This week at Matchmaker, we’ve been talking about “drills” and “holes” just as much as we’ve been talking about trucks. That’s because we have a new page on our website entitled: Why We’re Not in the Business of Finding Trucks (and why you might be our perfect match…)
This process of going public with a profile of our typical customer and our approach to helping said customer reminded me of an old joke that perfectly illustrates why it’s all about “the hole” (and not necessarily about “the drill”):
An entrepreneur attended an auction at which he won the bid on an old safe. He was told that the business from which the safe originated was so long defunct, that no one had the combination. Undaunted, with dreams of a large fortune inside, he called a locksmith to try to get the safe open.
The first locksmith told the entrepreneur that it would cost $40 dollars to open the safe intact. However, tried as he might, he couldn’t open it. He walked away from the job, telling the entrepreneur that his purchase was a bust.
The entrepreneur then contacted another locksmith, a crusty old man with three days’ growth of white whiskers. The old locksmith took a long look at the safe, noted its manufacturer, and went out to his truck. Shortly, he returned with a power drill, a ruler, and a small, bent piece of metal.
The locksmith measured a few inches from the dial and marked an “x” at the “2 o’clock” mark. It took more than ½ an hour for the old man to drill through the safe’s door. He then took the bent metal, hooked it through the hole and fished around for a while until a loud “CLICK” was heard. He turned the handle, and the door swung open to reveal an empty safe.
Disappointed, the entrepreneur asked the locksmith charge for opening the safe.
“$120 dollars,” replied the locksmith.
“$120 dollars?!” shouted the incredulous businessman, “That’s outrageous! The other man only wanted $40! I want an itemized bill!”
“Okay”, replied the locksmith as he headed to his truck. A few minutes later, the locksmith presented the entrepreneur with a dirty piece of paper upon which he had written:
Charge for drilling hole: $20
Charge for knowing WHERE to drill hole: $100.
Enjoy your weekend,
~Bob
