[john70t]

Although I have a great deal of respect for skilled trades, I'll have to disagree with you there Milt. Personal customer service is the one thing ignored for too long in this country.

A great part of the American consumer mentality in those with excess capitol(i.e.:who buy high-end customizations) is that it has to be easy to purchase first, and forget about the money, which will be returned to them later in resale etc.

The customer see's the targeted advertising, the smiling counter person, and the financing representative, and then they go home with a shiny new overpriced product not even thinking about those bills.
Each of these customer-processing steps has a different function (the ad's to intrigue, the salesperson to convince that the product will make him a better/more important person, and the financing to overcome buyers resistance and close the sales obligation.
The customer never see's the managment, the shipping, and the support staff working behind the scenes who really make the company function, and they don't care.

Where are the complementary shoeshiners, the elevator attendants, and the doormen these days (I'm not refering to arguments on wages, ceo parachutes, health care,etc..)? They've been replaced by automated processes like automatic doors, self-check outs, and by customer profiling/tracking/stalking.
I'm sure many people really do not like the herding mentality these days, and would gladly choose an alternative if it was available.

As an independant business, if you give too much customer attention they may think you're making up for shortcomings or "strange", too little and they won't want to deal with you, but a quick and patient calculation or generalized estimate leaves a good impression.
Don't make friends with customers and don't make enemies-they are there to pay your expenses. And never demean the woman of the house, the one with a rolodex of contacts..

There's a small 3 man repair shop around the corner that's consistently booked months in advance- not because of their price, but simply because the owner of the shop takes two minutes and walks the customer through what he thinks needs fixing and why. All reference.