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<DIV>Dear Steve, and Colleagues -</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Staff technicians, whether full-time or part-time <U>employees</U>, should
consider it part of their responsibility to obtain parts and materials for the
employing institution at the lowest cost to the institution. Then the
institution purchases the parts directly from the supplier, and the tech is then
serving as (or assisting) the institution's purchasing agent. And that's
the cleanest way to do things.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If the tech is working as a <U>vendor</U> to the institution, he is selling
both his time/expertise <EM>and</EM> the parts and materials. He should
'mark-up' the supplies as is the usual practice in his or her business.
Remember that supplying parts is one of several 'profit centers' in the
business. (When you get your car serviced, you usually pay a mark-up on
the oil filter, part of the garage's profit. If the garage sells the parts
to you at their cost - which a very few very small shops still do - it has
to increase the labor charge accordingly to achieve its profit target.)
My preference is to be uniform in my mark-up practices, same mark-up for
all clients. Too hard for me to keep track of various levels of preferred
customers. And besides, almost all of my clients would rate as 'preferred'
in one way or another!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>An ethical dilemma, or conflict of interest, occurs only when the tech is
an <U>employee</U> <EM>and</EM> a <U>vendor</U>. Most government
institutions (e.g., state universities) and larger private institutions have
regulations prohibiting or limiting this duality. In such cases the tech
should engage in supplying such parts only under a separate contract or purchase
order within the applicable rules of the institution. If in doubt about
this, seek guidance from the purchasing department.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">~ Tom McNeil
~<BR>Vermont Piano Restorations<BR>VermontPiano.com<BR><BR>346 Camp
Street<BR>Barre, VT 05641<BR>(802) 476-7072
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 6/11/2008 12:11:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
shsnyder1@verizon.net writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>Dear
Fellow CAUT"S<BR><BR><BR>I was wondering what you do regarding
parts mark up<BR>for the institutions you work for. This has
always<BR>been a fuzzy area for me. I'm not sure if we
can<BR>discuss this or not, but any input would be<BR>appreciated. Just
want to be sure I'm doing the<BR>equitable and ethical
thing.<BR><BR>Regards,<BR>steve<BR><BR><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. <A title="http://citysbest.aol.com?ncid=aolacg00050000000102" href="http://citysbest.aol.com?ncid=aolacg00050000000102" target="_blank">City's Best 2008</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>