Expecting perfection from an organization and seeing it fall short
allows one to feel smug and superior.  I know, because I shunned the
Piano Technicians Guild for the first 25 years of my career.

Because of bad experiences with a few 'bad apples' in my foolish youth,
I decided the whole organization was rotten and deprived myself of
benefiting from the knowledge, experience and integrity of the majority
of its members.  I finally wised up a few years ago, joined the Guild,
and am now an enthusiastic booster.  The benefits I get from my
association are enormous, and there's no doubt I'm a far better
technician as a result.  It's been an eye-opener and a great pleasure
to meet and work with dozens of my colleagues who are sincere,
dedicated professionals.

Of course there are charlatans and quacks; what business, trade, or
profession doesn't have them?  Joining a professional organization and
passing their entrance exams is no guarantee of competence or honesty.
Everyone knows of incompetent licensed doctors, lawyers, plumbers,
contractors, etc.  The purpose of professional organizations is to try
to raise the level of its members.  But it's unrealistic utopianism to
expect them to eliminate all whose actions taint the whole profession.
They can't change human nature and, short of creating a police state,
they can't constantly control the activities of their membership.

"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance" -- this applies to
consumerism as well as politics.  There are no true guarantees against
shoddy workmanship and cheating except being informed and careful when
you buy a product or service.

The PTG does a careful and excellent job of screening, examining and
providing continuing education for its membership, and expelling those
who don't adhere to its standards.  As a private and voluntary
organization, I think it does a much better job than government-mandated
licensing groups precisely because it is voluntary, supported entirely
by the membership, not dependent on government funding or run by a
bureaucracy subject to entrenched interests and corruption.

The PTG raises the bar for _all_ piano technicians, whether they belong
or not, because non-members compete against members and must maintain
higher standards to be competitive.  Non-members nevertheless benefit
from the public image of professionalism created by the PTG.
Technicians who don't recognize this and don't support the PTG are
either knowing or unknowing parasites on it (as I used to be).

I'm grateful and proud to be a member of the Piano Technicians Guild,
and for the above reasons I urge all piano technicians to join and
support it.

Larry Lobel - Virtuoso Piano Service
Petaluma, California  USA