<!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 6.00.6000.16587" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks Les. At least I know my post worked. Here is the deal.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I service for Pendley Piano Gallery in Shreveport - Bossier City metro. area. The owner has  connections with a large store in Houston and would like to have a shop area similar to the one there. Pendley's has been in business in the area for over 10 years and is the leading store in north Louisiana. They are the Mason & Hamlin dealers for this area. However they sell mostly Asian produced pianos. Their main competition is Dallas and Houston.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My guess is that we have around 4 to 5 hundred thousand people in our metropolitan area. There is no real competition in the area concerning rebuilding. Unless you want to count Dallas and Houston, of course. I think the major use of a shop will be store prep and repairs, for the short haul, since we are getting ready to start a rental fleet. But, since I'm the one in charge of this I would like to have enough room and equipment to be able to set up and rebuild one piano at a time. We probably won't have enough room for refinishing, construction sound boards and bridges and all the other things you guys do. Any suggestions would be appreciated.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Gerald McCleskey RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Shreveport, LA</FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=l-bartlett@sbcglobal.net href="mailto:l-bartlett@sbcglobal.net">Leslie Bartlett</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">'Pianotech List'</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, January 01, 2008 2:09 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: Workshop setup</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=367520620-01012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Looks to me like some demographic work would be wise.  How many rebuilds expected?  How large the population in the city with pianos which will likely get rebuilt, implying knowing how active is the high-end market in that area.  I'd think a lot of "why" questions would be important, lest one go into a "project" with only conjecture for his guide, leaving a lot of room for major miscalculations.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=367520620-01012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>les bartlett</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=367520620-01012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>houston</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left> <HR tabIndex=-1> <FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>mccleskey112@bellsouth.net<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, January 01, 2008 1:41 PM<BR><B>To:</B> pianotech@ptg.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Workshop setup<BR></FONT><BR></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is a test. I posted this request yesterday and got no response. Maybe I didn't post it right. Anybody out there?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Some time ago I polled the list about starting a piano rental partnership with the dealer that I service for and got some good advice which I appreciate. Thanks to one and all. Now I am seeking advice in setting up a shop for the same dealer. I have my own shop but don't want to move in with them. I think it would be better if they had their own tools and such. They have visited dealerships in Houston and would like to have a complete service shop on the order of the ones in Houston and have asked me to help with the setup. I don't know how far they want to go with this. If they want to do complete rebuilds or just refurbish, but I want to be ready in any case. I've been given a blank slate to work with so give me your suggestions starting with floor space etc. just as if you were starting over. Thanks in advance.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Gerald McCleskey</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Shreveport</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV><BR> <P><FONT size=2>No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>Checked by AVG Free Edition.<BR>Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.13/1205 - Release Date: 12/31/2007 3:32 PM<BR></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>