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

[Mark Schecter]

I want to put in my 2 cents worth here. Where I live, in Oakland, CA, I 
went to have my VW serviced at the dealer. Their shop rate is _$135_ per 
hour. I take that as an indication of what skilled technical service is 
worth. Is anyone's life at stake in piano work? Not usually, perhaps, 
but for professionals, at least, our work is vital to their livelihood. 
How long does it take to become an automotive technician? I'm guessing 
2-4 years. (Forgive me if I'm wrong). Does the automotive technician 
come to my house to service my car? Ha! Is he/she available at odd 
hours/off days/short notice? Not bloody likely. Does he/she have an 
overarching aesthetic sense of how the nuances of my car's adjustments 
will affect my driving experience? Uh, not really.

Tuning a piano for $60? Let's see, 1/2 hour to drive there, 1.5 hours 
there, 1/2 hour to drive somewhere else, that's 2.5 hours per piano, and 
out of that fee I'm supposed to pay taxes including self-employment, gas 
and upkeep and insurance on the car, pay for health care, put aside 
something for retirement, pay my mortgage and insurance, eat, take a 
vacation, be sick a few days, and put my kids through college? Yeah, you 
do the math.

Not where I live anyway.

When I can charge as much as my auto mechanic charges me, I'll have it made.

-Mark Schecter

Joseph Rosenberg wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I'm a relatively new tuner in the urban/suburban
> Northeast. I would appreciate hearing from some of the
> members of this fine group as to what is a fair price
> to charge for a basic piano tuning.
> 
> FYI, I have heard from a number of piano tuners that
> they felt that for the most part piano tuners
> undercharge. 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. 
> 
> Thanks in advance for your comments.
> 
> Joe Rosenberg
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