Stepping Forward, and Back Again...
It seems that every time I get a little ahead, something comes along and I'm stepping back again. I think, at least, that I'm still slowly moving forward overall, but the constant little setbacks just get frustrating at times.
I didn't get as much work done today as I would have liked to - at least not in the backlog. I had a couple of "I really really need this right away, can you look at it right now?" machines come into the shop today; These machines were from good repeat customers, and (in theory) would be quick fixes, so I did look at them right away. One had a clogged carburetor jet, and the other had a stuck needle-valve in the carburetor that wouldn't allow it to stop the fuel-flow, so it would pee gasoline all over the place! Both machines were fixed fairly quickly, and the customers are happy.
The Ability Centre came this afternoon to pick up the machine that I re-powered for them, and they're very happy about that! They're just waiting for the Nod of Approval, and I'll have another machine to re-power for them. As I may have mentioned earlier, I have a deal with them: I present them with the regular bill, which they pay in full; I then cut them a cheque for the labour-portion of the bill, and they give me a tax-receipt for my "Charitable Donation." It would be nice if I could just directly declare the labour charges as a donation, but the tax-man wants to see a complete paper-trail, so we have to do it this way. I don't mind helping them out this way; I'm still making a small profit on the parts, and the tax-receipts and good-will go a long way.
My dealer-rep for Briggs & Stratton came by this evening to see the new shop, and chat with me for a bit. He was very impressed with the size of the new place, and thought I was doing a great job. We went over some new products, and he gave me a few ideas to help promote business. Before he came to Briggs & Stratton, he was a small-business marketing guru, so he's a good one for ideas like that. We talked for a few minutes about blade-sharpening, and whether or not it was worth sharpening an old blade when a new one could be purchased for about the same price. According to the trends he's seen, there is still a high demand for the sharpening services, even when a new blade is roughly the same cost. Part of that comes from the fact that if someone brings in a blade for sharpening, there's no question about whether or not you have it in stock - you've got the blade there in your hands! The best approach is to sharpen the old blade when possible, but suggest the purchase of a new blade when the old one is too worn or damaged to be sucessfully sharpened again.
Another great marketing ploy he clued me into, was the ideal of a having a "special" offer when doing Spring tune-ups and such. I had been offering 10% off (labour) if people booked by May 15th, but he said an even bigger draw was to offer "Free Blade Sharpening With Tune-Up!" Apparently people focus in on the "Free" part, and it really draws in the customers. The average charge for shapening a regular rotary lawn-mower blade is about $10, so this small give-away doesn't really cost anything (about ten minutes worth of time), and the increased volume in jobs more than makes up for it! I will definitely have to run that promotion next Spring!
The Kidling nearly got left in town this evening. He had come by the shop like he was supposed to, but I told him that the dealer-rep was coming to visit, so I'd be staying late and he could stick around town and just go home with trixstir when she closed to bowling-alley. He thought this was a great idea, and went merrily along his way, and didn't bother to tell Trixstir about this change in plans. He just assumed that I'd tell her, but I was busy dealing with customers and the dealer-rep, so it never even occured to me that I should have to call her. You would think that a 14-year-old would have enough common sense to check in and say that there was a change of plans, especially when he had to go right past the place anwyay. As it was, I didn't get finished with the dealer-rep until after 8:30, and I was headed back to the farm under the assumption that the Kidling was with Trixstir. At the same time, she had closed the bowling-alley at 8:30, since she had no customers, and she had assumed that the Kidling was with me! I was just about at the edge of town when my cell-phone rang; Trixstir had arrived back at the farm, and not seeing my truck, called to see where the Kidling and I were. It's a good thing that she called when she did, or I'd have been back at the farm sans-Kidling, and he'd have been stuck in town.
Even more annoying, he had set the alarm on his cell-phone to remind him to get his butt over to the bowling-alley at 8:30, but he either didn't hear it, or he ignored it. He says that he checked the time at 8:40, but figured that if Trixstir wanted him there, she'd have called him. He knew that he had to be there by 8:30, but he figured that unless someone was yelling at him to get his butt over there, it was OK to stay out. Darn lucky he didn't get left behind...
Fugly showed up in the driveway again this morning, but he headed off again when I yelled at him to "GIT!!!" What worries me though, is that I think I saw foam on his jowls. I may have been mistaken, and he wasn't acting at all aggressive, but this is a definite concern. We're going to have to keep a watch out for him, and if we do see him and he is foaming at the mouth, we'll have to call the wildlife officer to come out and shoot him. Like it or not, this is yet another reminder of the fact that I should really have at least a .22 rifle out here. :(
To top it all off, it turns out that Trixstir's sniffling and sneezing wasn't allergies, but a cold - and now she's given it to me. :P I spent most of last night in sleep-deprived misery with the back of nose stuffed-up and burning while the front was constantly dripping. Now my throat is raw and burning, but at least tonight I'm going to take a shot of NyQuil and see if that helps. I took Ecinacea last night, but I ought to have taken the NyQuil as well. Ah well, here's hoping for a better night tonight.