In a message dated 98-04-27 23:52:00 EDT, you write: > I have a customer who is employed by the music department of a large (86,000 > students) school district. She feels that the current system of contracting > out the piano tuning is a terrible way to accomplish the service needed. > Concerts have gone on without the requested tunings and the general > condition > of the instruments is poor. > > Also, I would love to hear what other technicians have done to communicate the > real needs of pianos and performers to bureaucrats is school districts. The Des Moines public school district sends bid forms to all of the area piano techs. The winning bid is usually in the neighborhood of $10 per piano for 265 pianos. We can only imagine the kind of service they receive for that price. One stipulation in the contract that has always scared me away states that the pianos are to be tuned during the summer. Then, if anyone in the music department determines in October that the pianos have not been properly tuned, the tuner must retune the pianos again at no additional cost to the school district. Well of course the pianos aren't going to be in tune by October after being tuned amid the summer heat and humidity! This IS Iowa we are talking about. I realize that a limited budget is a problem, but quickly deteriorating pianos that will have to be replaced makes this bid system short sighted. Dave Bunch
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