THE best RPT in America (rant)

[Ric Brekne]

Hi Tom

I'd say it sounds very reminicient of a tech that was very prolific here 
on the list a few years back. Not that it really matters whom it was.  
Assuming the below is a true reflective , the person in question just 
lines him/herself up with a host of others whom have through the years 
come to think their abilitities, thinkings, knowledge, whathaveyou are 
far superior to everyone elses. Self declared world champs are plentiful 
in all professions yes ??  Its generally best to ignore them when you can.

Cheers
RicB


What do you think about an RPT whom I met recently?  Below are some of 
his comments that I found...interesting.
   
  1.  Only one or two clients per month can "appreciate" the really fine 
tuning he is capable of, so he feels that "as long as the unisons and 
octaves are close" that's good enough for the rest of them.
   
  2.  Informed me that he never bothered to learn how to splice a 
string.  His scores on the other areas of the RPT Technical Exam were 
high enough that he passed without even attempting it.
   
  3.  Told me that his hearing is "too good".  "I actually hear 
coincidental partials!  When I use a M3/M10 test on an octave, I 
actually hear the coincidental partials beating!"  (WOW!  Imagine that!  
Now there's a set of ears!)
   
  4.  Told me he covets the job of tuning for his local symphony 
orchestra, and regarding the guy who has the gig, "I can't figure out 
how he got the position. I've heard his work.  I do a much better job."  
   
  5.  Hired to tune pianos in a warehouse (with me and 4 other tuners), 
he tuned two pianos in 7 hours.  (I tuned 6.)  He then asked me, "How do 
you do it so fast?"  So the next day, I chose to tune a piano behind him 
so I could watch him in action to see if I could give him some tips on 
tuning faster.  I watched him as he used both hands to place the tuning 
lever on each pin, left hand on the tip, right hand on the handle.  
Then...he'd detune the string by at least a half step to a minor third, 
before pulling it back up to pitch.  He did this on pitch raises as well 
as the final pass.  I commented, "You could improve your speed if you 
used just one hand to move the tuning lever from one pin to the next."  
He replied, "I don't want to scratch the plate.  That's why I use both 
hands." (Am I super-coordinated or something, that I am able to move the 
tuning lever from one pin to the next without scratching the plate? Or 
is this just another Associate-related bad habit?  I
 couldn't even think of a way to comment on his detuning of each string 
without insulting him.)
   
  6.  Claimed that Virgil Smith told him that he tuned as well as Virgil 
himself and that he could teach him nothing.  (Except perhaps the one 
thing Virgil should have taught him: to do the best he can on every 
piano, whether he thinks the client can "appreciate" it, or not.)
   
  7.  Wore a tie (with the RPT logo on the tie tac) every day to the 
warehouse while the rest of us wore Tshirts and shorts.  (OK, at this 
point, every little thing about this guy bugged me...my apologies to all 
you logo-bearing-tie-tac-wearing RPTs out there.)
   
  8.  Claimed he won an award from his chapter for passing his RPT exam 
quicker than anyone EVER had in the past.  (Less than 4 years...and...NO 
STRINGS WERE SPLICED during the production of this RPT!)
   
  What a piece of work this guy was!
   
  Sorry for that.  I do feel better, though, sharing that with someone.  
Anyone.
   
  This is not a rant against RPTs in general.  I may be one myself, one 
day. Call me old-fashioned, but I plan to splice a string at my Tech 
Exam, plan to continue to do the best tuning I can on every spinet I 
come across, will continue to not cast aspersions on the work of others 
in my field, and will never drop Virgil's name in an effort to validate 
myself.
   
  Tom Sivak
  Associate Member Chicago Chapter