I am wondering if the wise piano techs could tell me ...

what ammount should be paid to a tuner for a floor tuning say at a piano store? and how long should performing the floor tuning take?

THanks,
papageno

It depends on the store and your market. The store I do some work for pays extra for pitch raises, which I appreciate. If you are in a major city, such as Mineapolis, you might make more than in a smaller city. I really can't talk dollars because I don't know your market. One things for sure, stores have an interest in limiting the expense for tunings, both floor and road. We techs are an expense to the store, not an asset as the sales staff would be.

The amount of time spent on a floor tuning depends if it is a pitch raise or just a tuning, and also depends on the quality level the store expects.

A store in Chicago used to bring in a guy who could "tune" 2-3 pianos an hour. They were not really tuned, but were good enough for the sales staff to demo - and good enough for them. Other stores need a better job than just a quick tuning.

Some stores pay a salary, while most pay some type of piecework per piano. I get paid by the piano now, which is okay until customers get on the floor and I can't tune. Then I lose money.

I can do a floor tuning in 1/2 hour, but the store I work for likes a higher quality job than 1/2 hour allows. Might have to compromise a bit though - the holiday crunch has hit.

In general, you don't have much negotiating power with a store. They pretty much set the rates.

Why don't you visit the stores in your area and ask what they pay? Some will tell you. In general the high volume stores pay the least, while the high end stores pay more, but these are more difficult to get into.

The store I used to work for paid about half of the lowest going rate for an outside tuning. I don't know if this was typical; another store in my area paid about one-third of the outside rate.

As far as speed: to me that would depend on what was wanted (concert tuning, knock-into-good-enough-shape, something inbetween) and also on the experience and skill level of the tuner. Most stores would like the tuning to be done in minimal time, but often the techs are inexperienced (which in some cases why they have the job) and can't do a tuning in a short time. Tension can ensue.

I did best mentally by thinking of store tuning as a learning experience and as a source of customers rather than as a major contributor to income.

By the way - the best way to handle floor tunings is to spend the whole day in the store - that way it's most efficient. Stopping in the store for one or two isn't efficient at all. Driving expense eats into income.

thank you to all this has answered my questions and provided very helpful advice.