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Tuesday, September 7, 2010
For me, this was the summer that wasn't. My cast is off but I'm still hobbling around and, frankly, I'm still quite "uncomfortable" (e.g. walking normally is a miserable but necessary recuperative act.) Climbing stairs is no fun. I was with my surgeon a few weeks ago and he casually mentioned that I should be good as new in six months to a year. Regardless, I've spoken with many people who have had the same injury and each of them mentioned that it's never the same as it was before they tore their Achilles tendon. On top of all this I've had several cases of gout in the same foot and thought I was going to die. With that said I keep in mind that it could be a lot worse. I see these guys coming back from Afghanistan with no legs or kids who drank too much and wrapped their cars around telephone poles and are going to spend the rest of their lives in a wheel chair. I count my blessing every day. At lease I have two legs and two feet.
Its common knowledge that business is tough these days and it stands to reason that business people should do everything possible to keep their customers happy and coming back. A few days ago I woke early, just as it was getting light, grabbed my camera bag and hobbled down to my boat. It was a gorgeous morning and the water was dead calm. I drove a few miles up the lake and made several photos of a few of the islands, the calm water and the high drama sky. Then my boat started "beeping." My on-board computer was telling me that I was nearly out of gas. So I started the engine and drove like a madman to the nearest marina about three miles away. It was 7:30 in the morning and the sign by the gas pump said, "Open AT 8 AM." Fortunately, the owner of the marina was sitting there having coffee enjoying the morning air. I had bought gas and supplies there for years and had known the man for quite some time. I mentioned to him that I was just about out of gas and asked if he could fill my tank. Keep in mind that a full tank of gas for my boat is about $125. The owner stood up, looked me right in the eye and said, "I don't open until 8." He then sat down and drank a few more sips of coffee and totally ignored me. I thought at first he was joking but after ten minutes realized that this guy just was not going to do a damn thing.
So I started my boat and slowly and carefully motored about a mile around the harbor to another marina. I parked my boat by the gas pumps and walked into the office. It was now 8AM and the sign on the door said…"Open AT 8 AM!"
"Excuse me but I was wondering if I can get someone to fill up my boat?" I said.
"We're closed...don't bother me," said the woman at the desk without even turning to face me.
So I jumped into my boat and motored to another marina a half mile away. As I approached the dock my engine stopped as there was no more gas in the tank. Within seconds a young dock hand was tying up my boat and offered to check the oil in the engine as he filled my tank. Fifteen minutes later I was ready to go but my poor engine would not start. In just a few minutes the marina mechanic had my engine apart and primed the injection system with gas! Fifteen minutes later the engine was running fine and I was ready to go. And while I waited someone offered me a cup of coffee and there was absolutely no charge for the mechanical service….but I did pay for the gas and I left the dock hand a nice tip!
But here's the point. The guys at the first two marinas have permanently lost my business. It would have been so easy for the first guy to say that his pumps were not yet operating or give me a reasonable explanation as to why he would not get off his lazy ass to fill my tank. And it would have been really easy for the bitch at the other marina to at least look me in the eye and offer an explanation as to why I could not get my tank filled. But neither individual were courteous or considerate enough to spend thirty seconds to maintain good customer relations with a paying customer. So they lost my business. I don't care if I have to walk five miles for a few gallons of gas for my boat…I simply won't be going back to either marina. And I will be spending my money at the marina that offered professional service and treated me with courtesy and respect. And this winter when I need my boat taken from the water, serviced and stored for the season, I can assure you that I'm going to the place that treated me with dignity.
At my own gallery, especially during the warm months, we often have people looking in my windows at 6 AM and often as late 10PM. I always open up for them. I don't care what time of the day someone is here. My gallery will always be open. And if they need something delivered immediately I get it done and if there is a problem I take care of it. And just maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm still in business when many other places have closed their doors. Professional, client-centered service seems logical and appropriate…besides it's the right thing to do. Why an employee in a service oriented business would ever do anything other is beyond me. Businesses and employees so often fail to realize that keeping their customers happy is critical to success. Unfortunately many people don't realize this or act on it. Many large companies take for granted their success…and it's not surprising to hear that such business often fail when they forget about their customers. Business people need to keep in mind that their salaries are paid by their clients and without someone spending money with your business you're doomed.
