[CAUT] Position, Assistant, Frost SOM at U. of Miami

[A440A at aol.com]

Ken writes:

<<  The market will continue to

change, certainly, but novices with ETDs wont eliminate full-service

technicians any more than places like Jiffy-Lube put full-service auto shops

out of business. << 

Greetings, 
  This might be a perfect example!  The loss of profit from simple services 
like oil changes has caused full service shops to charge more for the labor 
they do sell.  And coupled with a decrease in number (proportional to the number 
of cars) of shops that do credible full service, the result is that people 
keep cars fewer years than before because it is so expensive.  And yes, I 
understand that the modern car requires more expensive equipment to maintain than 
those older ones with carbs and no computers.  
 
>>We may see more of a dichotomy between tuners and techs

who do everything else, or the market may respond in some other way

entirely.  The main point is that the piano public, like any other portion

of the public, isn't inclined to let themselves suffer.  Don1t underestimate

their resourcefulness in finding someone they can pay to provide a service

they want.<< 

   The piano public has been woefully uneducated for many years.  The 
Internet has brought a lot of information to them, but the difference between a 
well-regulated action and one that isn't is lost on the majority of owners.  
"tune-only" techs rarely point out the shortcomings of the instrument, it seems.  


>>A private tech with moderate amounts of

motivation and business acumen can make significantly more money working for

less demanding clients.  It takes a different temperament to work in this

setting.  I won't speculate on what the differences might be :-) >>

       I think the difference might be one of risk-averse temperament.  The 
self-employed tech never knows where his next year's pay is going to come from, 
and must have faith that customers will call.  We also have to continually 
sell ourselves to strangers. Compared to that, the CAUT has more security. Gains 
and risk are proportional, so the tradeoff is money for security. 
    I may have the best of both worlds, in that the university work is only 
about 33% of my business, yet affiliation with a well-known school here allows 
me to avoid all advertising costs, and grants me a certain amount of 
credibility before I even go through the door to a new customer's house.  I do have to 
be ready to work on weekends and stay at least mildly political with a group 
of "professionals", but the time is worth it.
Regards,



Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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