PTG standards for pitch raises.

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 98-11-24 15:21:52 EST, you write:

<< Dear list:
 
 Seems to me that this is a PTG sponsored list, most of you are PTG members,
 and that in a real  "PROFESSIONAL" way, the PTG is failing a reasonable
 responsibility, which is to define what actually comprises a pitch raise.  I
 have attended many PTG conventions, and have never seen a consensus on how
 many cents raise actually constitutes a pitch raise. There certainly is no
 agreement on this list!....(snip).....the discussions of pitch raising and
what to charge for it         have gotten ridiculous.  ($240.00 for a 100
cents raise?  Well, stick it to ‘em!)
 (snip) 
 Seems to me  like some technicians out there consider a raise of 4 cents to
be
 a pitch raise, and that any pitch raise is a huge deal, and therefore one
 should charge all the market can bear.

Bob: 
There are two situations in which a pitch raise is necessary. One is where the
piano was sadly neglected, the pitch is anywhere from 25 to ???? cents low,
and all that is required is for the piano to be brought up to a general 440.
It doesn't have to stay there, and it might never get tuned again. It has been
explained to the customer  that the piano was neglected for x number of years,
and therefore it needs more work. Because we are a diverse buch of piano
tuners, all with our own work ethics, our own work habbits, working at
different rates of speed, doing pitch raises in different ways, we all will
charge differently for doing "the same thing". When you have gone to classes
at teh conventions, I am sure you have observed the many different ways to do
pitch raises. The PTG doesn't teach "ONE WAY", and then tell everyone to do it
that way, because there are many different ways to do a pitch raise. 

The other situation is a concert setting. When the piano absolutley,
possitively has to be at A440, or A442, then even a deviation of 4 or 6 cents
from that pitch will constitute a "pitch adjustment". More time has to be
spent to get the whole piano to stay at the concert pitch. Again, there are
different ways to do this, and as in the previous paragraph, different techs
work at different rates of speed, etc. 

 
   No one on this list would think it acceptable for the car dealership to
 suddenly charge you $200.00 per hour to fix your car, instead of the $42.00
 standard rate, because they know you really needed your car this weekend.
 Their billing could be challenged in court, and they would lose!

Youv'e never run accross an "emergency" tuning?  Maybe not four times the
tuning amount, but I have charged twice the going rate for a last minute call
on a Friday night.


 
 I am not advocating that tuners should be licensed by the state, I do not
 think they should be. A customer, however, should be able to call a
 technician, state that they absolutely know they need only a pitch raise and
 tuning, on a piano that is otherwise perfect, and you should be able to give
 the total cost over the phone.  Until that happens, until there is a "pitch
 raise standard" - many tuners on this list will be  more closely related to
 con-artists than “professionals”.

When a customer calls, I give them my "regular" tuning fee. If they ask what
is "unregular", I tell them about a pitch raise, and what it entails, but I
also tell them I won't know if it needs it until I get there. 
 
 The Piano Technician’s Guild has done a great deal  to raise standards of
 piano tuners, and is in a perfect position to set some “standards of
practice”
 which will increase the legitimacy of the profession of piano service, and
 increase their own legitimacy and influence in the process. 

I'll tell you what, Bob. You come up with some "standards", post them on the
list, and see how many techs will agree with you. If the majority agrees with
you, then that will become the "standard". You might find that most of us are
already doing the "standard" thing, but we do it as a matter of pricipal, not
becuase "big brother" told us to do it.

 I seriously lost interest in the PTG organization when out of 20 members at a
 local PTG meeting, not one wanted to  go and look at, let alone testify in
 court, that it was improper pin tapping  of a grand piano, without supporting
 the pinblock, that  delaminated the pinblock of a little old lady’s piano and
 prevented action removal.  ( It was discussed that no one could point to any
 PTG technical standards that said so!) Heck, - to try to fix that problem the
 clod installed a couple of big bolts to try to pull the pinblock together
 again, and THEY stuck down too far to allow removal of the action!

We all have had some bad experiences at PTG meetings. But just because a few
techs in Phoenix, on that particular night, didn't agree with you, does that
make the whole organization "bad". Remember Bob, you will learn a hell of a
lot more from us, then we will learn from you. For you to disassociate
yourself with the PTG is doing you more harm than good. Just look at what
you're reading. If it wasn't for the PTG, you wouldn't even have had the
chance to express your views. 
 
 That is my 25 cents! - (Now there’s a pitch raise!)
 
 Bill Simon
 NOT a PTG member.
 Tuning for over 20 years in Phoenix, AZ.
 
That's my view, and I have been a member of the PTG for 22 years in St. Louis.
During that time I learned a lot, including that we are not all perfect, but
that we need to support each other to become as good as we can get, to serve
our customers to the best of our abilities. 

Willem Blees RPT  PTG
St. Louis