<!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 6.00.6000.16705" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I can say that it's about as dead as I've seen it
here on the central coast of California in 10 or 15 years. That being said, I've
managed to keep busy by tuning and servicing pianos that normally I would not
seek out. I've had to fish a little further from shore and not throw back the
little ones for fear of catching my limit. I haven't reconditioned an upright
action in a while, but I'll take them now, I'm doing a $1500. Kimball grand
action recondition. I'd kind of like a belly job but they take me so long and I
work so hard on them I'm enjoying the break. All in all I'm making just about
the same as I have the last couple years, I'm just hustling a little more. I
think we have a great business that somehow manages to weather the storms. In
boom times I never get rich, either.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Fenton</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=wimblees@aol.com href="mailto:wimblees@aol.com">Willem Blees</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=Pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:Pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, September 15, 2008 5:39
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> How's business?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><WBR>If it weren't for my prescheduled appointments, my
business would be next to nothing. I've only had one prescheduled
appointment cancel on me, but other than that, the phone just isn't ringing.
Considering today's Wall Street collapse, except for, of course, the Gulf
states, how's business on the rest of the mainland? <BR>
<DIV style="CLEAR: both"><BR>Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<BR>Piano
Tuner/Technician<BR>Honolulu,
HI<BR>808-349-2943<BR>www.bleespiano.com<BR>Author of <BR>The Business of
Piano Tuning<BR>available from Potter Press<BR>www.pianotuning.com</DIV>
<DIV class=aol_ad_footer id=u8CAE5ABD2E8DFCA-890-39E1><FONT
style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black">
<HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">
Looking for spoilers and reviews on the new TV season? <A
title=http://television.aol.com/feature/fall_tv?ncid=aoletv00050000000037
href="http://television.aol.com/feature/fall_tv?ncid=aoletv00050000000037"
target=_blank>Get AOL's ultimate guide to fall TV</A>.</FONT>
</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>