Pricing emergency services

[Clyde Hollinger]

Friends,

I'd like to take this discussion in a slightly different direction.  Do any of
you charge extra for last-minute orders or emergency service when all your
appointment slots are already filled?

Case study:  I received a call two days ago from a local school choral director.
He needs the middle school piano tuned no later than Monday for an event.  I know
the piano technician for that district, so I asked if he called her, and he said
he was unable to contact her.

Several facts:  (1)  All my month's appointments are filled, and I have a waiting
list until January.  (2)  Adding a tuning on Monday is going to mess up a
personal day I intended to take, so I am not eager for the work.  BUT...  (3)
What is someone who badly needs a tuning to do if all the technicians just say,
"Sorry"?  (4)  An assumption:  The event was probably scheduled weeks or even
months ago, so why should I suffer for someone else's error?

I have an informal policy that I have enacted about 2-3 times.  It is that when
my appointments are full, adding extra appointments, especially for those who are
not my clients, can be done on an overtime basis.  That is, I will do it charging
50% more than my normal tuning charge.

I offered this option to the choral director, and he said that sounds fine to
him.  He is taken off the hook in that he knows the tuning is taken care of, and
I am (grudgingly) willing to do it because of the extra pay.

Thoughts?  (Oh, BTW, I left a phone message for the school district's technician
myself.  She called me back within five minutes but was out of the area and would
not be returning before the middle of next week, but she appreciated my checking
with her.)

Regards,
Clyde Hollinger, RPT
Lititz, PA, USA


A440A@aol.com wrote:

>  When the last-minute, emergency appointment is made, it is important to let
> them know first off that you are being asked to perform in a compromised
> situation, but your price is not. Then cheerfully plug yourself into the
> scene and do the best that can be managed under the circumstances.