Dave
Congrats on the new gig!!
Having inherited not one but three schools with NO RECORDS or ones that were interrupted, I would have been quite happy with a set of note cards. Although the task to convert the note card system is a bit daunting, especially when there are many pianos to tune, the time invested is worth it.
You can use a simple spreadsheet but the rows get overly populated over time unless you do an annual sheet for each year and assemble them into a more complete record.
As I have not worked at all with Gazelle I can't comment on it other than it has received great reviews from the retail side among those I know who use the system.
I have been using the FileMaker format for about 8 years with great success. While at Luther College I had to give a HUGE sales pitch to a committee of three computer folks who would make the final decision about the program purchase. The program is the easy part but spending the time to input the data is quite another. In both cases-Luther and now the U of Oregon-I have input the information via the schema provided by Alan McCoy and available on the CAUT web site. He developed the platform while the technician at E Washington U. It works very well for small to medium sized inventory. We have about 140 instruments to track.
At Luther I was able to assign the set up to a student who spent about 30 hours doing the work. Please bear in mind a good deal of that time was learning the new system. The second time around, now at the U of Oregon, the learning curve was much less and the time to input the inventory was about one half the amount of time.
With the program I am able to now track the work of course which is the prime function as far as our technical work. Other items include setting up future work at a glance, inventory management and even budgeting and cost of repairs. Once set up it is very easy to use and even my students are able to enter their portion of the work they have done. You can also "move" pianos from room to room with the touch of a key. (Wishin' it were that easy for real!!!!) You can also create an easy to read spreadsheet out of the information.
If you wish to chat more please feel free to contact me.
Mike Reiter
University of Oregon
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Michael Reiter
Eugene OR
541-515-6499
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-03-2020 14:31
From: Dave Conte
Subject: Piano inventory and maintenance program
Hello and greetings from Tennessee.
I have taken over the Piano Tech position at University of Tennessee.
The tech that just retired kept track of everything on index cards and I am trying to modernize and set up tracking for pianos in need of
work, work completed for projects and regular tuning/maintenance. I don't like Excell and wanted something specific to pianos.
I already talked to Tim Barnes about Gazelle which actually looks quite promising. But admin wants several programs or applications
to compare before they will sign off on a purchase.
Here's your chance to chime in on your favorite (or maybe most hated) product. I am looking for suggestions and recommendations.
Thanks in advance,
Dave
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Dave Conte
Owner
North Richland Hills TX
817-581-7321
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