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So BP finally tapped their leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. And of course the hard core republicans blame Obama for this tragedy. And I love hearing Sarah Palin (who, by the way, has quite the last three jobs she's had) demand that we "TAKE BACK AMERICA." Who does she and the other right wing fanatics think stole it? Fidel Castro? Or how about Manuel Noriega? Maybe Osama Bin Ladin took it…..or how about the North Koreans or maybe it was the Muslims in Iran? And if someone took it from us…where is it?
Tired of paying big taxes? Maybe we should not have a GI Bill for returning veterans. Or maybe we should refuse to pay for their health care? Why do we need twelve aircraft carrier battle groups? Why do we have to pay pensions for teachers? Why do we need art or music or sports in schools? United Auto workers get to completely retire after twenty years of working…and they get 80% of their salary for life as their pension.
Here's my solution….stop all the god damned complaining. Start your own business and pay attention to your customers. It's not that hard.
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I'm intrigued when I hear people complain about the fact the BP has spent 96 million dollars on a PR campaign to resurrect their image. The company stopped the oil from gushing into the seas and is paying dearly for the clean-up….as they should. And they will pay dearly for the fines levied against them for their lack of professionalism, stupidity and their failure to maintain and enforce safety procedures. But frankly, I'm happy they spent 96 million dollars to promote their company. That's money spent here in America and we should be quite happy about it!
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We have a great Yellow Labrador dog. Her name is Riley. She is a serious family member. My wife and daughter love her dearly as do I. She flunked obedience training but we love her anyway. In truth, I flunked Algebra 1 in high school four times and I'm no worse because of it. In the past week or so I have been able to walk the dog when she wakes me at 5AM. Normally, because I don't walk that well, my wife has been taking her out. We walk her by the lake each morning and night and she will fetch sticks for hours on end. It's what she was bred to do. But if she sees a duck in the lake forget about her coming back. I've had to chase her a mile or so into the lake because she will simply not stop. And when we're in the boat she has to be tightly held as on many occasions, at forty miles per hour, she'll jump out of the boat and just start swimming.
So last night we were on the dock and Riley was enjoying fetching and retrieving a plastic baseball bat we throw in the water for her. The dock was soaking wet and the dog slipped off and landed in the water. My wife and daughter were nearly hysterical. To me the damn dog can swim back to shore, as she has done thousands of times, and climb back up on the dock. It's no big deal.
But while this traumatic event was happening I decided to get onto my boat. So I pulled the dock lines and the boat came closer. I put my bad leg in first as I had done before. Unfortunately, a very large wave pulled the boat from the dock and I held on for dear life. Well, my left hand slipped down and ran across one of the "snaps" that hold the cover on the boat. Unfortunately the snap had broken and all that was left was a sharp, jagged edge of metal. Within seconds I had a very deep gash in my left hand. Blood was all over the place and I shouted in pain. Unfortunately, the ladies were too busy trying to help the damn dog or thinking that it was about to be attacked by huge snapping turtles, fresh water sharks or monster, oriental Snakehead fish. I'm certain that they were certain that the dog was unable to swim to shore and rescue itself. Finally, after a few minutes the dog was safely on land and wanted to swim more. Eventually, my daughter looked at me and my bloody hand and calmly asked what happened. She thought I was joking. I guess that the dog carries more status in my family than I. And I refused to go to the hospital to have the damn hand sewn up as I'm sick of doctors and needles. When I got back to the cabin I cleaned the wound and had a few shots of Jack Daniels. That was enough medication and attention for me. In the morning my hand was sore, swollen and heavily bandaged and I sat at the computer all day typing this with the one hand, hunt and peck method. And, at the rate I'm going I should have this Newsletter done by March.
I should also mention that we very often have visitors at my cabin on the lake. A month or so ago a childhood friend of my wife's spent the week at our cabin. With her she brought her two daughters including an eleven year old and a fourteen year old and another teenage friend as a companion. So including my wife and daughter that's six women in my cabin all at the same time. They had taken the train from Chicago and rented a car in Albany and traveled north to visit us.
