<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4> <STRONG><FONT face="Bell MT">John Ross wrote:</FONT></STRONG></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>You forgot the other customer.</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>The one who <FONT face="Times New Roman">genuinely</FONT> has a shortage of money. After all, there are a lot of people who work, at or close to minimum wage.</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>They have pianos and children taking lessons. I feel they deserve the service of a knowledgeable technician, who will not overcharge them, and do only the work required, by their usage.</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>So cheapskate is not a term, I would apply to them.</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV>John M. Ross<BR>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR><A href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca" target=_blank>jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>John, I didn't forget.  I wrote about a spectrum.  That's two ends with a lot of shades between each end.  I live in Montana, one of the lowest per capita income states in the country.  Last I heard, we were second from the bottom.  I'm TOTALLY familiar with the people you refer to.  They are MOST of my fellow citizens and customers, I'd bet.  And I don't apply the term "cheapskate" to them, either.  But there ARE cheapskates.  Some of them even make a lot of money.  "Cheapskate" is an <EM>attitude</EM> that includes, but is not limited to "me first", "what's the cheapest way?", "can't I get by with just such-and-such?", "win/lose is better than win/win as long as I'm the winner", "what's my price? (which should be lower than anyone else's!)", et al.  Come on.  You know what I'm talking about!  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And I also agree with Mike Kurta, who wrote: </DIV> <DIV>  <DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><EM>John, you are correct in your analysis of both ends of the customer spectrum.  However in my experience both these examples represent about 5 percent each of the total customer base.  The vast majority are plain folks that either play at home or have a child or children who play.  They are easy to deal with, want a fair shake and will likely have you back the next time.  </EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><EM>    Mike Kurta</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>I'm not suggesting that anyone should toss aside anybody who's not "American Express Gold Card", by calling them a cheapskate and being done with it.  No, I'm just saying those are the extremes, and I think if your customer is getting to you by being too near the "cheapskate" END of the spectrum, it's worth considering cutting your losses and running!</FONT></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>