<!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 6.00.2800.1126" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Good for you Alan, you're doing = everything the right way, and it just gets better. </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=tune4u@earthlink.net href="mailto:tune4u@earthlink.net">tune4u@earthlink.net</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> Saturday, December 14, = 2002 5:20 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> People -- Best Part of = the Business</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Delivered a set of re-covered keys today after = they'd been "in the shop" for four days.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Youngest child, age 5, sees me getting out of = the ol' Tunemobile, comes out into the yard and yells at me. "It's about time = you showed up! Why did you take our piano keys?"</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hmmm...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Installed keys, handed the boy's mom the bill. = She says, "Is that all? They look so beautiful and you did so much work on my = piano ... <EM>etc. ... </EM>I'm going to pay you <EM>thus and such </EM>..."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>I've been given house tours, cookies, complete = meals, occasionally an extra $5 or $10 because they feel guilty about living = so far out, or something, and was once offered a cat. But this was a pleasant = first: a $50 bonus, tip, whatever...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Ain't life grand.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>I've been in PTG meetings where people, = usually the more introvert types, discuss "how to get the customer to shut up and = leave you alone so you can tune." Well, sometimes you just have to ask. But = I think I build a lot of loyalty--and I know I get referrals--because I do = take time to listen to lonely old people, or people with family stories to tell, = etc.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>For the first time I know of, I lost a client = to another tuner this week. I had only tuned for her once and her comment to the = new tuner was that I took too long. Okay, misread that one. But showing = real interest in people and taking time to build relationships with = them is the only way I,<EM> for me, </EM> (and I do stress "for me") = to be in this business.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>You can keep the cat, but I do like cookies.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Alan Barnard</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Salem, = MO</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>