Skool Kontrax

[Larry Fisher]

Hey all,

Wally writes:
>Here is a question for those of you who have won school district contracts
>in the past: Has tuning pianos for the schools significantly increased your
>other business by having contact with music students and teachers?
>
>Wally Scherer, PTG Associate Member, Norfolk, VA, USA

I've been enjoying the responses regarding school contracts and bidding.
Wally covers the main reason why I don't waste my time persueing ANY schools
contracts.  There's lots of work out there that pays better.  The only
"contract" I enjoyed was with a series of LDS churches.  They got their
pianos tuned every 6 months in about 4 chuches all located with in about 2
miles of each other.  Each church had 4 or more pianos and they were all in
"like new" condition.  THIS WAS GRAVY!!  Alas, the heirarchy decided to
contract with one tuner instead of many, and that tuner was LDS of course.
It's funny, the main office promised to send bid forms to ALL techs in the
future ....... LDS  members or not  .......  I guess my mailbox didn't have
room that day.  Additionally, if I were an active LDS member involved in
awarding contracts for such a large organization, I'd want it to be a member
that would get the contract, but I'd still go through the motions of sending
out bid forms.

Locally, a small college sent out bid forms a while back to do some rather
unique service on some pianos they had there.  It was obvious that the
person writing up the bid form knew nothing of piano service.  The bid
deadline expired with the form sitting on my desk.  I called many months
later and spoke with the person listed on the bid form and found out that
most of the work listed had been done before the bid form was authored.  

When customers ask me if I tune for the local schools, I simply reply,
"Schools don't pay very well, and I don't need the work!".  I most certainly
don't need the referral.  If schools pay what some of you have posted, I
don't need to be associated with such a group.

As for persueing the higher pay by educating the education department, there
are some obvious merits that could come from hard work and preparation of
your "sales pitch" (for lack of a better term).  And it could be worth it in
some neighborhoods and communities.  Personally, I don't like dealing with
the ever constant presence of "well the previous tuner did things this way
and I was quite happy with it ..." or the comments behind my back about how
someone's tuner is better fit for the job and should be sitting where I am.
Although I find the loyalty towards one's tuner admirable, I don't like
hearing how someone is unhappy with my work for that reason alone.  These
things are worth putting up with and are minor details when you need the
work, however, in a large metro area there's plenty of other dollars to be
made that pay the same or better that don't have all that baggage attached
to it.

I've been asked by surrounding area schools and churches for "package"
service.  I've bid my usual rates including bulk discounts and haven't
gotten the bids yet.  The only group I service these days is a small church
with 7 pianos and an associated school with 2 pianos.  I've glanced through
their membership directory and have found many of them to be on my database
as well.  They're happy with my work and I'm happy do it for them.  In
return for their business over the years, I've repaired or regulated
something on a piano for free each year.

That's my dollar two thirty eight and buck three eighty.

Lar

                                    Larry Fisher RPT
   specialist in players, retrofits, and other complicated stuff
      phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com
         http://www.pacifier.com/~larryf/ (revised 10/96)
           Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water