Msg: 6763 *Conference*
08-17-96 08:22:29
From: RICHARD HANSON
To : PAUL WHITING
Subj: REPLY TO MSG #6762 (FASTER MODEMS)
Actually, most of the info is in The Whole Enchilada documents. I created those from all the FAQ files I used to call "detail sheets." I was spending too much money on printing detail sheets, and when someone got one, they would have even more questions, which meant more detail sheets. Hmmm... I thought, "Is there a better way to do this and at least break even on costs?" I sat down one day, over a cup of coffee at Ann's Sunshine Cafe, armed with a trusty Model "T" and started listing all the possible details, or topics. My first thought was to write a book (still a thought). The lists broke out into five common areas, resulting in the five documents in The Whole Enchilada series ... which didn't start out with that name. Paula and I were eating dinner at El Torito, or El Papa Geio, or Webe Beans'n Stuff (...something like that) and it just hit me! If you want "everything" you ask for the ... Whole Enchilada!! We'll, I was really proud of this corny name and immediately started gathering the many detail sheets together. Then I thought, perhaps I should ask some fellow Model "T" experts to look over the details just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I called a few, they agreed, and I shipped off the detail sheets. Well, seems talk is cheap! They took their sweet time and, for all intense and purposes, didn't add one thin dime to the details. I was pissed. To make a long story even longer, I did the task of assembling the documents, checking the details, laying out the type with Microsoft Word, and then it was time to make copies. After pricing the copies at Kinko's, and determining that given the small (200 each) batches I'd provably be printing, I ran into the next problem. Price! That is why they are priced at $6 each! All but one could be determed as "worth" six bucks by if you count the pages but the cold start recovery one, a one-page sheet, is no worth $6 ... from a pure count-the-paper point of view. Anyone can argue that having "the facts and how-tos in one place still available on demand from soneone still willing to do this support thing" is far more valuable than the "bulk of paper" unless you're some bumpkin who can't put 2 and 2 together ... and there have been a few that said just that, i.e. "Dear Mr. Hanson: $6 for one piece of paper is a rip off!" In a few letter at least they added, "...the others seemd reasonable." Geez..., I thought, this guys a frankfurter! Anyway, as it turned out, The Whole Enchilada series, offered on that special at $20 for the set, turned out to be one of the best products. It gave folks something to buy to use as a method of supporting the club (many letter said this) and lead to sales of many other items in the catalog now that "they" had a better idea of all their options. What can I say: Information rules! I'm now at a position, wherein The Whole Enchilada series paid for itself, that I'm seriously considering coding those documents in HTML and placing them in our www site at www.the-dock.com/club100.html. In fact, I've been drawing plans for upgrading the whole site. Zena Bergman did a great job doing the entire start-up design, employing both frames views and normal. I intend to use her work on the side, and redesign the front end and other areas. The web site is not interactive, like this bbs, cause I don't control the server, but one day it could be. In the mean time, it would be "fun" to push the limits. I'm at the end of this response, Paul. Thanks for asking. I'm now going to go out side (it's Saturday) and wash TOON T to get it ready for this weeks berage of hot rod show and runs, starting with the 30th Andy's Picnic this Sunday and ending with the Good Guys 10th West Coast Rod & Custom Nationals. -Rick- PS: No word yet on the air date for Club 100 on the CyberLife TV program, on the Discovery Channel. Will let everyone know when and where.