One of the
first articles
that I ever
wrote for TNL
was titled “Free
Lunches and
Nickel Beers.”
by Jake
Jakubuwski
At a recent
seminar, I
had occasion
to consider
that article and read the group
something I had written a couple
of years ago regarding giving
your living (a free lunch) away.
With times as tight as they
are now, I thought it might be
appropriate to make that idea
the subject of this month’s Jake’s
Jabber.
“Free Lunches”
“There’s a lake of gin
We can both jump in
And the handouts grow on bushes
In the new-mown hay
We can sleep all day
And the bars all have free lunches”
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—From the American folk song
“The Big Rock Candy Mountain”─
Attributed to Harry McLintock
Nearly twenty years ago,
after I had finished up a job
one evening, I stopped at a
convenience store to buy a Coke
and a pack of crackers.
When I set my goodies on
the counter, the guy running
the store looked at my company
name embroidered on my shirt
and asked if I were a locksmith.
When I said yes, he pointed
to his entry doors (a pair of
aluminum stile doors) and said:
“Can you take a look at that door
on the right? I can’t get that
lock at the bottom of the door to
work.”
That lock was a concealed
flush bolt and the receiver, or
strike, in the threshold was
full of debris. I pulled a small
screwdriver out of my pocket,
cleaned the debris out of the
strike and the flush bolt worked
fine.
Figure 1.
Then I went back to the
counter and the guy asked me
how much he owed me, sensing
an opportunity to win a friend,
influence at least one person and
possibly gain a new customer; I
magnanimously replied: “Catch
you the next time” and paid for
my Coke and crackers.
I figured that the next time
he had a door, lock, or safe
problem, he would call me and I
would more than make up for the
“freebie.” I’m still waiting!
Even though I stopped in that
same store many times after that,
I never received a request to
service anything.
I made the mistake of giving
the guy a free lunch, and, he got
paid for the Coke and crackers!
If you’re going to give
something away, make sure it
is to an existing customer that
already appreciates what you do.
Otherwise you’re just giving your
living away.
See y’all next month…
