Guild memberships, kind of OT

[Charles Neuman]

This starts out off-topic, but I thought it was an interesting story which
relates to the piano business and being a member of a guild.

A chimney repair guy came by my house and noticed that our chimney needs
repair. It's true: It's been on my list of things to get done. So he's
right there with a ladder, so I figure why not get an estimate. Really
nice guy. Lives nearby. Gives me a special deal (not in writing, of
course). Turns out he could even do the work the next day. Lucky me,
right? But I decide to think about it first. Good thing I did. A quick web
search revealed that he had been charged with operating a business without
a license. I think that's a bigger deal in the home repair business than
it would be in piano technology. In any event, the DA apparently
investigates cases that result from customer complaints, so that set off a
flag. He had registered a business recently, though.

Here's the part about Guild membership:

I look at his literature (with old crossed-out phone numbers and no
address). He says he's a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild. Aha.
That's easy enough to verify. They list members on their web site. He's
not there. So I email the Guild with all of this guy's phone numbers and
various business names. They never heard of him, not in the national guild
or in the relevant local guild. Interesting. I told them I could mail them
the literature that misuses their logo.

So, knowing someting about the PTG, my general advice for looking up
someone for any business would be: Look for yellow page ads and see if
some of them have guild memberships or special certifications. If so, find
out what they are and then pick someone who has the ones that might be
important. I realize most customers don't do this, but maybe it's a
practice that could catch on, and it would make PTG membership even more
valuable than it is.

Charles Neuman
PTG Assoc, Long Island, NY