Gentlemen, You are talking past each other. Israel eloquently described how the Guild is working to promote a credential that will help protect the public against some of the more egregious "hacks" of our trade as well as generally elevate the quality of service available to the public. You can argue all you like that the Guild has not yet achieved that goal in your personal corner of the globe. If it hasn't that is partially your fault. I think it eventually will achieve broader recognition and that is potentially a good thing. All of your involvement will make it a good thing. What the Guild has done for us is provide a forum for information sharing here, and a continuing education program that together has helped to elevate the quality our trade offers the public. That alone is a praiseworthy accomplishment. This coming from someone caught between piano selling and piano servicing. I've been too busy the past two years to get away to the national conventions and take my tests. I plan to. Meanwhile the Guild's efforts are worthy of respect and support in my opinion. If you don't like not being able to list alongside RPTs on guild literature, earn the certification by completing the democratically crafted process. Otherwise, what really is the problem? There is another organization where you can purchase their "certification." Of- course making it a simple revenue item does debase its value. The Guild has enhanced the value of its certification (minimal though it may be) by requiring democratically recognized skill levels be met in order to obtain the certification. For some this is easy because they have the skill already, others will discover weaknesses in their skillset and will rise to the challenge and develop that skill. And, as in any population, some will drop-out and become ultra-defensive. We can craft our response to such individuals to encourage them to accept the challenge and obtain skills they apparently lack. Ultimately the choice is theirs how they will relate. JMHO, Andrew Anderson On Dec 19, 2008, at 10:46 AM, pianolover 88 wrote: > The respect and trust I have earned, and continue to enjoy, comes > from the professional relationships I've developed with my customers > over many years, not a piece of paper. They keep calling me and > referring me because they are more than happy with the high quality > of service and care I give to them and their instruments. People > paying for my service expect high quality results, and that's what I > deliver, along with a friendly, professional appearance and > demeanor, and enthusiasm and a love for what I do. Becoming an RPT > won't get you far if you can't sell yourself. I truly believe that > *most* people who take the RPT test do it for themselves, and not so > they can parade the certificate in their customer's face, lol! I > think for many, it gives them a sense of pride and validity. I > already have that. > > Terry Peterson > > <This is what - in the eyes of the public - constitutes a > "professional" > > with all the respect and a presumption of trust that entails. > > Israel Stein< > > > Send e-mail faster without improving your typing skills. Get your > Hotmail® account. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20081219/095cea17/attachment-0001.html>
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