Appraising follow up

[paul bruesch]

Can this PTG politics thread please migrate to the proper forum? Please?
PTG-L.

On 10/21/07, paulrevenkojones at aol.com <paulrevenkojones at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
>  But having that qualification will add to the credibility.
>
>  Willem:
>
> That's not only the danger but the reality: too many technicians dependent
> on the "credibility" of the designation offering wholly uninformed and
> unformed opinions about the value of pianos. Every time a technician
> suggests, estimates, guesses, opines, or offers an appraisal of value,
> he/she has altered the values of all other pianos in the market place,
> sometimes subtly, sometimes not. Then also, the uneducated credibility of
> the piano-owning public who will be led to expect that the RPT designation
> by itself "should" signify capability, experience, and assurance. then also,
> the credibility of the legal system which will come to depend on the RPT
> designation while the above flaws in the ointment continue to be
> perpetuated. If after some rather extended experience in the field, and with
> an ear to the market, someone also has RPT status, then I guess that means
> something; but for the life of me I don't know what it is. As we kn! ow,
> many new RPT's are dangerous to the field piano technology since many of
> them mistakenly believe that the designation is the end rather than the
> beginning.
>
> While I certainly applaud those who seek and attain RPT status, its
> significance is primarily internal, that we, by social contract in our
> association, wish to provably raise the level of our techinical expertise by
> taking examinations which, as we all know, at 80% are marginal at best. It
> is perfectly conceivable and, indeed, has been done, to create an RPT within
> as little as 15 months from a point of total ignorance about piano
> technology. The RPT designation does not create an appraiser. Or lend
> credibility to the appraisal, except to the credulous. And we as members of
> the Piano Technicians Guild need to be extraordinarily circumspect in making
> the designation carry too much peripheral force or cachet. It will redound
> poorly on us if we do.
>
> Paul
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Willem Blees <wimblees at aol.com>
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Sent: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 8:51 pm
> Subject: Re: Appraising follow up
>
>  I'm not suggesting that just being an RPT is enough to be a qualified
> appraiser. But having that qualification will add to the credibility. By the
> same token, an RPT isn't necessarily qualified to be a concert tuner, but it
> certainly goes a long way. Which is one of the reasons many universities
> want an RPT to be the tech.
>
>  Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> Honolulu, HI
> Author of
> The Business of Piano Tuning
> available from Potter Press
> www.pianotuning.com
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: paulrevenkojones at aol.com
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Sent: Sun, Oct 21 1:15 AM
> Subject: Re: Appraising follow up
>
>  Willem:
>
> With all due respect, the designation of RPT is not sufficient to be an
> appraiser except for, perhaps, some technical purpose regarding
> qualifications in the eyes of the legal system which may be all you're
> saying, but if so, then it in insufficient and non-germane to the issue.
> There are many, many young RPTs, whom I just love to death for becoming so,
> who are not qualified to appraise because they simply haven't had the
> experience in the "market-place", nor of the intricacies of the law and tax
> consequences, properly to bring to bear the results of that experience.
> Julia herself admits as much, that she's been doing technical work for
> several years, but does not claim to be an appraiser. To hold out the carrot
> to aspiring RPT's that they will, simply by becoming RPT's, have the
> qualification to appraise is nonsense. There are many non-RPT's out there
> who have years and years of experience whom I would call on in an instant
> before I would call someone to do an appraisal sim! ! ply because they have
> the designation after their name and the other doesn't. So, no, not enough
> said.
>
> Paul
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: Willem Blees <wimblees at aol.com>
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Sent: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 10:23 pm
> Subject: Appraising follow up
>
>  I just got my October Journal, and read the appraising article. A couple
> of weeks ago there was some talk about this, but since the series of
> questions appeared on Pianotech before I joined, I didn't get a chance to
> add my 2 cents worth.
>
> The only thing I wanted to add, which I mentioned in my Appraisal class at
> the convention, has to do with the qualifications of a piano appraiser. The
> number one qualification, in opinion, would be an RPT member of the
> PTG. There is no other classification in any other profession that comes
> close to knowing more about the condition of a piano than an RPT. The IRS,
> much less a court of law, has no other standard to measure our ability
> against. I'm not saying there aren't other people who can do an appraisal,
> but an RPT is the only one with credentials.
>
> 'noug said.
>
> Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> Honolulu, HI
> Author of
> The Business of Piano Tuning
> available from Potter Press
> www.pianotuning.com
>  ------------------------------
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>
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