Page 180 - FAT 105 4.17 MOODLE

the premises. This system would permit you to In other words, spending time usually involves
concentrate completely on work operations even discussions that are unrelated to business.
when in isolated areas, yet still monitor the re- However, investing time involves your offering
tail sales area effectively. In most cases, the retail professional advice and recommendations to the
sales concept is a highly recommended business customer, and might be directed toward add-
function that will bring you more customers and ing equipment to improve the customer’s rifle.
generate sales. The benefits of additional sales Consequently, the gunsmith operating in a one-
and higher revenues realized from a retail sales person shop situation must recognize that “time
area are apparent. But maintaining and operat- is money.” Time, being a fixed commodity, can
ing this supplemental facility requires additional neither be replaced nor regained; invest it wisely
time, and in a one-person operation, there is and it will produce additional revenues.
no such commodity. Therefore, the time spent
The only remaining difficulty yet to face will be
maintaining retail sales must provide an ad-
that time when it becomes apparent that you
equate return for the time invested to justify the
have applied this principle so well that there is
time lost in service and repair.
insufficient time to maintain expanded retail
Please note the selective use of the terms spent sales and complete the contracted repairs. The
and invested, because you must understand solution is expansion, a sign of success.
them in order to achieve and maintain both
In a one-person shop with consumer access to
repair service and retail sales. Consequently,
the display area, you should consider having a
you must be qualified to make the distinction
controlled shop entrance to separate the shop
between spending time, such as discussing what
from the retail sales area. This facility should be
size shot was used to kill that big gobbler last
designed and constructed to restrict customer
year, and investing time, such as recommending
access and discourage unsolicited observers. In
the most appropriate scope to mount on that
addition, the gunsmith will need to develop an
rifle that you just sold.
effective, but diplomatic, means of retreating to

Figure 9: The multi-tank bluing setup is the most professional way to go about any hot-bath operation.
In this setup, each tank has its own water and heat source.

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