Kent: I know answers would be nicer than questions, but questions is about all I have with what little I know here. Is the local tech competent? Is his/her tuning up to the level they need? If not, they might just have to get a better local tech. If this tech is competent for tuning, why couldn't he/she do all the tuning, and have you come in as the consultant to do the technical things the local person can't do. If enough budget to tune frequently enough is the problem, you'll only exacerbate the problem with your higher costs. They'll just have to bite the bullet and come up with the money. Do I understand the problem here at all? dave *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 11/4/01 at 8:14 AM Kent Swafford wrote: >I have fallen into the habit of spending two days a year at a small >college >that is well outside my regular service area. > >The college has a local tech that does regular tunings. The college likes >the idea of having an "outside expert" come in regularly, and turned to me >after they found out how much it would cost to have a real Steinway tech >come from New York. :) > >I don't give any sort of discount for my services at this college which >presents a real problem for the local tech, since he _does_ substantially >discount his services. Therefore, I come in and in just two days use up a >rather substantial portion of the annual piano service budget. > >I have been approached by a second college to begin providing a similar >service for them. It has been well known for some time that this 2nd >college >has had severe difficulties getting its piano satisfactorily taken care of. >While I am sympathetic, there is only so much I can do. Part of the problem >for this college has been that they have not had their pianos tuned often >enough _and_ they have arranged for only tunings of a number of new pianos >that had the normal technical bugs that needed to be worked out. > >I will suggest to this 2nd college that any less than 2 tunings per piano >per term is asking for disappointment; I seriously doubt that they would >want to pay my prices for that many tunings. I will probably offer to come >up for 2-3 days to tear into the tech problems and tune 4-6 of their >faculty >studio pianos. > >For some reason I am having trouble seeing this as anything other than an >unsolvable problem. I was wondering if anyone here had some perspective to >offer from their own similar arrangements. > >The most recent message from the 2nd college follows. > >Kent Swafford > > >> Our chair ... here wanted me to get a longer term "game-plan" and have a >bid >> before having a person come ... from KS city to do our pianos... >According >> to my count this is the number of pianos we have that need to be >serviced... >> >> Uprights - 21 >> Grands - 11 (including one in the recital hall) >> >> Let me know what your recommendations would be over the long term. >Possibly >> something in conjunction with our local tuner covering part of the >time... >> >> Thanks, _____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC