<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Jul 30, 2007, at 11:34 AM, <A href="mailto:A440A@aol.com">A440A@aol.com</A> wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><FONT face="arial,helvetica"><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; ">Perhaps demographics are starting to kick in? Too big a percentage of</SPAN><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; ">techs I know seem to be about 60, like I am.</SPAN><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; ">Where are the young people?</SPAN></FONT><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "></FONT><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"></FONT><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "></FONT></FONT></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>It is impossible for young people who are raising families to live on the same salaries as "more experienced" techs who no longer have children at home (or may never have). Some of these jobs look really attractive with all the benefits and annual salary figures until you actually start receiving the net check. It would take over $85K for me to support my family at the same level my blue collar father supported his. So, my generation became accustomed to a certain standard of living. One paycheck from a good job would cover a decent home, two cars, and save for kids' college education and retirement. $40K-$50K today won't do that.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>If I were single, nearer to retirement age, or had some plaguing illness I couldn't otherwise get health insurance for, these jobs might look attractive. But as a husband and father, I'm looking hard to find a way out of mine.</DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><FONT face="arial,helvetica"><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; ">Greetings, </SPAN><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "> 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.<BR></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV>As far as that goes, it doesn't take a machine to make a piano tuner. Even aural tuning is the easy part of this business. A tuning hammer, fork and mutes are pretty cheap investments. Our cheap tuners are aural tuners in this area. Machine tuners are all RPTs and charge more. The Potter course is about the same price as a new SAT III, and unfortunately, you don't have to get all your assignments graded once you buy it. Randy has been touting the students to get a mentor to help with the assignments. I've seen a few of his students buy the course and use mentors to get them through the whole thing without ever sending in an assignment. Problem is, the mentor might not be much of a tuner either.</DIV><DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><FONT face="arial,helvetica"><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "> </SPAN><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "> 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. </SPAN><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "></FONT></FONT></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>This is nothing new in my neck of the woods. In fact, skilled techs can be perceived as high falutant unless you have a really good personality. We've all heard "you know, she's not going to be a concert pianist." People really just want the piano tuned for the cheapest price. Goes right along with the kind of pianos that are on the market today.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>The reason these positions are open is 1. salaries are much too low, 2. job descriptions more often than not reveal that CAUTs are expected to work unusual hours, and that is a job requirement that is not friendly to either family or moonlighting. Unusual, unpredictable hours is usually a real turn off unless the money is really good. 3. expected skill levels are over exaggerated and scare off legitimate would be applicants, just like the RPT exams do. Even Ron Nossaman commented he was not qualified for the New England Conservatory job as it was described.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Jeff</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><FONT face="arial,helvetica"><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; ">Regards,</SPAN><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "></FONT><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "></FONT><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; ">Ed Foote RPT</SPAN><BR style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10px; "></FONT><FONT color="#000000" face="Geneva" family="SANSSERIF" size="2"></FONT><BR style="font-family: arial; "></FONT></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jeff Tanner, RPT</DIV><DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>