<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1528" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brian,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The cost of outside movers should be weighed against the cost of acquiring the proper equipment (considerable), the training (special) and willingness of the technician crew, and the increased insurance cost. Saving an institution money should never be done at the expense of safe quality work, as in having ten big guys from plant operations pancake a BB Mason onto a four wheeler with the legs and lyre still attached (I once walked in on just such a scene) or four professional furniture movers trying to slide a 9 ft Steinway up a stage front edge on the spine bottom edge and wiping out most of the trapwork in the process or... I could go on and I do digress.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Be sure and get ALL the equipment and training you could ever possibly need so that no piano or technician is EVER in any danger. Too often we assume (always dangerous), as your administrator seems to be doing, that because you are good tuners, tone and touch regulators, rebuilders, etc that we must be able to move pianos. There is good reason that piano moving is SO OFTEN a separate business. If your staff, led by an administrator who will properly fund all this, wants to ADD this serious skill set to their repertoire, by all means have at it, but beware the surprise game of     "You Catch It You Keep It"     "...pick me I'm the turnip..." "there's a man dressed as some sort of radish trying to get under a BB Mason & Hamlin,   4 stories is a long way to... it looks like he's got it,   but, oh my God..., that's all the time we have for this week's show, but tune in again nex..."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Seriously it's usually cheaper to hire the outside guys especially if you haven't been doing this all along.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best of luck to you,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Solliday</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=BYankee@newenglandconservatory.edu href="mailto:BYankee@newenglandconservatory.edu">Brian Yankee</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, June 02, 2006 12:14 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [CAUT] Piano Techs as Piano Movers?</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006>Greetings.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006>I am the Director of Performance Services at New England Conservatory in Boston. A member of our administration <SPAN class=965071016-02062006>wants</SPAN> to have our Piano Technicians (whom I supervise) move our pianos (mostly a mix of Steinway B's, L's and M's) out of studios, into and out of the piano shop, etc. when the need arises. We have always hired an outside piano mov<SPAN class=965071016-02062006>ing company</SPAN> to do all of our moves except for occasionally rolling an upright piano down a hallway from one room to another.  </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006>What prompted this is a proposal to recarpet and paint seven faculty studios this summer. The proposal included an estimate of the cost to <SPAN class=965071016-02062006>hire our movers to </SPAN>remove the pianos from the rooms, bring them to our piano shop for storage on their sides and then to return them to the studios once the work is done. Needless to say, the piano moving costs are considerable. </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=+0><SPAN class=286342415-01062006><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN class=965071016-02062006>Personally, I think it's inappropriate for piano techs to double as piano movers, but what do I know? </SPAN>I need a reality check<SPAN class=965071016-02062006>:</SPAN> Is this something that piano techs at other colleges and universities do? If not, can you give me some good arguments why they shouldn't? </FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006>Thanks.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006>Brian Yankee</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006>Director of Performance Services</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=286342415-01062006>New England Conservatory</SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2>*******************************************************************</FONT> <BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brian S. Yankee</FONT></I> <BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>Director of Performance Services</FONT></I> <BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>New England Conservatory</FONT></I> <BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>290 Huntington Ave. </FONT></I><BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>Boston, MA 02115</FONT></I> <BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tel: 617-585-1271</FONT></I> <BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>Fax: 617-585-1270</FONT></I> </P> <DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>