Cam ordered a kit from me . . . here is his story of customer service:

Kind Words from Charlotte Hogan

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I heard the music of a dulcimer last October for the first time (to recognize it, anyway) and loved it. Then and there, I decided I wanted to learn to play one. The fellow making and playing them assured me if I knew how to play the piano it would not be too hard for me to learn. I bit the bullet and ordered one. When I received it, I realized I did not know one thing about playing any kind of stringed instrument. I found your site on the Internet and was thrilled. It was exactly what I needed to learn about the dulcimer and get me started.

Sincerely,

Nora Buttram

Jeff,

I received the new soundboard today. You chose a beautiful piece of poplar for me! Thank you very much. I will send the original one back to you as soon as I can get to the post office (should be in the next few days).

I have been having a great time building the dulcimer. I have the peg head and fret board completed so far and I am about ready to start on the body. Like your instructions say, I am trying to take my time and do a nice job to make sure there are no mistakes. Thank you again for a great kit. I will let you know how it turns out.

Also, I can't tell you how good it feels to know that there are still good honest people selling on eBay that truly care about their customers. Your kind is becoming rarer every day.

Thanks Again,

Jim

This is not my first Jenny Wiley dulcimer. A few years back, before I started looking at eBay, I bought a couple of kits from you and built them. They are still the most beautiful primitive dulcimers I've ever seen, certainly the finest kits I know. They're unabashedly "old-timey". It's one of their strengths.

I can't begin to express the feeling of connectedness with my south-central Virginia roots I felt the first time I picked out a melody that I knew from far more sophisticated arrangements with my forefinger and a simple open drone and heard it transformed into the type of old mountain tune I heard on my grandmother's front porch when I was a kid. I guess everyone has a story like that. Ever since I discovered you were making hour glass kits, I've been waiting for the right time to get one. I'll have to do a little more work on this one, but still, I can't wait to hear it. Thanks again.

Rick Reynolds

I am basically just someone who loves to sing in my own private space, I'm not a performer but love the sound of the dulcimer and thought it might be a nice simple accompaniment to my more musical moments.

I looked on the web at a lot of different dulcimers actually but in the end found my choice wasn't based just on pure instrument quality.

Then when I went to your web site and you mentioned giving 10 percent to God, I thought, "hey...this instrument must have been made by a brother in Christ. Since I believe God blesses the work of our hands then I believe and instrument made by a brother will carry a blessing with it.

I also think that there is something quite fitting about buying a dulcimer hand-made in the foothills of Kentucky. It might not make you more of an expert than a dulcimer maker here where I live, in a northern urban area, but it seems like maybe you might have more of a heart for the music of this instrument, living in that part of the country.

Then...I read the story of Jenny Wiley and decided I liked the thought of playing an instrument named after a woman of courage and strength, who in the face of great tragedy chose to not give up on life. May some of that determination come through the music I play on this instrument as well.

Well none of those things speaks really to how the instrument itself sounds...for that I took a leap of faith. And now that the instrument has arrived and I've begun playing it, the sound of the instrument itself is true and sweet. It is both a visual and musical treat. I am quite happy with it. Thanks.