropped, my margins would be drastically cut. If he increased, his business would cease.

By being at or near the top of the price structure, I get very little junk to work with. That type of piano is usually associated with price shoppers or those who only hire piano servicing once every ten years. And I'm talking about a fairly wide price differential here (90 vs. 69).

As far as starting a business is concerned, I knew a technician who offered an "introductory special". When I was at 12, he charged 8. He got 20 calls or so, but 20 more people to eventually convince that the rate should be higher. 

I say base your charge on experience, demand, professional affiliation, expenses and local economy. Hundred dollar tunings may not fly in Humboldt but will in New York. Then again, maybe there are no tuners within a hundred miles of Humboldt, in which case it's a dollar a mile and a dollar a cent.

John Lillico, RPT,
Oakville, Ontario, Canada