Piano Technicians Guild
WESTPAC - Western and Pacific Regional Conference
February 27-March 2, 2014
Sofitel Hotel, Redwood City, CA
Business Classes
NOTE: Click on an instructor's name to see a bio.
Appraisals
Wim Blees, RPT
Since
becoming an RPT in 1978, Wim has attended over 55 seminars and technical institutes,
not only as a scholar, but also as an instructor, on topics ranging from basic
tuning and regulating, to voicing and rebuilding, and business building. He
started his piano service business in St. Louis in 1977, then worked as the
piano technician for the University of Alabama from 2001 – 2007. He is
currently working on Oahu, HI. Wim is the author of The Business
of Piano Tuning: A Guide to Marketing, Managing, Promoting, Buying and Selling
a Piano Service Business.
Customers want to know how much their piano is worth when they want to sell it, when they want to buy one, for insurance, or when they get a repair estimate.
Business Building
Wim Blees, RPT
Since
becoming an RPT in 1978, Wim has attended over 55 seminars and technical institutes,
not only as a scholar, but also as an instructor, on topics ranging from basic
tuning and regulating, to voicing and rebuilding, and business building. He
started his piano service business in St. Louis in 1977, then worked as the
piano technician for the University of Alabama from 2001 – 2007. He is
currently working on Oahu, HI. Wim is the author of The Business
of Piano Tuning: A Guide to Marketing, Managing, Promoting, Buying and Selling
a Piano Service Business.
Everybody needs to keep building their business. Learn some helpful tips on effective ways to build your business, and what not to do.
“If You Did Not Earn $80,000 Last Year... You Need to Attend This Class”
Randy Potter, RPT - Randy Potter School of Piano Technology - Portland, OR
Randy
is the founder and director of the Randy Potter School of Piano Technology
which has become the largest producer of training materials for piano technicians
in the world. Randy has written three books, and he is the editor of The Piano
Action Handbook, third edition, published by the Piano Technicians Guild. He
has produced numerous technical articles and over a dozen technical training
video tapes. Randy is a frequent instructor at local, state, regional and national
PTG conventions, and has taught at seminars in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia
and Cuba. Randy is the 2009 recipient of the Piano Technicians Guild Hall of
Fame award in recognition of service to PTG and the industry.
Randy begins with the premise that we ought to be earning at least $80,000 a year – and many piano technicians do - yet the recent PTG survey makes it clear that only about 25% of our members are in this income category.
On Being a Professional
Don Mannino, RPT - Kawai
Don
began an apprenticeship with a piano rebuilder while completing his studies
at San Diego State University as a piano performance major in 1979. After working
for 11 years as an independent piano technician in the San Diego area, he held
the position of National Service Manager for Young Chang Pianos, then Manager
of Technical Support for Kawai Pianos for North America, and now serves as
the Director ofField Services for Kawai America Corp. Don and his wife Patty
are the editors of the Southern California Combined PTG newsletter. In addition
to teaching at regional technician seminars, PTG Annual conventions, and at
PTG chapter meetings, he also has designed technicians tools and has published
articles on a variety of technical topics in the Piano Technicians Journal,
including Action Center service, a series on grand action regulation, and the
use of plastics in piano actions. In 2010 he was certified in Japan as a Kawai "Master
Piano Artisan" (or MPA), the highest level oftechnician for the Kawai
company. In 2013 Mr. Mannino was inducted into the PTG Hall of Fame. Don resides
in Cypress, CA with his wife Patty. Their daughter Sarah is working on a Masters
in Education at Concordia.
This session is a thought provoking, discussion centered session about what it means to be a professional piano technician and business person. What personal attributes does it take to be successful? How do we earn customers' respect and repeat business? How do we work with dealers and manufacturers for the best customer service and positive outcome? Come to this class with your thinking cap on, and be ready to enter into the discussion.
Shop Help: A Guide to Hiring, Training and Managing Shop Assitants
Alan Eder
Alan Eder, RPT, has published various articles in the Journal and taught at regional and nation conventions. As the piano technician at CalArts, Alan produced a video about “Non-Traditional Piano Use” that has become a celebrated primary reference on the subject for pianists and piano technicians alike.
Involving others can make your piano servicing operation more productive, broaden your skill set, and even add to your enjoyment…Or not! This class, while conceived in a conservatory context, has broad application to anyone considering expanding their piano servicing operation to include assistants, with the benefit of lessons hard-learned by the instructor.