Raise my fee for piano lessons or keep them the same...??

I have kept my rate for piano lessons the same for at least three years and want to increase them by 5 dollars per lesson. I have 2 questions:

Should I raise my existing customers or just my new ones, and if you think I should raise the existing ones, what is a tactful way to say it?

I give lessons to 2 children of a neighbor of mine- (not Jewish) I say that because she is my Shabbos gentile, so to speak and very friendly with me, as well as a nice person. I have been giving these kids lessons for 4 years and have been charging her much less to begin with, because its 2 kids in the same house. At this point, she would be paying me 10 dollars an hour less than anyone else who has multiple kids in the same house. Should I not say anything to her and leave well enough alone as she has helped me many times(I have there for her as well in different situations as well), or I should not mix business with pleasure?

Silver Member Joined: Jun 29 2008 Posts: 627

I don't know enough about whether or not you should raise the rates of your current customers as you need to take into account if you can afford to lose them if they don't like your new rates (in todays economy that may be something to consider strongly)

As far as your neighbor goes I would do the same with her as you do with your other existing customers- after all this is your business and she'll understand.

I would think long and hard before raising rates. The first thing that I would cut is extra lessons for the kids if I were budget crunching...

Most of the people I give lessons to are BH able to afford it (I'm not counting their money but I am assuming so, since if not they would not do it).
I just thought that as in any profession/job, one is entitled to ask/get a raise, especially after a few years.

ok- just saying that you really need to consider well.
also- my bil cut down the hour and still charged the same. that way they didn't feel the raise.

so instead of an hour lesson it became 45 minutes.

octpus I like your bil's idea the best!

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 10 2006 Posts: 6561

Speaking as the wife of a piano teacher to BH some families who can afford it: ask for the $5 raise.

If someone winces, offer the 45 min solution.
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Thats a great idea, except because the majority of kids I give lessons to are young, I give lessons for 1/2 hour as I see they cant sit longer- So I cant really cut 1/2 hour!

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 10 2006 Posts: 6561

OP here- Just curious - for those of you who know about private music lessons what is the going rate in the NYNJ metro area for lessons, then I can see if I am under/overcharging so I can get a better idea.

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 10 2006 Posts: 6561

My husband has been teachign for 2 very well off families in Morristown, NJ for a few years. One pays $75/hr, and another $65/hr. I add that they are very well off to put that rate in perspective.

I pay $80 an hour or $55 for 45 minutes in rockland county for my teacher.

his students are people that go into this professionally (one of his students won a couple tony awards). so he charges a lot, and has less students - but if someone takes this seriously then they prefer to pay more and have the better teacher. (and yes, I do see a different result with this teacher than I saw with others that I have tried). if I had a kid with little to no talent and this was just a hobby, I would never pay that amount.

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 22 2004 Posts: 9754

Agreed with NJ Mommy-- where I live things get raised like that constantly and no one ever flinches.
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Silver Member Joined: May 20 2009 Posts: 509 Location: CT

Im not expecting anything. Im just asking. And this is why I am doing it at the begining of a new school year. Alot of kids have been in the country and camp and have not been around for 2 months. So I thought the perfect time to do it would be now.
Also, if I had a steady customer for a while and she would tell me that's a bit steep for her (the raise) I would probably reconsider- I would never throw someone away because of 5 dollars)
As you see from my OP, I even have someone for 4 years at the same rate I was charging like 6 years ago and cant figure out what to do with her-

Can anyone tell me a tactful way to let people know I will go up the 5 dollars?

Thanks for all your input.

Posted: Tue, Aug 11 2009, 8:08 pm Post subject:

why don't you print up a flyer and quote the new prices and send them out to your existing customers and the neighborhood ... this way it won't come as a shock to anybody ...

are piano lessons really that expensive Shocked

wow
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Platinum Member Joined: Sep 22 2004 Posts: 9754

Hi, I'm a piano teacher too, but I'm not in NY. I charge $25 for a 1/2 hour lesson, which is probably lower than what I could charge - could go to $30 easily and still be competitive - so I'm in a similar situation.

If you decide to raise your rate, maybe consider going up $3 for each 1/2 hour, sounds less painful to people and still adds up. You can then increase another increment at the end of this school year if you are still not up to the going rate. Just an idea.

Silver Member Joined: May 19 2009 Posts: 560