<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] Position, Assistant, Frost SOM at U. of Miami</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> I wouldn’t be too quick to foresee a crisis.  The market will continue to change, certainly, but novices with ETDs won’t eliminate full-service technicians any more than places like Jiffy-Lube put full-service auto shops out of business.  We may see more of a dichotomy between tuners and techs who do everything else, or the market may respond in some other way entirely.  The main point is that the piano public, like any other portion of the public, isn’t inclined to let themselves suffer.  Don’t underestimate their resourcefulness in finding someone they can pay to provide a service they want. I think Elwood nailed it.  A private tech with moderate amounts of motivation and business acumen can make significantly more money working for less demanding clients.  It takes a different temperament to work in this setting.  I won’t speculate on what the differences might be :-) Regards, Ken Z. On 7/30/07 10:34 AM, "A440A@aol.com" <A440A@aol.com> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE> Greetings,     It may be the demographics, but I wonder if there isn't something else going on.   Could it be that the majority of those interested in piano work have found that with the purchase of an ETD, they can go out an begin making money almost instantly?   I have seen several localities in which the experienced tech has had their tuning business drastically cut by novices with machines.        The loss of the "bread and butter" business has perhaps lessened the percentage of piano techs that can do all the maintenance required of pianos.   This is a dangerous direction, if so. Without the advanced skills, (as in , everything beyond tuning and band-aid patch jobs), the piano public is going to suffer.    Regards, Ed Foote RPT </BLOCKQUOTE> -- Ken Zahringer, RPT Piano Technician MU School of Music 297 Fine Arts 882-1202 cell 489-7529 </BODY> </HTML>