charging for downtime?

[Pianofxrguy@aol.com]

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In a message dated 2/24/2006 5:26:06 P.M. US Eastern Standard Time,  
tubist@swbell.net writes:

I've  been hired to tune 3 pianos at a school which is about 20 miles away.
Two  of the pianos are in the same room; the third is in a different  room.
Because of class schedules, the first two must be tuned between 8:00  a.m.
and 12:00 noon (no problem there), but the third one is only available  after
2:00 p.m., leaving me with a two-hour gap.

Here's the  question: is it reasonable to charge something for the two hours
of  downtime?  I've already cut them a break on the tuning price, since  there
are six pianos involved 


I have a couple of similar situations here in northern Indiana. The before  
and after school suggestions are good, of course, but the ideal solution is to  
find another piano in the area to tune in between. If that is not possible, I 
 find making appointment calls, doing research (catalogs, etc.), and napping 
to  be useful. Small town hardware stores are almost always worth a browse, as 
well.  In a rural situation, though, charging for downtime almost never 
works. In the  more urban locations it is a little easier to find a customer who 
understands  that your time has value, but most people would regard you as 
trying to benefit  at their expense. If all else fails, you might have to build it 
into the cost  next time.
Some days napping really does seem like the most attractive thing to  do.....
John Stroup

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