[CAUT] Jeanie's brain storm - was Boston changed to dealers...

[Jeannie Grassi]

Zeno,

My complaint is not with those who are prepping pianos along the lines of
what the manufacturer intends if they are doing a good job.  

My problem is with dealerships who do little or nothing to prep their pianos
before they go out the door, or who hire inexperienced/unskilled technicians
to do the work with no accountability for the quality or accuracy of that
work, merely because they are cheaper labor.  

If an enthusiastic beginner does the same inadequate work week after week
without being shown the right way, what is that person learning?  If he/she
is doing good work I have no complaints.  

If a skilled technician is not compensated for their work adequately and
therefore does only a bare minimum or an incomplete job, there is something
wrong with that.

If a manufacturer doesn't care how their pianos are prepared once they ship
them out, there won't be any changes at the dealer's end.

jeannie

 

  _____  

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Zeno
Wood
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2009 6:40 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Jeanie's brain storm - was Boston changed to dealers...

 

Hi all,

 

I appreciate what you're saying about urging dealerships to only hire highly
skilled technicians, but I have a different take on it.  For many
technicians straight out of the few schools out there, working for a
dealership is a good way to get started in this business.  Sometimes these
folks are actually members of the PTG and sometimes they actually are RPTs
(for instance the recent cohort from North Bennett Street), but they're
still new and have much to learn.  They can learn a lot prepping pianos for
a dealership, learn things that it would take a lot longer to learn on their
own.  They also have a lot to offer, because after one or two years in
school they are, after all, pretty solid.   I don't think it makes sense to
create barriers for solid techs who don't have much experience.

 

Regards,

Zeno Wood

 

On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 8:19 PM, Jeannie Grassi <jcgrassi at earthlink.net>
wrote:

Hi Rex,

I do believe such information has been given.  Certainly Yamaha's 37 Steps
is one example.  I believe Kawai has a checklist also.  That doesn't seem to
be the problem.  And there are plenty of technicians who know what to do.

What I was referring to are dealers, and indirectly manufacturers, who take
the cheap way out by hiring unskilled and new technicians to do such work,
who have had little or no training simply because they are willing to do it.
If the manufacturers aren't stepping up and saying they expect the pianos to
be prepped in a certain way, the dealers aren't going to spend the money to
pay a qualified technician to do it.  

 

I realize that most of what I have been saying is wishful dreaming, but
wouldn't it be great if we were actually respected and appreciated for the
work we do and if we were actually allowed to do it?

jeannie

  _____  

 

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