Klarinet Archive - Posting 000044.txt from 1996/07

From: "Scott D. Morrow" <SDM@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Repair info
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 12:34:12 -0400

>Steve:
>
>(stuff edited out...)
The other aspect is: Do you think it's fair that
>people should try all of the easy jobs themselves, and only take the
>difficult, frustrating ones to the repair shop?

>
>Doug MacDonell
>

Doug,
I totally agree that, as a professional, your time and expertise
are your liveihood. However, a remark like the one above seems totally off
the wall! The difficult, frustrating jobs are what you, as the experienced
professional, are especially needed for! When we decide to contact a
professional - be it an instrument repair technician, a doctor, or a
plumber - we make judgements:
1) Can I do this job myself?
2) If I CAN do the job myself, is it worth my time?
3) If I CAN do the job myself, is it more economical to pay someone else to
do it (possibly better)?
I can assure you, I NEVER consider: should I be taking a FUN job
away from a professional?
When your bathtub drain gets stopped up, do you call the plumber (and pay
the fee!) so the plumber can have the fun of using the plunger? Of course
not! But if the pipe bursts, that's a different story! As for botched
home repairs (on instruments or otherwise), we DO have the right to "try
this at home", as long as we assume the risks involved. Part of that risk
is calling in (and paying for) a qualified professional to correct our
mistakes!
Believe me, you will ALWAYS have some "fun" jobs to do, because
people have different priorities for their time - what's fun for you might
be too time consuming for even the most avid musician!
Conclusions to (hopefully) put this into perspective:
1) Trained, experienced professionals are definitely needed!
2) Just because there are trained, experienced professionals doesn't mean
that they have exclusive rights to all work in their field.
3) I have nothing but the greatest respect for people who devote their
talents to doing well the labor I can't or don't want to do!
4) What DO you call the thigamajig that holds the whatchmacallit onto the
doohickey?!!

Hope to hear more from you!

-Scott

Scott D. Morrow
Department of Biochemistry
School of Hygiene and Public Health
Johns Hopkins University
(410)-955-3631

SDM@-----.edu