<HTML>In a message dated 6/12/03 4:39:37 PM Central Daylight= Time, fssturm@unm.edu writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT= : 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Administrators are willing to <= BR> pay what it takes to hire the football coach who will win them the required = number of games. They are willing to pay for the number of groundskeepers <B= R> it takes to keep the flowers and grass looking pretty. They'll buy the computers and pay for the LANL and support staff to stay at the cutting edge of technology. None of those expenditures saves them money. They do it = because it is necessary to achieve a level of excellence</BLOCKQUOTE> A winning football coach brings in millions to the university, from more att= endance at the games, to bowl games, to scholarship money given by alumni wh= o want to support a winning team. A coach might be great with the players, b= ut if he doesn't win the right number of games, he's gone. Groundskeepers ea= rn their keep by making the campus look attractive. That's a visual thing th= at everyone who comes on campus sees. Again, it attracts alumni who donate t= o the university. But if the lawns aren't perfect, or if there is too much t= rash laying around, some alumni will not only complain, but will threaten to= withhold donation until the place is cleaned up.  And since everyone u= ses computers these days, most of which are donated by the computer companie= s, or at least subsidized by them, they are a good investments again, becaus= e alumni, who give money, remember how good the computers were. But a piano stuck in a practice room is only going to be noticed by a few mu= sic students, most of whom will earn very little money, and thus will not co= ntribute much to the university. Even the piano on the stage in the concert = hall only gets heard by a handful of people, compared to the number of peopl= e who attend a football game. The overall impact, the visual effect, much le= ss how it sounds, not to mention how it plays, just isn't there. Virtually n= o one will know the difference if it isn't voiced or regulated. So the ONLY impact a piano tuner has on the instrument is on the longevity o= f the investment. Most technicians can only do so much to impress the facult= y. Even with outstanding facilities, and an excellent technician keeping the= pianos in tune, the money needs to be justified. Keeping the pianos soundin= g and playing great isn't going to be enough if the university decides it do= esn't want to spend the money to keep their investment in top working condit= ion, unless it can be shown that without the technician, their investment wi= ll need to be replaced in 20 years, instead of 40.  I agree that getting testimonials will help. I want to add my name to the li= st. Can you tell me how to do that again, please. But we need to do more tha= n that. We need to think of other means to impress administrators. You asked= for suggestions. Why are you so reluctant to accept mine? Wim</HTML>