Freebees -John

[Susan Kline]

>  but since my fiancé runs a promotion company that distributes such items 
> (that she does NOT pester people to buy) I buy them from her even though 
> I don't get a family discount.  :)

Nothing at all against your fiancé's business, John. If it's how you want 
to go, have at it.

I leave a card, and suggest keeping it in the piano bench.

When I was new here, and having to start a business, I had listings in 
several phone directories in the area, and also had classified ads running 
in the service directories of two newspapers. I found that the service 
directories seemed to give a better return than the Musical Instruments 
classified section.

I still keep a yellow pages listing in Corvallis, and in Philomath. When I 
got way too busy and felt harried and exhausted a couple of years ago, I 
told them I didn't want to renew my yellow pages listing. They told me that 
by having the business line, I had one free listing already! Why didn't 
they say that 14 years ago, when I first moved to town? I paid for the 
darned things for 12 years, when I could have had them for free! They told 
me when I arrived that I had one courtesy listing in addition to the one I 
bought, but I assumed it was a "2-for-1" promo. I didn't realize that I 
could go with only the courtesy listing. I think of it as a courtesy 
listing in another sense as well -- I consider it a courtesy to old 
customers who have mislaid my card, rather than as an attempt to attract 
new customers. Some wander in, of course.

At some point, I could see getting the listing right out of the book, and 
going with only word of mouth and old customers calling back -- but not 
quite yet. Maybe in ten years, assuming I'm still okay for tuning then, at 
age 70. I will probably cut back on some of the distant work eventually -- 
not yet. I bought a Prius, which might help me keep the travel going a big 
longer than otherwise. I want to plug it into the house current eventually, 
once they have the glitches out of the aftermarket conversion to plug-in. 
"CalCars" -- http://www.calcars.org/vehicles.html

ssssssnnn