Charging overtime

[Z! Reinhardt]

One way to find out what you could be charging a customer who wants to
schedule an appointment on short notice is to check the rate charts for
other businesses.  I have found that professional photo-finishing labs have
the formulae closest to what we encounter in pianoland.

Normal turn-around time is x-y days, cost is N
Rush rates for service between w-x days, add 50%
Panic rates for service in less than w days -- call for quote ...

You can well bet that the quoted rates will be high, because they factor in
the overtime involved with keeping the lab open past normal business hours.
Any customer expecting to schedule piano service on short/insufficient
notice to be completed as part of an already-full day should expect to pay a
premium.  If it's that important to them, they will pay.  I've swatted many
commercial customers with bills at the panic rates with the idea that their
poor planning is not my emergency.  (Private customers usually back off when
they hear what they may be in for when it comes to rush or panic rates.)

Bottom line:  Make it worth your while to interrupt your after-hour plans
for someone else's poor planning.

If you really want to get mean because the "emergency" service will mean
rescheduling someone else's appointment, then charge the "emergency"
customer for the cost of what the originally-scheduled customer was going to
pay for service.  Then the customer whose appointment was rescheduled can be
offered a sweet discount for allowing you to move the appointment ... and
you'll still come out ahead.  (I confess, I haven't had to do this to anyone
... yet .........)  Think about this in terms of getting bumped from a
flight -- someone paid a premium, and you are offered a travel voucher good
for $$$ within the next year or so.

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

----- Original Message -----
From: "Clyde Hollinger" <cedel@supernet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 6:44 AM
Subject: Charging overtime


OK, I'll let you know what's been going through my mind these last several
days.  Suppose all local piano technicians have all the work they need for
the
next several months, and a new client calls and needs a tuning done within
two
weeks.  All technicians say they can't do it because they are fully booked.
What is that client to do?  I have not checked with other local technicians
to
see how busy they are, but I am taking new client orders for next March.

I think if a new client were willing to pay more (an "overtime" rate so to
speak), then I would just take personal time and go do the job.  I did
suggest
this to one person recently, and I actually charged on this basis once, when
I
was called on a Friday night to tune a piano before a Saturday wedding.  The
clients were grateful they could find someone who would do the job on short
order even at a higher cost.  I charged 50% more than my normal rate.

Thoughts?  Do any of you do this?

Regards,
Clyde

Farrell wrote:

> I've had the same thought in the past. I think that when I am too busy
with
> service appointments, I will raise my price quite a bit for first-time
> appointments, but then discount those that repeat at least once a year.
But
> not until I am too busy. I'm sure such a policy will scare away some of
> those first-timers. I think it is a great idea.