So after work on the day they arrived I closed my gallery and drove to my cabin. And after a long day I was tired and looking forward to a few hamburgers from the grill and a quiet evening watching the sun set. When I walked in my cabin, however, I was not surprised. Suitcases were everywhere, make-up bags, hair brushes and blow driers were all over the place, and wet bathing suits seemed to hang from every available spot in the cabin. My daughters music was blaring and people were sitting around texting and twittering like there was no tomorrow.
It took about two minutes for me to realize that I didn't belong there. So I took my dog and spent the next six nights sleeping at my gallery. My dog and I had pizzas and beer each evening for dinner and we watched several great movies each night! And we slept better than we had in years!
Usually in the mornings I take my daughter tubing behind our motorboat for an hour or so. So the morning after our guests arrived, I showed up at 7 AM at the cabin and woke my daughter. Then the other kids decided they wanted to go as well but they first had to get out of bed (which for teenagers is nearly impossible), wash and blow dry their hair, put on their make-up and complain because their bathing suits were wet and cold. An hour later we were all ready to walk down to the boat. Everyone seemed happy with the experience but from what I understand from my wife and daughter six girls and two cats, and only one bathroom between them, can be a trying. I dare not say more on this subject.
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I often do book signings around the country. They're usually fun but sometimes people really drive me nuts. A few months ago, I, along with a number of other authors, did an out-door book signing in a town here in upstate New York. It was a nice day and all of the authors were under a large tent.
Then the retail people started to come. Kids are probably the worst but adults are often incredibly stupid and inconsiderate as well. Many of the people stop by my table, open each book and just about destroy my books with their greasy hands that are often covered with sticky soft drinks, ketchup, mustard, ice cream or other crap. Some of the people will fold back certain pages and others will swear up and down that they owned something featured in my book. They want the addresses and phone numbers of the owners of the homes that appear in my books so they can go visit them. They sometimes bitch about the price of books or they don't want to pay tax. They tell me that they can buy the books cheaper on Amazon.com. They want to know who makes my photos and they don't believe me when I say that I do. They also think that I make millions of dollars and they don't believe me when I give them the hard numbers. Many people insist that their homes are better than any I've ever featured in my books and that they can personally build better rustic furniture than anyone else around. Many people want to show me photos of their home and their collections. And I've actually had a few books stolen from my booth when I've taken a bathroom break. In truth, I'm polite and courteous to everyone but sometimes I want to pull my hair out.
But, at the same time, many times people are incredibly gracious and complimentary. Sometimes some people want to have their photos made with me or have me write personal inscriptions in their books. Many times people bring books they purchased elsewhere and ask me to sign them. We're often invited to homes for dinners and a visit. Often times I do and but many times I'm just too busy or need to get home or something else.
I usually sell a lot of books and I must say that I know how it feels when other authors are selling nothing. Their emotions run between despair, hatred, disappointment and envy. I can see the disappointment in their eyes when they load their books back into their vehicles at the end of the day after selling nothing. I know how they feel because the same thing has happened to me many times. But I've often quietly mentioned to people that they should be incredibly proud of the fact that they took the time to write a book and that they are now part of history. Effort is a noble thing. It brings profound meaning to our lives. Please take me seriously on this. I can't think of anything more horrible than when I die I have to face my maker and explain why I watched so much TV when I should have been an active participant in life rather than a spectator. Time is not ours to waste. We have very little of it. The joys of accomplishment are beyond description. Involvement in anything offers profound rewards.
Back on another thought, one guy told me that I was nuts to have a publisher because he printed all of his books himself therefore making all the profits. I reminded him that he was also completely responsible for all the marketing, shipping, delivery, editing, design, etc. But even though the guy felt the need to criticize my efforts I had to compliment him for his work. Finding a publisher today can be a real nightmare and finding an agent to "pitch" your work to a publisher is even harder. One large company receives well over a hundred proposals a day. So for someone to take the time to complete a book and then get it to the market place can be a tremendous act of patience, tenacity, self-confidence and courage. (Regardless…I still thought the guy was a jerk,)
I've also been on the receiving end of more wonderful compliments that I thought the human race capable of. And I've received emails and letters from all over the world thanking me for my efforts to bring a great artistic movement to the eyes of the public.
Further, I've always tried to personalize my books and my slideshow presentations as well. I've been giving more and more presentations around the country and people seem to respond positively to my efforts.
