[pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises

[Gerald Groot]

I'm sorry to hear about your crisis.  That really sucks. 

 

Spending what we do spend on health insurance, you are quite correct when
you say you could buy a whole lot of health insurance for that but, on the
other hand If we were to spend say about $10,000 a year or so with
deductibles or more, in 10 years, that's an easy $100,000.  In that regard,
you're ahead of the game there.  

 

Thanks for the conversation. I enjoyed it.  I do find the idea of full
service quite interesting and have an open mind to it, believe it or not. J 

 

Jer

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Susan Kline
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 9:14 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] billing dilemma with pitch raises

 

On 10/31/2010 5:15 PM, Gerald Groot wrote: 

We have phone's, insurance, business insurance, health insurance, life
insurance, some even carry ear insurance or hand insurance. 


We would have phones anyway. 

Not all of us have all that insurance. I, for instance, carry home owners
insurance and car insurance, and that's it. 

I admit people with a family would worry without life insurance, and maybe
some kind of disability or health insurance. I think that unless they are
very anxious types, most single people are better off without most of those
other insurances: the tool insurance, (HAND insurance??), liability
insurance (which just makes your pockets deep enough for someone to want to
sue you).

I went 30 years without health insurance, ever since coming home from
Canada. And last spring I became the poster child for what can happen as an
uninsured person gets older. Here I am, aged 64, and I had a medical crisis
and a hospital stay last May, and found myself with a hospital bill for
$30,500 (after negotiations.) Plus other doctor bills. Okay ... my gosh, how
could she do without the insurance?? Well, first, if you prorate my hospital
bill for thirty years, you end up with about $1,000 per year -- you couldn't
buy a whole lot of health insurance for that. Second, these days if you have
been a good and faithful customer for years, paying premiums the whole time,
and you suddenly have a major medical cost, the companies have whole rooms
full of people whose only job is to go through your history with a fine
tooth comb, to find an excuse not to pay. Now, there is overhead for you --
pay the insurance (at what I think are  exorbitant rates) and THEN pay the
medical costs yourself anyway, plus maybe some legal costs trying to
collect. 

To sum up again -- I think a very important skill for a person in business
is to keep overhead to the bare minimum. I don't remember Jer mentioning
advertising, but that's another one which I think most really good piano
techs should do without. Word of mouth does it all so much better, and is
scot free.

Susan Kline

 

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