We will now interrupt the regularly scheduled program for this good old boys micro podcast. Sometimes you make the decision to pick up some deli meat at the store and then eat said deli meat. And then you get to deal with the consequences of eating said deli meat with about four days of food poisoning. And if you're like me in that experience over the last few days, you start to contemplate uh a potential early demise, or at least so it felt that way at the time. And as I'm sitting here musing over uh all the things that I have to do and have not been getting done, including uh publishing these micro podcasts and our our Wednesday weekly release of interviews, uh I started thinking more about expectation setting when it comes to life delays uh and how it relates to the shop and I don't know how all that works, right? Because the reality is is that when we make things, we definitely set expectations with our customers on when they feel that um it's appropriate to receive that thing we make and also to potent potential time delays that we have. But if you're like me, uh life things just I don't know, they just seem to to pop up all the time. Um, you know, being in a uh like a parental uh situation with my daughter and and her uh heart heart issues, uh, we oftentimes get spur-of-the-moment things that crop up and they take first priority. You know, she's a she's a heart kid. Um luckily that's toned down quite a bit over the years, but it used to happen fairly often, sometimes on on a daily or weekly basis. And there were lots of times we'd have to go to the hospital and spend hours, if not days, uh doing that that thing. Um, you know, uh I put my family first, and there's lots of times when uh things crop up. Um I don't often get sick, knock on wood, but uh when it does, usually it's for a few days. I don't I don't know why. I very, very, very seldom get sick, but when I do, it's I'm usually down for several days. And uh recently, uh within the last few days, that was uh apparent to me as well. Um and I I I think what I would say is the most important thing when addressing timelines, expectations, and deliverability with your customers is that there has to be a certain uh ebb and flow or give and take to um when things are made and when they're delivered. And if you stick to too tight of a time frame when you're setting expectations, I uh you're going to run into some issues because uh there are customers who are not as lenient as others. You know, if you say it's going to be three weeks, uh three weeks is the expectation. If it turns into four weeks, uh then uh you're under threat of losing the sale. Uh any longer than that, they might want discounts or things like that. And you have to be uh very upfront about w what you're willing to compromise on. Either it's the the work takes a certain period of time to make. Uh that's just the way that it is. But when does that become too much? Um, you can't just keep kicking a can down the road. At some point in time, you have to make the things and you can't make excuses um uh as to why you can't deliver. So this is kind of the the uh philosophy that I follow. Setting reasonable expectations um is always a good thing. But the most important component of uh making things and if there are life delays, is to be transparent about those things. Um, you know, to be honest about this is the delay that's occurring. Um I imagine that this will add this much time, assuming these things, is that still okay? And then move on. Um there are lots of times if I make uh if I make knives and I think that's going to be several months, then I'll make it known uh that it will be. And if there's any delays on top of that, obviously it pushes it back. Uh the largest uh contributing factor for that with me is the fact that I do carry a day job. And the reality is that as much as I want to deliver your knife uh within a given period of time, um, you know, paying the bills that keep the lights on, uh that's my number one priority. Number two is my family, and number three is your knives. Now, if there's special considerations like uh gifts for certain events or things like that, I will try uh my hardest to make sure that those are delivered within that time frame, right? Because the impetus for you doing business with me is obviously that I meet those uh type of criteria. Um so I always try to do that and and keep it within time frame. But I think it's important to remember that regardless of whether you're accepting money up front, like a deposit or a hundred percent up front, or you're or you're uh waiting until you're actually starting to make it or after it's done to accept money, uh you have to think about what is your word worth, right? And if your word is your bond and and that's what you're committing to, then it is your obligation to make sure that you communicate appropriately if there's going to be any large delays or things like that. And um I honestly have always had really chill customers. Um, you know, everybody's been willing to work with me on anything that uh that's popped up, that's put in delays or whatever. And I when I commit to something, um, especially if we're uh doing deposits or things like that on certain types of works, I I'll make it. Like the only thing that would contribute to that and not happening is if I died. But um I've I've always had really reasonable and honestly very patient customers. So I I appreciate that. Uh and I wouldn't I wouldn't change anything about the type of uh customers that work with me because of that. So um it's something to think about. Um you have to you have to think about that, I believe, when you start going into the market of of selling your knives and uh building customer rapport and things, because if you are not setting the tone and committing to your work and committing to timelines and things like that, then there's really no expectation for a customer. And I I honestly believe that uh there's a lot of bad feelings or sour taste in a customer's mouth that can develop because of lack of communication. Not that you say that it's going to be six or eight months from today, uh, but because you're just not saying anything, and then they have an expectation and you didn't set any expectations, and now there's a difference of opinion or disappointment in their eyes because they were looking forward to something that really wasn't talked about. So I hope that helps. Really get to know your customers, talk through things. If there are delays, make sure that you're overcommunicating on them, but also remember that at the at some point in time, uh, delay upon delay is is just an excuse to some extent, even though they're understandable. You have to be able to uh learn what the limiting factor is on those things and just get the thing done when you have the window and commit to uh to the work.