I don’t charge for a pitch raise. At least not that the customer knows. When a customer calls, I ask if there are any notes sticking or not working right, and how long it’s been since it was last tuned. If they say it’s been 3 or 4 years, that means it’s been 6 or 8. That almost automatically means it needs a pitch adjustment. I then give them my “full service” fee, which includes minor repairs and adjustments. My full service fee is 50% higher than my basic fee. I also tell them that if, in my opinion, the repairs or adjustments are more than what I consider minor, I will tell them ahead of time how much extra it’s going to cost and get their permission to do the work.
I never talk about pitch raise, or what caused the piano to go flat, or what’s involved in doing the work. Customers basically don’t care much less understand what is meant by a “pitch raise”. So I just give them my full service fee and they accept it.
I’ve been doing it this way for over 25 years and I’ve never had a customer complain or ask me about the fee. They understand that since it’s been a while since the piano was tuned it’s going to cost more. If the customer doesn’t want to pay my fee, I don’t want to tune their piano. It more or less separates those who want me to tune their piano, and those who are looking for the cheapest tuner in town.
Wim
Sent from my iPhone
Original Message:
Sent: 4/15/2026 10:50:00 AM
From: Sean Weinert
Subject: Free customer-facing pitch raise check app
Hi piano friends, I've made another free piano technician tool! (Open to feedback and feature fixes).
https://pitchraise.app/index.html
This web-based app enables customers to be able to check if they need a pitch raise as part of the appointment setting process. This runs in the web browser so any modern phone, iOS or Android can use it.
There are no downloads, no cost, no ads, no sign up's - send the link to your customer and let them measure the piano themselves. It's pretty simple. If you have pre-set limits on pitch raises (some techs say -10, others say -20, etc) - ask the customer to open the settings and change the pitch field to YOUR value.
For tuners - if you enter "0000" in this field a new window will display - you can enter your name or business name and phone number - this generates a link you can copy with a "Deep Link" - when they open the link it will say your name or company, ie. "Denver Piano Service would like you to measure your piano to see if a pitch raise or additional tuning is needed"
When the customer completes the testing it generates a button to text the results back to you.
🚨GO LAND MORE PITCH CORRECTION BILLING!! 🚨
(There's a Venmo link on the bottom of the page if you think you'll use this tool or it makes you more money, buy me a ☕️)
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Sean Weinert
Littleton CO
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