<html><body>
<DIV>Heresy or hear-say....lol</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">-------------- Original message -------------- <BR>From: "pianolover 88" <pianolover88@hotmail.com> <BR><BR>> First of all, to be fair, that is heresy, and "quoted" from your memory. We <BR>> have no way of knowing if he said any of that in jest, or if you misquoted <BR>> or even misunderstood what he was conveying. <BR>> <BR>> Having said that, Being and RPT may have its merits and benifits, but in no <BR>> way does it guarantee a better income or anything else other than the <BR>> satisfaction that you passed the test and can put the logo on your business <BR>> cards. <BR>> <BR>> Terry Peterson <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> ----Original Message Follows---- <BR>> From: Tom Sivak <TVAKTVAK@SBCGLOBAL.NET><BR>> Reply-To: Pianotech List <PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG><BR>> To: pianotech <PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG><BR>> Subject: THE best RPT in America (rant) <BR>&g
t; Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 06:33:38 -0700 (PDT) <BR>> <BR>> List <BR>> <BR>> What do you think about an RPT whom I met recently? Below are some of <BR>> his comments that I found...interesting. <BR>> <BR>> 1. Only one or two clients per month can "appreciate" the really fine <BR>> tuning he is capable of, so he feels that "as long as the unisons and <BR>> octaves are close" that's good enough for the rest of them. <BR>> <BR>> 2. Informed me that he never bothered to learn how to splice a string. <BR>> His scores on the other areas of the RPT Technical Exam were high enough <BR>> that he passed without even attempting it. <BR>> <BR>> 3. Told me that his hearing is "too good". "I actually hear <BR>> coincidental partials! When I use a M3/M10 test on an octave, I actually <BR>> hear the coincidental partials beating!" (WOW! Imagine that! Now there's <BR>> a set of ears!) <BR>> <BR>> 4. Told me he covets the job of tuning for h
is local symphony orchestra, <BR>> and regarding the guy who has the gig, "I can't figure out how he got the <BR>> position. I've heard his work. I do a much better job." <BR>> <BR>> 5. Hired to tune pianos in a warehouse (with me and 4 other tuners), he <BR>> tuned two pianos in 7 hours. (I tuned 6.) He then asked me, "How do you do <BR>> it so fast?" So the next day, I chose to tune a piano behind him so I could <BR>> watch him in action to see if I could give him some tips on tuning faster. <BR>> I watched him as he used both hands to place the tuning lever on each pin, <BR>> left hand on the tip, right hand on the handle. Then...he'd detune the <BR>> string by at least a half step to a minor third, before pulling it back up <BR>> to pitch. He did this on pitch raises as well as the final pass. I <BR>> commented, "You could improve your speed if you used just one hand to move <BR>> the tuning lever from one pin to the next." He replied, "I
don't want to <BR>> scratch the plate. That's why I use both hands." (Am I super-coordinated or <BR>> something, that I am able to move the tuning lever from one pin to the next <BR>> without scratching the plate? Or is this just another Associate-related bad <BR>> habit? I <BR>> couldn't even think of a way to comment on his detuning of each string <BR>> without insulting him.) <BR>> <BR>> 6. Claimed that Virgil Smith told him that he tuned as well as Virgil <BR>> himself and that he could teach him nothing. (Except perhaps the one thing <BR>> Virgil should have taught him: to do the best he can on every piano, whether <BR>> he thinks the client can "appreciate" it, or not.) <BR>> <BR>> 7. Wore a tie (with the RPT logo on the tie tac) every day to the <BR>> warehouse while the rest of us wore Tshirts and shorts. (OK, at this point, <BR>> every little thing about this guy bugged me...my apologies to all you <BR>> logo-bearing-tie-tac-
wearing RPTs out there.) <BR>> <BR>> 8. Claimed he won an award from his chapter for passing his RPT exam <BR>> quicker than anyone EVER had in the past. (Less than 4 years...and...NO <BR>> STRINGS WERE SPLICED during the production of this RPT!) <BR>> <BR>> What a piece of work this guy was! <BR>> <BR>> Sorry for that. I do feel better, though, sharing that with someone. <BR>> Anyone. <BR>> <BR>> This is not a rant against RPTs in general. I may be one myself, one <BR>> day. Call me old-fashioned, but I plan to splice a string at my Tech Exam, <BR>> plan to continue to do the best tuning I can on every spinet I come across, <BR>> will continue to not cast aspersions on the work of others in my field, and <BR>> will never drop Virgil's name in an effort to validate myself. <BR>> <BR>> Tom Sivak <BR>> Associate Member Chicago Chapter <BR>> <BR>> </BLOCKQUOTE></body></html>