[CAUT] What to do???

[Zeno Wood]

Hi Paul,

The RH here goes below 20% every winter, and I know my predecessor
tried for years (never successfully) to do something about it.  Since
they're knocking the building down after the spring semester, I'm not
even mentioning it this year.

I have to agree with Alan - make friends with whoever it is that
actually does the work.  After my office was painted, I was clued in
by a savvy administrator that I should deliver a box of donuts to the
paint shop.  I did so, and now I have some good friends there, who
also spread the word about me to their colleagues in the carpentry
shop...

Zeno Wood
Brooklyn College

On 12/1/08, Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> wrote:
> Hi Paul,
> 	Condolences on your situation. I think Alan Crane's advice is very
> good, and I would certainly do my best to find out specifically who is
> the person Richard contacted. He probably built a relationship with
> the right person over a number of years, in trying to keep the
> humidity control system working.
> 	You committed a bureaucratic sin: you went over the heads of your
> immediate superiors. Not a wise thing to do. The best channel is
> "around" rather than "over." Over upsets people and gets you in
> trouble. Just to put it in perspective, consider how you would feel if
> a faculty member went to your director about an issue dealing with
> piano maintenance, perhaps something that had been requested and that
> you hadn't been able to get around to for various reasons. In any
> case, though it may be tempting to use your relationship with an upper
> administration person to get results, in the long term it may
> backfire, as it has.
> 	At this point, it is history, but a better approach would have begun
> with your administrator: "I have contacted facilities about the steam,
> and nothing has happened. I am worried about the effect of this dry
> condition on the pianos. What can we do?" IOW, start with your
> immediate superior trying to remedy the situation. Enlist aid or get
> advice.
> 	At this point, I'd still try to find the right person in facilities,
> in hopes of being able to establish a direct connection. But keep in
> mind that this is just a job. There are things that are outside your
> control. You do your best, and that is all you can do.
> 	Our facility regularly (annually) goes from 60% (August/September) to
> under 10% (January/February). We have very few soundboards with cracks
> (less than 20%, maybe less than 10%), no rib separation issues. So I
> wouldn't get too frantic about it. Don't bother with buckets of water.
> It won't make any difference.
> 	Good luck!
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
> fssturm at unm.edu
>
>
>
> On Dec 1, 2008, at 3:51 PM, Paul T Williams wrote:
>
>>
>> Hi all!
>>
>> I always appreciate your input.  Here's a new twist...
>>
>> Our building is currently dangerously dry.  When Richard West was
>> here, the administrative secretary always told him to contact the
>> "facilities" people, directly, across campus who controls the campus
>> buildings to turn on the steam to remedy the situation. I was also
>> told this when I started to do this and and have, regularly. This
>> year,   I have tried for the last 3 weeks to do this with no
>> results.  Our humidity, now, is below 20% and the pianos have gone
>> completely wacky as you can imagine.
>>
>> After sending several messages to facilities, I got no results.  I
>> sent another to our director, and another to the senior vice
>> chancellor ( a customer of mine for her personal piano) and other
>> esteemed folks.  I got a "cease  correspondance" message back from
>> our director.(probably embarassed)  He now states that I have to
>> report to the finance/business director, who responds to him, who
>> responds to the Dean of Fine Arts, who then calls facilities to turn
>> on the humidity!!!!!!  Is this the biggest load of political crap
>> you've ever heard of?? He states that I have to go through the
>> channels of authority to get anything done in "such a large
>> university:.  With this crap, I might see the steam turned on in
>> January!!!! If ever....How come Richard was able to just get the
>> steam turned on?
>>
>> I now fear cracking boards, loose ribs, separating bridges, failing
>> glue joints of every kind, and the like.  I then went to the
>> "finance/business manager" (?) and she said bluntly that she had no
>> time to deal with this issue today.
>>
>> Should I just throw up my hands and say, "whatever"? or should I go
>> to Home Depot and buy 110 buckets to put water in and set them under
>> each piano to try to help them through their "hospice"????
>>
>> HELP!!!!
>>
>> Paul
>
>