In the past, like many performers, I've been terribly nervous with stage fright before I walk to the front and center stage. Everyone who has ever preformed in public knows about this. Even the greatest performers of our time admit they are often scared to death prior to appearing on stage.
But, I changed my way of thinking about all this a few years ago. I read a book called "My Stroke of Insight." It's a story about a researcher who had a serious stroke and makes a complete comeback. Through the authors story I realized that I can literally turn off certain parts of my brain. Sometimes our brains can just run amuck and make our days miserable. Today, instead of battling my fear or succumbing to it, I simply tell myself to "SHUT THE HELL UP." I tell myself to relax and enjoy the presentation. Have fun up there and tell good stories. I know what I'm talking about and I have great images to show people. This approach has made a world of difference for me and I'm better because of it.
I'm also fully aware that there are many unhappy people out there and you can't please everyone. I recently gave a presentation on contemporary Adirondack Great Camps and the event was clearly marked as "Contemporary." At the end of the event one woman bitterly complained to the event organizer saying that she was very disappointed that I showed only new homes. Another person complained when I mentioned that I was not fond of a certain element in a home I was showing and most people in the audience agreed. She complained that I was "trashing" a home that she was familiar with……..In truth, there were many elements of the home that were really not up to standards and the designer must have been out of his mind to use the approach he did. I was not invited back to the conference the following year…but that's OK. My life does not center on people who have problems and complain about any and everything.
On another note the Adirondack Antiques Show was held a few weeks ago at the museum in Blue Mountain Lake. About 60 exhibitors offered all kinds of antique rustic things for sale. What's fun about the week is that there are several what we call satellite shows that open up a few days before the main show. So in general I visit the other outside vendors and buy things and schmooze with friends before the main show actually opens up a few days later.
The show I was exhibiting at allowed exhibitors to set up early Friday morning so after getting in line I drove to my booth and unloaded my trailer. Within fifteen minutes I had sold out of almost everything I brought. So I wandered around the show and bought and sold several other things. The following day I brought more things from my gallery and sold them as well. Sometimes, as long as I'm selling things, shows are fun to do. But they are incredibly hard work. It's a nightmare when it rains and trying to get a hundred vehicles both in and out of the exhibition grounds can be a real nightmare. But the Adirondack Antiques Show was very well organized and things ran smoothly. I saw lots of old friends and enjoyed both selling and buying….…and I only had to answer the question of "How did you get into the rustic business?"……eight hundred times!
BOOKS
Speaking of books! My book RUSTIC ELEGANCE is on the market! It's a fabulous book and I'm very proud of it and the homes I featured. The book can be purchased at retail stores around the country for $60!!!!!! OR!…… for the next few months, I'm selling signed, first printing copies for only $40 plus shipping! And I'll happily inscribe the books in any fashion of your choosing!
I have another book out at this time as well. THE LOG HOME BOOK is a compilation of many photos that appeared in some of my earlier books! At first I was hesitant about doing a project like this but my publisher assured me that there was a market for a small book showing great rooms and camps. So we have just come out with THE LOG HOME BOOK and it retails for $25! And if you want a first printing copy that's personally signed by me let me know. I'm selling that book for $18.00 plus shipping. Or if you want both books you can combine the two and save on shipping expenses!
I am also very happy to say that my book titled "SHORT STORIES AND STRANGE THOUGHTS" is presently at the printer and I should have copies for sale before Christmas. This book contains some 30 stories and is a little less than 500 pages long. It has been very well received and I'm thrilled that it will be on the market soon! I had great fun writing it and am fully expecting to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature or at least, a Pulitzer. What the heck? You have to aim high and do the best you can because if you don't you'll never really know what talents you possess. And you never know……you just might really surprise yourself. And if you sell a million books you can tell your former spouses that he/she was completely wrong about you!
I also have another book due out this year. My favorite historical builder from the south is the Reverend Ben Davis. The Reverend built extraordinary rustic furniture in the North Carolina area up until about 1940. I have several pieces by him in my own collection and have featured some of his work in my past books. I have researched the good Reverend for many years and my book titled THE RUSTIC FURNITURE OF REVEREND BEN DAVIS will be on the market in about six weeks or so. This will be an inexpensive soft covered book showing about 40 of his pieces. An extensive history on the life and works of this man is also included. This will be a great book for anyone interested in historical rustic furniture artists and seeing different examples of extraordinary creativity.
