I swear - some of you are as dumb as a door nail - and - how many times do I have to say it - how many classes do I need to take that include player pianos and reed organs. Voicing the Vertical Piano (Fred Sturm) - don't really need for antique players - the clientele just wants them to PLAY. Vertical Regulation - Max Results in Minimum Time (Kawai with Don Mannino) - Possible - but - how many ways can you regulate the same items - and - more importantly, what kind of regulation would benefit the mechanical aspects of an antique player piano ? Vertical Regulation Plus (Hailun / Keith Bowman and Mike Carraher) - Possible - but - what kind of regulation that would help antique players Everything Upright (Paul Rea) - Possible - but - I've run into almost every possible problem with antique players And we had a stellar offering of classes that were not specific to grands or verticals, on topics such as: Business - Possible - although have been mentored by a 30+ year veteran of the business Health - Possible - although my doctor takes priority Tuning - use an ETD exclusively with some aural tuning checks Refinishing - Not my line of work - farm it out - although I know enough for the basics. Keytops - Possible - although how many ways can you accomplish the same thing - and - any classes for antique ivory keys ? ETDs - Possible - although, I know the basics of Cybertuner to produce a very good tuning for my kind of clientele Restringing - Already know the basics however will probably never be done for antique players Exam Prep - Don't need - probably will never take the exams - what exams are geared to antique players If you haven't noticed, there was a reoccurring type of piano listed. So, PLEASE, everyone STOP telling me how to run my business - and - these almost useless conventions. Thank you, Duaine On 07/24/2012 12:11 PM, Mark Purney wrote: > On 7/17/2012 10:45 PM, Duaine Hechler wrote: >> 1) At least 95% of my profit goes back out in supplies. > > Anything you spend on supplies can't be considered "profit" in the first place. But if you're saying 95% of the money > you collect from clients is going back into supplies, then something is wrong. Somewhere along the line, you made the > same mistake that many technicians make: You set aside continued education in order to focus on working, with the > notion that later on it will somehow be easier to bring education back into the routine. It's like saying, "I've got > to get to my destination, so there's no time to change the oil, stop for gas, or check the tire pressure." And then > you find yourself stuck on the side of the road, working on the pianos nobody else in your area wants to touch, and > making no profit. Don't blame the PTG. Don't blame the pianos. Don't blame the clients. Don't blame the other > technicians in your area. If you aren't where you want to be, there is only one person responsible for that. > > Continued education is critically important to the success of the piano technician. The PTG offers lots of great > educational opportunities, but the National Convention & Technical Institute is the biggest B12 injection that you can > get for your piano service career. It's not just the technical knowledge gained that makes it so worthwhile. The > business classes, alone, can be life-changing. Just being able to spend a week socializing with some of the world's > best and brightest technicians can positively impact the way you approach your own attitude and business methods. The > Convention is also a retreat, where you can step back from the daily grind of running the business long enough to look > at the big picture. This enables you to discover what you're doing right, what you're doing wrong, and see yourself > and your business in a new light. It's recharging your batteries for another year, to go back to work with an > excitement over how you're going to apply everything to achieve a new level of excellence in your work and reach a > higher income. > > Sometimes you need to spend money to make money. Some never go because they view the hotel, airfare and registration > as simply too expensive. I view it as the best possible investment you can make in yourself and your business every > year, with the highest returns. The regional conventions are fantastic, too. And it's silly to not attend chapter > meetings, because the only cost is a little gasoline and one evening every month. > > > > >> 6) Finally, as I have said my times before, the organization is geared towards Grands - and - clients with lots of >> money to spend. > > > That statement is complete Nonsense! In case anyone thinks there is truth to Duaine's negativity and excuses for not > continuing his own education, note the following information: > > In Seattle we had five or six classes that you could say were specifically grand-oriented, but there is also a large > demand for grand-oriented classes. In fact, most PTG members service both grands and uprights, and both are incredibly > important to the work we do. This is why we also had four classes just for upright servicing: > > Voicing the Vertical Piano (Fred Sturm) > Vertical Regulation - Max Results in Minimum Time (Kawai with Don Mannino) > Vertical Regulation Plus (Hailun / Keith Bowman and Mike Carraher) > Everything Upright (Paul Rea) > > And we had a stellar offering of classes that were not specific to grands or verticals, on topics such as: > Business > Health > Tuning > Refinishing > Keytops > ETDs > Restringing > Exam Prep > > And not to forget the dedicated crew of examiners who helped members achieve RPT or get much closer to doing so. > > > > > > -- Duaine Hechler Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ Tuning, Servicing& Rebuilding Reed Organ Society Member Florissant, MO 63034 (314) 838-5587 dahechler at att.net www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com -- Home& Business user of Linux - 11 years
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