How I saved a client $60,000 (or, Where To Tap)

Long ago--in a more steampunk age--there was a rich factory owner whose factories were sitting silent. The boiler that powered all of them was broken. He hired expert after expert, consultants and scientists with rooms full of scientific-looking testing equipment. None of them could figure out why the boiler wouldn't hold any pressure.

One day, as the factory owner was getting very desperate, an unassuming boilerman with a very small toolbox came to his office.

"I hear you're having trouble with your boiler," the boilerman said.

"I am," the owner replied, "but all of the best boilermen have been through here and none of them have been any help. What makes you any different?"

"Probably nothing," the boilerman said. "How about I take a look at it. If I can't fix it, you've lost nothing."

The factory owner thought for a moment, sighed his resignation, and led him to the boiler. The man looked at it for a moment and opened his bag to reveal a small rubber mallet, a piece of chalk, and nothing else.

"That's it? Where is all of your equipment?" the factory owner laughed.

The boilerman nodded, smiled, and marked a small 'X' on the side of the boiler. He picked up the mallet and tapped on the chalk mark, and the boiler roared to life. The owner was surprised but very excited.

A few days later, he got a bill from the boilerman for $1000. He called the boilerman into his office.

"What's this?" he shouted. "All you did was tap it with your little hammer! I'd like for you to itemize this bill for me, please."

The boilerman returned with another bill. The owner read it.

"For tapping with the mallet, $15. For knowing where to tap, $985."

Saturday August 13 11:59 AM

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The 3232 Design Blog is here to help you with your small business marketing and graphic design needs. If you feel your needs are not being met, please post a comment and it will be answered in the order in which it was received.

2011

August

How I saved a client $60,000 (or, Where To Tap) - 08/13/11 11:59 AM

July

Different Strokes - 07/19/11 5:30 PM

May

Does Spam Work? - 05/23/11 11:59 AM

April

John Scalzi's Head in a Jar - 04/27/11 8:18 PM

February

Minneapolis tomato t-shirt. Or, Search Engine Optimization Basics - 02/16/11 9:12 AM

January

Chronicle of Sorrows Walkthrough - 01/18/11 10:49 AM

2010

July

Tesfa.org - We're taking off! - 07/22/10 3:10 PM

April

Chronicle of Sorrows Walkthrough - 04/17/10 8:21 AM
Bitter Seeds launches today! - 04/13/10 9:27 AM

March

Tiny Planets - 03/29/10 9:21 PM
Stephenson's Desk - 03/26/10 7:44 AM

February

IE6 Transparent PNG Fix - 02/03/10 2:7 PM

January

Amazon vs. Macmillan - 01/31/10 4:53 PM
Dear Prospective Client, - 01/10/10 11:0 AM
Why I quit my day job in the middle of an unemployment crisis - 01/10/10 10:54 AM
How to fly - 01/05/10 6:20 PM

2009

November

My first published book cover! - 11/06/09 9:18 PM

October

Art opening October 15 at Theatre in the Round - 10/13/09 12:55 PM

September

The power of symbolism - 09/11/09 1:57 PM

August

Show, don't tell. - 08/27/09 8:25 AM

June

Art opening July 5 at Anodyne Cafe - 06/21/09 6:46 PM
CONvergence presentation: Web Design for Geeks - 06/21/09 6:32 PM
You know you're a designer if... - 06/15/09 9:41 AM
Here's why the web is awesome - 06/04/09 8:16 PM

April

Awesomely Venerable Code - 04/04/09 4:2 PM
Books, servers, and conventions: Episode IV of Radical Transparency Theatre - 04/03/09 9:55 AM

March

Steampunk Tutorial Revisited - 03/23/09 7:40 PM
Ask A Designer - 03/23/09 5:21 PM
The Unincorporated Man website: is it sticky? - 03/18/09 9:28 PM
CSS Guru: Clever CSS Tricks: Opacity - 03/12/09 12:0 PM
The Great Twitter Experiment - 03/10/09 8:37 PM
Creepy eyeball art gallery showing this weekend - 03/05/09 7:14 PM
The Unincorporated Man Wallpapers - 03/02/09 7:45 PM

February

Lost in Boskone - 02/16/09 11:58 PM
Why you should redesign your web site - 02/07/09 2:51 PM

January

3232 Design has massive hardware - 01/31/09 10:35 PM

2008

November

How to find Inspiration - 11/16/08 4:33 PM

October

3232 Design won two W3 Awards! - 10/17/08 7:10 AM
Nobrow Cartoons launch - 10/10/08 4:17 PM

September

How to stroke text in Illustrator: A tutorial - 09/23/08 5:29 PM
How about spam, spam, spam, email, spam? That hasn't got much spam in it. - 09/23/08 11:2 AM

August

The design process - 08/22/08 8:57 PM
Always make time for marketing - 08/17/08 10:38 PM

July

Insource your design - 07/12/08 10:1 PM

June

Adequate Design Agency, Inc. - 06/26/08 7:4 AM
More Guerilla Marketing Analysis - 06/17/08 11:4 PM
Ask a designer - 06/16/08 6:30 AM
What on Earth are you people searching for? - 06/13/08 9:21 PM
The art of self-promotion - 06/12/08 6:4 PM
Hand-made web sites - 06/10/08 4:11 PM
Why use a Graphic Design Contract? - 06/10/08 5:34 AM
Working Vacation - 06/01/08 8:45 PM

May

What's up, HOW? - 05/29/08 3:59 PM
Honing your marketing message - 05/23/08 6:58 AM
Designing your business - 05/22/08 5:56 PM
HOW-blogging the live conference - 05/21/08 8:22 AM
HOW update; involves horses - 05/20/08 8:46 AM
Designing your life - 05/19/08 12:23 PM
Hung-over-blogging the HOW Conference - 05/19/08 7:38 AM
HOW Keynote - 05/18/08 6:42 PM
Live-blogging the HOW Conference - 05/18/08 6:36 AM
HOW to network - 05/17/08 1:12 AM
Alternative Reality Games - 05/14/08 8:45 PM
Steampunk Tutorial - 05/13/08 10:14 PM
10% off your next design project - 05/09/08 11:9 PM
Cross-browser and cross-platform web design - 05/05/08 10:32 PM
Web design as an art form - 05/02/08 6:5 PM
What on Earth are you people searching for? - 05/01/08 11:23 PM

April

Lorem ipsum - 04/28/08 11:33 PM
Ask a designer - 04/24/08 8:30 PM
Practical advice for design graduates - 04/23/08 6:53 PM
SteamPunk'd - 04/20/08 4:28 AM
Welcome to cloudy Florida - 04/18/08 7:5 AM
Vacation - 04/17/08 8:39 AM
Care and feeding of your expert web designers - 04/15/08 5:22 PM
Understanding Google Analytics for Small Businesses - 04/14/08 3:37 PM
The revolution will not be synthesized - 04/12/08 4:12 PM
Minneapolis, the City of (3232) Design - 04/11/08 4:47 PM
Say, that's a Cool Home Page you got there. It would be a shame if it were to get Slashdotted. - 04/10/08 9:7 PM
Fear + sex = sales - 04/10/08 4:55 PM
Lies, damn lies and page hits - 04/09/08 2:35 PM
Confusion as a marketing tool - 04/08/08 8:20 PM
How much does a website cost? - 04/07/08 6:46 PM
Welcome, Deviants - 04/06/08 1:12 PM
Recipe for soft-launched stew - 04/05/08 5:14 PM
Renaissance Man in the Age of Steampunk - 04/02/08 8:38 PM
Radical Transparency - 04/01/08 8:39 PM