<br><br> <div><span class="gmail_quote">On 10/16/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Scott E. Thile</b> <<a href="mailto:scott.thile@murraystate.edu">scott.thile@murraystate.edu</a>> wrote:</span> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">> BUT!!!<br>><br>> You're forgetting one of our best perks of us Cauterized<br>> folks.  We get to carry KEYS!!! <br><br>Ah yes, good point Conrad, we do carry power and influence! But you're<br>forgetting... The guy with the most "key power" on campus has two keys that<br>do everything my 30 or 40 keys do! Of course I'd hate to know what would <br>happen if he lost one!<br><br>Jeff, I still question the notion you have that private sector work is some<br>how less necessary. What about piano teachers and their more serious<br>students, concert venues, concert artists, accompanists, and in my case, <br>churches where I tuned several times a year to coincide with major services,<br>etc.. Lots of high level, very critical work is needed and done in the<br>private sector.<br><br>When my private clientele was at it's peak in the San Diego area at least <br>1/2 of my work was for people or venues that made it a priority. Some had<br>to, some wanted to. The other 1/2 was like you describe, But that's true in<br>our CAUT work as well. I spend lots of time tuning practice rooms where <br>anything I do will be blasted out of tune in days by 11+ hours a day of<br>practice and a virtually non-existence HVAC system. I also have a couple of<br>studios I tune from time to time where I'm sure I'm the only one who plays <br>the piano!<br><br>For private sector work I think it just depends on how you structure your<br>clientele. I'd hate to be depending on the low end these days. The guys I<br>know that do are starting to see a huge drop off. <br><br>Scott E. Thile, RPT<br>Piano/Instrument Technician<br>---------------------------<br>Dept. of Music, Murray State University<br>504 Fine Arts Building, Murray, KY 42071<br>Office Phone: 270-809-4396<br><a href="http://campus.murraystate.edu/staff/scott.thile/index.html"> http://campus.murraystate.edu/staff/scott.thile/index.html</a></blockquote> <div> </div> <div>Ok Jeff, </div> <div>When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong and I got some things wrong. Your initial letter with the 2 statements;</div><br> </div> <div>[Tuning spinets and old uprights pays better if you're willing to take that kind of work on.] <br> </div> <div>[We have such people making very good money in the private sector, where the work isn't nearly as necessary.]<br clear="all">reeked with snobbery and seemed to denigrate both those who would (lower themselves to)tune spinets and uprights and generally us private sector folks as doing "unnecessary" work. </div> <div> </div> <div>Having read your further comments, I understand what you were trying to say and we are much closer to agreeing than you would believe. You speak in quixotic terms of things that I have accepted as a given many years ago. The new cars, fine homes, flat screen TV's, guns, ammo, sporting goods, etc. Although we live in different regions of the country, I can assure you the mentality of the citizenry isn't all that far apart. I'm a 40 minute drive from the Deer hunting capitol of Wisconsin and just a few miles from the Mississippi where bass tournaments abound. Our differences lie in the fact that I have accepted that I/we will not change a public that grew up acquiring the newest, shiniest toy regardless of it's cost but will balk at simply maintaining a piano at a basic level. I fight this battle in a personal way one on one with customer education, enthusiasm about my subject and a customer list that is notified when next due. I have been in this business for 38 years and come to it not from a musical perspective but rather as a woodworker. I am not saying I have no musical training but I am not a pianist, I play guitar, I sing and I took wood shop. I have often made the point that I am a right-brained person working in a left-brained world! <grin>I am well aware of the demands of the institutional piano, the inherent problems associated with the HVAC systems, not to mention climate and location, I have one high school that was built on land that was previously a swamp! With a few exceptions, you are correct I see my institutional pianos much more often than most of the home pianos. I do have a few exceptional pianists, with an exceptional ear that have me back often. I also have some piano teachers that don't have me in as often as they should! </div> <div>So as I said, I really don't believe we are that far apart, I tend to work 10 to 12 hour days, not including the office time when I get home. The funny thing about being a self-employed tech is you find it hard to say no to things and the next thing you know you're overbooked for the day, the week, the month! </div> <div> </div> <div>Regarding my comments about employee vs self-employment, I had more than a little wrong, I have not been an employee but rather a private contractor. I was unaware of your private work which of course puts you and your comments in a different light. I guess the only thing you missed and it seems to be our own little unique Wisconsin tax is the doomage tax. A yearly tax on the value of my tools, business vehicle, office furniture, computer, etc. levied once a year in March. It's kind of like a second sales tax, paid each year after the fact. </div> <div> </div> <div>I guess we have much more we agree on than disagree on, I just, like many on both lists, jumped on a couple of your statements which were unfortunately worded. Life goes on and I now can say I know a very smart tech in South Carolina should I have the opportunity to travel there or should any of my customers end up moving to that part of the world.  </div> <div>Peace Brother,</div> <div>Mike<br>-- <br>Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.-- Albert Einstein<br><br><br><br>Michael Magness<br>Magness Piano Service<br>608-786-4404<br><a href="http://www.IFixPianos.com"> www.IFixPianos.com</a><br>email <a href="mailto:mike@ifixpianos.com">mike@ifixpianos.com</a> </div>