<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Unless you watched the work in question while it was being performed, you don't know for certain who is responsible.</div><div><br></div><div>In any event, the fact that some RPT's have done some bad work is not news.</div><div><br></div><div>You should simply use this experience to resolve anew to do good quality work yourself. I assume you offered to fix for a price the problem you found; it not, you share in the responsibility for the piano's condition, no?</div><div><br></div><div>Examples of bad work do not negate the huge positive effect that PTG and its predecessor organizations have had in raising the general level of piano service quality during the past century.</div><div><br></div><div>Take advantage of the continuing education that PTG offers in order to better service your own customers. There will always be bad work out there; just make sure you are not the one doing it, and leave it at that.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Kent Swafford</div><div><br></div><br><div><div>On Aug 30, 2011, at 3:09 PM, Bill Fritz wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><font color="black" size="2" face="arial"> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">We all know the PTG pushes the general public to only use “RPT’s” for piano work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>If a potential customer finds the <a href="http://www.ptg.org/"><font color="#0000ff">www.ptg.org</font></a> website, they can enter their zip code and will see (only) RPT’s who live close to them...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>but how can the PTG condone the RPT work shown in the attached photos?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">If the PTG is only going to push market “qualified technicians” to the general public AND have the general public appreciate the professionalism of the PTG, then the RPT label needs to be associated w/ quality, and NOT be represented by the work in the attached pics… and yet it is, and more regularly than one might like or think.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Similar to other professions (Engineers, etc), the PTG needs to have ongoing qualification of those w/ the RPT “label”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Passing a test 30-40 years ago and hoping they will retire soon is not a strategy that ensures professionalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">On the contrary, being a Piano Technician is an excellent way to “semi-retire”...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>and I doubt many Piano Technicians would dream of quitting at the age of 65 or earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>My guess (which is somewhat confirmed by my father who finally retired at the age of 86) is that these RPT’s will continue to tune & repair & regulate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>(In fact, the RPT who did the attached work is my age – 61 – and will only quit when his physical being prohibits him from continuing, and not before.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>Saying that the older tested Craftsmen or RPT’s will retire is wishful thinking… and ignores the elephant in the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">So... does the PTG NOT care about those RPT’s they promoted who don’t live up to that status, years later?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">It doesn’t seem so...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>see the quote taken from an RPT’s webpage:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>“The most important thing the Piano Technicians Guild does is to qualify technicians as Registered Piano Technicians to assure quality piano service by requiring that a technician pass a rigorous set of examinations.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>PS<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>This particular RPT hasn’t been to a Convention for many years… and has only been to one local Chapter meeting in the past 15 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I would have thought that “the most important thing the PTG does” is to increase & improve the knowledge & capability of their members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>The <a href="http://ptg.org">ptg.org</a> website only words it slightly different:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>The most important thing that the PTG does is “to promote the highest possible service and technical standards among piano tuners and technicians.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Would you call the work shown in the attached photos “high quality service”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>Maybe this Technician (sample work attached) once had that ability, but it appears to be gone now.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">How about requiring RPT’s to pass a reduced, rigorous set of tests every 10 years or less... perhaps at a PTG Convention, in order to maintain their RPT status. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(That would kill 2 birds w/ one stone… that of also getting RPT’s to show up to a Convention at least once every 10 years.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If they fail, they get 1 year to re-test... and after a 2<sup>nd</sup> failure they can no longer legally use the RPT label.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The PTG needs some type of “Continuing Education and/or Testing” requirement for continued RPT status.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The PTG should not a “Club” or “Union”, where one gets thru an “initiation” and then cannot be thrown out or fired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">We need to make the RPT status mean something at ANY given point in time, not just initial testing (especially long ago)…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>otherwise, the general public will not only NOT care about an RPT label, they won’t even care if ANY of us are PTG members.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Bill Fritz, Associate, St Louis<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div> </div> <div>PS  I know this subject matter probably should reside in the ptg-l email threads, but this one gets much more exposure & interest.<br> <br> </div> <div style="CLEAR: both"></div> </font><span><IMG_4808e.jpg></span><span><IMG_4810e.jpg></span><span><IMG_4813e.jpg></span></blockquote></div><br></body></html>