Hourly rate

[Farrell]

Hi Dale. Great post. I'm thinking about raising my rates. Do you have any
specific philosophy regarding raising rates? Raise your tuning fee $5 per
year? Always charge $79.95 or $89.95 - make it look good? Go from $65 to $75
to $85 - the idea being that $75 feels the same as $70? How did you go about
more than doubling your rates over the last 11 years?

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ward & Probst" <wardprobst@cst.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2001 11:46 AM
Subject: RE: Hourly rate


> Dear Clyde,
>
> Yes, I know of a technician who raised his rates and then lowered them,
then
> raised them again. In my conversations with techs at convention (in class
and
> out) the two most common scenarios I have run into are:
> 1) Techs who tune anywhere from 5 to 10 pianos per day and complain about
> having too work so hard to make what they think they should be making
> 2) Techs who have raised their prices with the hope that they would reduce
> their work load then raised them again and again with no reduction in
> clientele. This is what happened to us personally during a time when four
other
> technicians in our area left the business for other jobs.
> In my experience most folks ask what the fee is in order to determine
whether
> they have enough money to pay the bill. I know that when I seek a service
> person, I try to find the best I can because in my experience that is most
> satisfactory for me in the long run. We recently took a service vehicle to
a
> mechanic who is a nice guy and attends our church. He replaced a timing
belt,
> spark plugs and a fuel filter for less than what the dealership would. The
car
> did not run as well so we took it to another mechanic whose work we knew:
he
> replaced the spark plugs(one was cracked on the previous installation) and
the
> fuel filter which was apparently original. There endeth the lesson.
> I guess most folks really don't know how to figure their expenses, what
they
> are entitled to deduct and what not or even what business scenario fits
their
> personal needs best. At least that has been my experience in teaching in
our
> region and at the Annual. Unfortunately, many of these folks are so intent
on
> upgrading their technical skills they don't attend the business classes.
IMHO,
> the saddest thing to see is a really fine tech who has all the skills in
the
> world struggling to make a living or living in retirement on a very
limited
> fixed income. I've seen both. When your figuring your charges, please
remember
> that when the time comes for retirement you won't be able to go back to
your
> customers and say "Look I didn't charge enough and now I need some money
for
> retirement".
> Climbing down from a soapbox I have been on too many years,
> Dale
> PS FWIW- in the last 11 years (a period of relatively low inflation) we
have
> more than doubled our fees (of course they were too low to start with).
Lost
> one regular church account and one piano teacher over the increases though
> their places were taken by better customers with better instruments.
Remember
> if a client leaves over price they were not really a customer, they were
just
> using you until they found someone cheaper. The best businesses are built
with
> customers who appreciate us as technicians and as individuals. Our loyalty
to
> them and their loyalty to us must balance for the relationship to be
satisfying
> for both parties. OOOPPPS, forgot I was off the box!!
>
> Dale Probst, RPT
> Member, TEAM2001
> PTG Annual Convention
> Reno, NV --July 11-15, 2001
> email: wardprobst@cst.net
> (940)691-3682 voice
> (940) 691-6843 fax
> TEAM2001 website: http://www.ptg.org/conv.htm
>
>
>
> On Saturday, April 14, 2001 6:27 AM, Clyde Hollinger
[SMTP:cedel@supernet.com]
> wrote:
> > Friends,
> >
> > I would really be interested in any response to the question below,
whether
> > anyone raised the rates too high and then had to back off. I have a
theory.
>  In times past I didn't charge enough, and I think a few new clients still
call
> me because I had a reputation for charging a meager price.
> >  Nowadays my business grows mostly through referrals from satisfied
clients,
> and I charge
> > a competitive rate.  But if I charged much higher than the average, I
suspect
> I
> > would get a reputation for being expensive that would last many years
and
> could hurt
> > business, even if I returned later to a fee closer to what others
charge.  I
> don't want
> > that scenario to develop.  In this part of the country people are pretty
> frugal.
> >  Thoughts?
> >
> > Regards,
> > Clyde
>
>
>