K. Ray Katz

By most standards I am a senior citizen, but like most “old people” I do not think of myself as being old – just highly experienced. I grew up in Baltimore where most of my family and my two lovely daughters still reside. I have enjoyed over thirty years in the hearing care field as a Dispenser and business owner. I started out as an in-home sales and service consultant before working with an ENT and finally buying a well-established hearing aid sales and audiometer servicing business in Tucson, AZ. That office grew into several offices with three Dispensers and three Audiologists. During those years I wrote articles for a number of different trade publications, gave lectures, and was an officer of several state and national organizations. My hobbies are rebuilding our house – we never get finished with one before starting the next – and writing – although some of my readers have probably wondered if English was my first or second language. Eclectic is a word that describes my varied work history: New York Stage Manager working with artists such as Joan Baez, Isaac Stern, and Robert Frost; Special Agent/Investigator for Military Counter-Intelligence (please – no jokes) in the US, Europe and Asia; and Sales/Distribution Manager for a large East-Coast bakery. My wife and I now make our home in Henderson, NV when not traveling in our motor home.

Immortality is Not an Option

Immortality is not an option! Whether it is a human being or a business, we are born, live and die. What happens, however, to a business when it is closely identified with its owner, as are hearing aid dispensing or audiology practices, when the owner passes from us? Just as every well-run office has a business plan, it should also

Advertising – What’s Your Opinion?

Everyone has an opinion on what type of advertising is best. But the question remains…best for what? Confused? Well let me try to explain, then please jump in with your thoughts. Advertising in the purely commercial sense of the word is designed to bring in business. Anything you say or print is okay as long as it does not violate

I Know You Believe

I know you believe you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. A plaque with this quotation sits in front of me as I write this blog. It sat on my desk in front of every client I saw for almost thirty years. I never

Getting A Little Lazy

You Know you should – You know you should…but. How many times has something you know you should be doing risen to the top of your mind, only to once again slip below the surface? It happens to everyone and usually involves something you really don’t want to do, unless you are really old. When it involves chores around the

Product or Service?

A few days ago I wanted to see if I should change my Cable TV and Internet service. We have had DirecTV for over twelve years and now that we live in Las Vegas I wanted to see what was being offered. Before you continue, remember I’m “old.” I was raised in an era when a business, any business, provided

Who’s Really in Charge?

Some years ago a good friend, Joel Mynders from Philadelphia, told me a story which I am going to paraphrase – badly. He told me that he was at a dinner in Europe and happened to get seated next to the President of Siemens. In the course of their conversations Joel mentioned that he was a Siemens customer. ” Oh?”

A Kept Man

As the saying goes “No man is an island…” Everyone needs someone, or in my case, several women. Their names – Cecelia, Rita, Halene, and Monique. These women were listed as employees but they were so much more! They were my front office people – the first people my clients met when they entered any of my offices. They greeted

Ethics – An Audiology View

Two weeks ago I finished writing what I thought was my last blog on ethics. I mean, “Who wants to read my thoughts on ethics, week after week?” So I was surprised to get several comments about my comments and then I received the following response from Mike Metz. (See below.) Mike was in private practice for 30 years and

Cerumen Removal – A Sticky Subject

Cerumen Removal – A Sticky Subject How do you handle a client who has come in for a test but has an accumulation of cerumen in the ear canal? Hey – where else would there be an accumulation of cerumen? Every professional has run into the situation where there is a highly motivated client who only took six years to

Batteries – How Do You Use Them?

With the exception of your Ray-O-Vac, Eveready, Duracell, Power One, Etcetera, factory rep. most people think batteries are a boring subject. They are small, cheap, and rarely do you have to worry about how they will work (unless a particular company’s battery shell design is just a little bit off). So how do you make batteries exciting in your office?