What's a fair price to charge for tuning a piano

pianotune05@comcast.net pianotune05@comcast.net
Wed, 08 Feb 2006 22:07:45 +0000


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I'm curious,
Why would it be a bad thing to be booked well in advance.  I know a guy who 's booked 6 weeks or so in advance.  I think that would be a good thing, and knowing my financial situation, I sure wish I was booked solid.
Marshall

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From: A440A@aol.com 

> Joseph writes: 
> 
> << Whe I facture that sales tax, car 
> 
> expenses (tolls, gas, etc.) and travel time are 
> 
> deducted from the gross fee, I do not see how I can 
> 
> charge less than $100 for a basic tuning. >> 
> 
> In the beginning, you will have to charge little enough to simply attract the 
> customers that are price shopping. You will want to move out of this category 
> as fast as you can. You will do this by impressing enough customers so that 
> word of mouth, (is there anywhere else words come from?, uh, I know a couple 
> of people that talk out their a. ahhhh, well, I'll just let that be), begins 
> to fill your schedule. 
> As soon as you realize that you are missing customers because you don't 
> have time to get to them, you will realize that you are not charging enough. 
> You will then raise your price until you have more time than customers, oops, 
> charging too much? You will know if your calls begin to drop off. (or maybe 
> you let your quality slip). 
> Return customers are the lifeblood of a service business, unless you 
> advertise so heavily that you don't need them, (hard to do). Do what you can to 
> make your customers feel like they got their money's worth. Customers usually 
> don't think in terms of dollars, but rather, what value they think they are 
> receiving. Also remember that 90% of communication is non-verbal, so if you are 
> confident that your price and the quality of your service are equal, your 
> body language, tone of voice, and general bearing will put the customer at ease. 
> A long term tech, with a large body of work and customers behind them, 
> will comfortably charge more than the beginner. In Nashville, the price of a 
> tuning varies from $60 to $130, depending on who is doing it. I have customers 
> that feel much better paying me twice as much as the last tuner they employed. 
> 
> If you are booked two months in advance, you are not charging enough. 
> If your phone is not ringing, you may be pricing yourself too high. The only 
> way to find your comfort zone is to get in the business and learn. 
> good luck, 
> 
> 
> Ed Foote RPT 
> http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html 
> www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html 
> 
> _______________________________________________ 
> Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives 
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