Hi All,  Regarding Bruce Clarke's comment: "When I was a young man
entering the piano field, probably in the late 1950s, I also had
a bad experience with PTG".  Sure was a different world back then!

Bill Maguire: Bill, I have only been in the business six years and am
a member of two PTG chapters and have not had any of the experiences you
have had but I have heard about them.  There is certainly a percentage
of RPT's who think they are better than everyone else and do some
Associate/non-member bashing but that is a small percentage.  They are
typically those who pass the exams and disappear from the meetings,
never improving their skills, thinking they have reached the pinnacle.
They do not understand that they have only reached the base of the
mountain where real learning begins.

If I experienced what you have in a chapter I don't know if I would
leave for good or start writing letters; a copy would go to the chapter
president and the regional vice president.  That miserable attitude
gives the rest of us a black eye and it is not at all supported by the
Guild majority.

I travel two hours (124 miles) to one of my chapter meetings because
they are such a great group of people and strive to be professionals
and if I moved further away I would happily drive three hours to be
a part of that group.

I have not had first hand experience with the "grandfathering" but
I understand that it is true.  I don't know what year this all happened
and I do not know if it is a "vast majority".

Regarding the tuning exam; You can use a "electronic aid" for the
exam if you choose but you must prove that you can set A4, tune a
temperament and tune unisons by ear.  The aid can then be used to tune
the rest of the piano.  I feel this is fair.  As a professional you
need to be able to complete a tuning or not shut down your business
if your electronic aid breaks.

Regarding the Guild in general, hopefully things are improving for
the better, we are trying, and I am personally sorry you have had to
experience these problems

Mike McCoy RPT
Chapters 170 & 190, PTG
Langhorne, PA