Professional genea-mates…. How many times have clients questioned, “How long will it take for you to find X, Y or Z?” Have you had people query your quote or ask if you could “do it any cheaper?” Sometimes, it seems to me as though people expect miracles in five minutes from us genealogists! Occasionally, magic can be achieved in a short space of time but this is a rare occurrence rather than the norm, don’t you find?
Would you ask an accountant if s/he could do the work you requested quicker? You might consider asking a professional if “that’s the best price”…. However, in my opinion, people expect genealogists to work for a much lower rate than other professionals. But, why is that?
At Family Wise Limited, we change lives. Often that takes a long time to achieve though! It doesn’t happen overnight. We can’t just flick a switch and make your family tree pop up out of nowhere…. or ensure that your birth family want to get in touch with you when you decide to make contact. But the “yippee” moments are well worth waiting for, whether it’s been a few days, a few weeks or a few months of waiting.
In the offices of FWL, we often scare the residents (two small furry creatures) when the cries of “Yippee”, “Get in there!” and other such phrases are uttered at high volume. This does not happen every day though sometimes – like today (Saturday) – it occurred on two separate occasions. Firstly, when an entry was located on Find A Will which showed the married sister of the deceased as administrator (thus confirming the link between the two siblings) and secondly, when we managed to work out the married name of a lady born with a relatively common surname (and hence, find an address and contact telephone number).
Two in one day…. what will Sunday bring? [A rest day?….Maybe…. Haha….]
Source image: Journey To Chew On
