[CAUT] Jeanie's brain storm - was Boston changed to dealers...

[rwest1 at unl.edu]

Hi, Jeanie,

I guess I'm not really getting your point.  It seems like you're  
saying that there are a lot of players but that two of those players  
(manufacturers and dealers) aren't stepping up to do their part.  I  
agree to the extent that hardly any piano shipped to a dealer is in  
finished condition from a local technician's perspective, and so the  
next logical step, therefore, would be for manufacturers to insist  
that the final finishing be accomplished between the time the piano  
leaves the factory and arrives in the home.  As much as we would like  
to have that happen, we know that it generally doesn't.  And so the  
bashing begins.  The pianos aren't good enough.  The dealers aren't  
good enough.  The technicians aren't good enough, or principled  
enough, or stubborn enough.  The customer isn't smart enough. Players  
can choose to bash each other and get nowhere.

Like a lot of conversations about our profession, there's a  
circularity to the conversation.  We go around and around picking out  
the part(s) of the circle that we have strong feelings about and not  
seeing the "broader picture," all the other players, including the  
individual technician.  But since no individual player has enough  
resources to "do what is right" the finger pointing begins.

Given all the perspectives involved, there will be different  
approaches.  Keeping the volume down, respecting the other players,  
and taking care of what each of us can control is my way of dealing  
with the situation.  Flexibility over rigidity seems to me to be  
preferable.  But manufacturers and dealers will always be a necessary  
evil  for some technicians.  And visa versa.

We all want customers with instruments that are well-prepped and  
ready.  The search for the resources to accomplish that should  
continue.  And the conversation among the players should continue as  
well.

Richard West


On Nov 24, 2009, at 10:00 AM, Jeannie Grassi wrote:

> Hi Richard,
> Once again, I’ll repeat, this is not a PTG conversation, although  
> our organization can decide to focus on raising awareness with  
> dealers and manufacturers.  And PTG can always do more to improve  
> skill levels.  Your suggestions with regard to that are good and I  
> hope they are implemented. You are right…that conversation belongs  
> on a different List.  That is not what some of us have been  
> addressing here.  I have tried to keep the discussion away from PTG  
> by looking at the broader picture.
>
> This has to do with the mindset of dealers and, in part  
> manufacturers to allow qualified technicians to do the work that  
> the pianos need.  And, by “allowing” I mean adequately compensating  
> technicians to do such work. There are plenty of technicians in  
> most places who know how to do the work, especially in larger  
> metropolitan areas.  In many stores the dealers don’t even hire PTG  
> members, so what does it matter how well we train our members?   
> This is not a training issue except that manufacturers can help by  
> encouraging, asking, and expecting dealers to hire techs who have  
> been trained by them.  Different ways have been suggested for them  
> to offer that training in a more financially viable way.
>
> It is a matter of economics and ethics first and foremost at the  
> sales end of business, not merely adequate training. It relates to  
> this List because all too often a similar attitude exists on the  
> college & university level in not setting realistic wages and  
> workloads for technicians despite the fact that there are plenty of  
> techs who are qualified to do the work.  How many times have we  
> read here about a job opening in an academic setting and we are all  
> amazed at the meager salary being offered?  There is a lack of  
> education there, but not in the skill level of technicians seeking  
> or already doing such work.  Would you promise to do a full  
> regulation and voicing for a private client and then only do a  
> quick and dirty minimum of work?  The push not only needs to go  
> towards a high skill level but a higher ethics level.   That is a  
> hard thing to change unless the motivation changes.
>
> In many areas the C & U techs are some of the most respected and  
> skilled.  They/we can be the most influential in changing  
> attitudes.  This involves many people on this list who are not even  
> in PTG.  The area where PTG might have influence is in working  
> together with manufacturers to educate the dealers. If there was a  
> different set of values and ethics in play we would be having a  
> different conversation.
>
> jeannie
>
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf  
> Of rwest1 at unl.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 6:21 AM
> To: caut at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Jeanie's brain storm - was Boston changed to  
> dealers...
>
> If a manufacturer doesn’t care how their pianos are prepared once  
> they ship them out, there won’t be any changes at the dealer’s end.
>
> Manufacturers do care, but their options and resources are  
> limited.  Same goes for dealers.  I think we need to look closer to  
> home, i.e., local PTG chapters.  Conventions and regional seminars  
> are great, but they will only reach a limited number of  
> technicians.  Local education is the neglected element in raising  
> the education bar.
>
> I would like to see a curriculum of 12 monthly lessons, required to  
> be taught by every chapter on a regular rotation and separate from  
> regular meeting times. The standardized curriculum would cover all  
> the elements of the PTG exam, at the minimum.
>
> Secondly I'd like to see a national campaign to highlight  
> regulation as a part of regular piano service.  We tell our  
> customers to tune at least once a year.  We need to also promote a  
> regulation within the first 5 years of a piano's lifetime.  People  
> know that equipment needs to be maintained, so the promotion of  
> regulation wouldn't be foreign.  It would be nice if manufacturers  
> and dealers would pick up the tab for piano prep before the piano  
> goes out the door, but I can't see it happening.  And expecting it  
> would  just give technicians more reason to bash the builders and  
> retailers.  It's the customers and the service technicians who need  
> to be responsible once the piano is in the home.
>
> Finally we need to be patient.  Concert technician level competency  
> comes with good training, experience, and good mentors.  If every  
> piano owner not only had the piano tuned once a year, but regulated  
> at least once in the piano's lifetime, there would be lots of work  
> for everyone, and even beginners would get the experience they need  
> to improve their skill level.  One of the main aspects of the PTG  
> exams in not only to test competency, but also to instill a quest  
> for continuing education as a part of a community of professionals.
>
> Richard West
>
> PS I agree that this should be a PTG-L thread.  Oh, well, if only  
> we lived in a perfect world, universal health care included.
>
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