And as I sit here I am hard at work on a very large book due out in the fall of 2011 about a year from now. And I've also been working on a really great book titled IMAGES OF THE LAKE. This book is a photographic, artistic offering of my home lake, Lake George, aptly named the Queen of American Lakes.
I really have spent the past ten or so years on this project and am looking forward to its completion and publication. It should be on the market this coming spring.
I also feel the need to mention my book ADIRONDACK HOME. The book sold out about a year or so ago and the decision was made to not offer a second printing. I must admit that I was a bit surprised when new copies started showing up on Amazon.com for $300 per copy. And I was even more surprised when a few copies were offered at $900 each. Frankly, I don't know if the books sold or not but I was really happy when I found another fifty new copies of the book in my workshop. So I am happy to offer brand new, signed, first (and only) printing of my book ADIRONDACK HOME for the cover price of $60 per copy plus shipping. I have about 30 copies left so when the book is finally sold out …that's it. No more. Done! So give me a call or email me and I'll get you whatever you need!
And it you are in the Montana area a few weeks from now you are cordially invited to a major book signing in the beautiful city of Bozeman, Montana. I'll be signing copies of my new book RUSTIC ELEGANCE at Plonks on Main Street on September 15. The event begins at about 6 PM and will last until about 9 PM. The last time I did a book signing in Bozeman about three hundred people showed up and we had a great time!
And so I watch with interest as the leaves on the huge maple trees across the road from my gallery slowly lose their green hue. The nights are a bit cooler now and every day we lose about five minutes of sunshine. And although the skies were filled with high drama clouds as day broke at my cabin this morning I did not go out on the lake. The water was quite choppy and the wind was strong and I felt the need to go back to bed this morning. I did manage to toss some sticks in the lake and my dog enjoyed her early morning swim. The planet Venus is quite visible in the early night eastern skies and Mars, albeit more gold then red at this time of the year, floats like a drop of butter in golden maple syrup. Back at my cabin my daughter was rolled up tight in her blankets and my two cats purred when I tried not to disturb them when I returned to bed.
Soon the chlorophyll that keeps the leaves green will dissipated through the trees leaving only the majestic reds, yellows and browns that will dazzle the eyes of anyone willing to stop and appreciate the delights of autumn. Shortly the honking of huge gaggles of geese will be heard and massive formations of these graceful birds will fill the skies. And behind them will be the mighty birds of prey. Eagles, falcons, owls and hawks of all kinds will silently make their way south. We have a pair of barred owls nesting behind my gallery and on many occasion it's possible to get within twenty feet of them as they nap during the day.
Shortly a flock of turkeys will appear in my back yard and I'll begin feeding them just prior to the first snowfall. The deer will be here as well. And every once in a while a goshawk will snatch a bird from my birdfeeder and eat his fill on one of the huge trees in my back yard.
My wife and daughter have already run up my credit card bill with the purchase of new fall clothes and supplies in anticipation of the beginning of school next week. And this week I'll sign up my daughter for dance lessons as I seem to do every fall and winter. My daughter was good this summer and completed the seven book reports I assigned her when school vacation began last June. She earned her dance lessons and a winter vacation.
On September 14 my family and I will depart for Bozeman, Montana, and we'll spend five days there photographing a few homes and again visit Yellowstone National Park. When they leave I'll stay on in Montana for a few more weeks and photograph several more homes, conduct some business and do some serious fly fishing. A good friend of mine, a psychiatrist, will be with me for the last eight days of this trip. We'll wander through Idaho and he'll serve as my photo assistant. We've traveled together in the past and usually wind up not speaking to each other for a year or so after the trip. But we remain good friends and we're both older and more mature now. And each of us will do our best to not "push each other's buttons." And we both agree that as long as we take our medications we'll get along fine. With that said I still think he looks ridiculous in his Bugs Bunny pajamas.
Business continues to be strong here at my gallery. We've taken on a few very interesting projects and excused ourselves from others that were not right for us. We're also speaking with an architect who is working on a very large private residence near St. Petersburg, Russia, and we may travel there in the next few months. They love our high end rustic furniture and want their Dacha completed in a classical rustic style.
With that said I wish everyone well and I hope that the coming fall is both prosperous and peaceful for everyone. Take care, Ralph
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