Re: Appointments and metaphors

[Nick Carbone <ncarbone@lamar.ColoState.EDU>]

After reading how complex and rule driven handling visiting writers can
be, whether they must appoint or can arrive more spontaneously, and
after reading about the dangers of medical metaphors, we've
decided to switch to a restaurant metaphor and to treat our customers
accordingly. 

So if a writer calls for an appointment, we tell them we don't accept
reservations, that it's first come, first served. If they arrive as a drop
in, we tell them reservations are required and though our staff do not
seem to be working with anyone at the moment, rest assured they are
reserved.

We've done this for the past week, and now we have a waiting line at the
door. So we've hired, well, not quite a bouncer, but a beefy greeter let's
say. Of course we check i.d.'s and famous people get in quickly and
discretely (through our other door); we seat them in a private workshop
area.

Next week week we're upgrading our handout list and going to a price fixe
menu of offerings. All of our desktops have linen table clothes.
Now that we're quite exclusive and a bit snooty, business is booming
enough to charge way too much, but then, that's beauty of running a
nouvelle writing center.  We call ourselves Les Aide Des Plumes. Our phone
number is now unlisted, and we've hired a famous writer to cook up tasty,
but light prose to order.



-- 
Nick Carbone, Writing Center Director
 
CSU Writing Center        http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/WritingCenter
6 Eddy Hall                          writingcenter@vines.colostate.edu
491-0222                 Personal e-mail: ncarbone@lamar.colostate.edu