Sports of The Times: Mets Thank Troops in a Meaningful Setting

In a tasteful gesture to American troops in the wake of the mission against Osama bin Laden on Sunday night, the Mets’ management decided Monday morning to invite military personnel to see Tuesday’s game against the Giants.

“Four thousand tickets in 36 hours,” said Castleton, who has two sons and a daughter-in-law on active duty, often in combat. He serves by donating time and considerable energy to helping military people enjoy themselves in their off-hours.

Through his efforts, there was a modest military presence in the ballpark, which was still fairly desolate, despite the ultimate announced attendance of 32,288 for a game the Mets lost, 7-6, in 10 innings. The Mets and most other teams in baseball not drawing well because of the weather, the economy and perhaps the bloated prices of the luxury-box age.

Still, the 4,000 tickets were a nice touch, and so was the fact that the Mets had no intention of alluding to the daring mission that took out the nihilist responsible for the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We just want to say thank you,” said David Howard, the Mets’ executive vice president and general counsel, referring obliquely to what he called “the events of Sunday night.”

In addition to the military presence, it was also Asian Heritage Night, with Chinese dancers performing in the outfield before the game and a few fans in Indian saris spotted in the parking lot — a perfect potpourri for the ethnic borough of Queens.

The Mets did not intend to whip anybody into a patriotic mood akin to the spontaneous rally of Sunday night after Bin Laden’s death was announced, when young people swarmed to Lafayette Park outside the White House, climbing trees, boosting friends on their shoulders, waving flags and chanting “U.S.A.!,” the ubiquitous response to gold medals at the Olympics.

In Philadelphia, in a tie game meandering past midnight, fans chanted “U.S.A.!” It mystified the players for a while, but they caught on.

The Mets have been in the middle of responses to the attacks of 9/11. In 2001, the Mets went back to work in a subdued Pittsburgh, and the first game back in New York was at funky old Shea Stadium. New Yorkers were starting to make noise again, particularly when Mike Piazza’s home run won the game.

Bravado was still needed for the first World Series game in the Bronx late that October, and President George W. Bush’s swagger to the mound and his hard strike for the ceremonial first ball was a perfect body-language moment.

Over the years, the legacy of 9/11 became a patriotic ritual before the home half of the seventh at Yankee Stadium — long enough to freeze relief pitchers who had already warmed up.

To their credit, the Mets played it low-key Tuesday, as five service members in uniform threw out the first ball. Greg and Valerie Jensen of Ridgefield, Conn., who had paid $10,000 in an auction to throw out the ball, graciously deferred to another night. And here and there, some military uniforms were seen.

Marine Sgt. Elizabeth Qui?ones sang “God Bless America” during the traditional stretch, and the fans cheered.

It is a fact that the Mets have extra tickets. Attendance is down all over the majors, and even the Giants, the World Series champions, are not a big draw on the road. The Mets have a history with the military. Fred Wilpon helped found ’Welcome Back Veterans, which provides services for returning military members and their families. The tickets were available — and the Mets put the tickets in the hand of Castleton, who runs an Internet consulting company, in West Islip on Long Island.

“This is a wonderful country,” said Castleton, who never served in the military and is proud of his three family members who do. He was raving about the mission in Pakistan. “Kudos to the Seals for having the guts to do it, and kudos to President Obama for having the guts to order it,” he said. “And I’m a Republican,” he added.

Castleton said one of his favorite sights at U.S.O. functions is Iraq veterans looking up to Vietnam veterans. “They revere them,” he said. As Johnny Cash put it in his classic song “Drive On”:

“He said I think my country got a little off track

It took ’em twenty-five years to welcome me back.”

Castleton and the U.S.O. and the Mets found one way to welcome troops back.

But tickets are not everything. Families are under terrible stress without an adequate support system, and veterans often have to virtually beg for care when they come home damaged in body and mind.

Not long after the strike against Bin Laden, an editorial in The New York Times discussed a shortages of judges, a result of political squabbling over appointments and said, “The bureaucratic logjam for veterans pursuing benefit claims has gotten so huge that judges — in Dickensian fashion — are having to work nights and weekends as they decide more than 600 cases each annually.” The first lady, Michelle Obama, has spoken up for more support for the families of veterans.

A trip to the ballpark — and Olympic-style chants over the death of a murderer — are nice, as far as they go. They are not quite the same as a grateful nation remembering how to take care of its own.

 

Small-Business Guide: Real-Life Lessons in the Delicate Art of Setting Prices

The fear, of course, is that raising prices will send customers fleeing. While that can happen, many small businesses have raised prices and lived to tell about it.

They echo a common sentiment: setting prices strategically is not just about the numbers. Buyers are not necessarily looking for the best price, said Mark Kronenberg, founder of Math 1-2-3, a New York-based tutoring and test preparation company.

“I learned it’s a misconception that if you raise prices too much, you’ll have no business,” Mr. Kronenberg said. “There are many customers who shop based on quality, not lowest price.”

Over the years, some prospective clients have balked at Mr. Kronenberg’s rates — his highest hourly rate is now $200 — but he said the company has more than made up for the losses by attracting and retaining higher-end clients who are more inclined to keep a tutor for a long time.

“I think it’s best to avoid a race to the bottom,” he said. “It’s an easy race to win, but you won’t have a lot of profit to show for it.”

This guide offers examples of small-business owners who decided to raise prices and the lessons they learned.

DON’T ASSUME PRICE IS ALL About three years ago a computer error caused all of the prices on Headsets.com to be displayed at cost rather than retail. With the lower prices on display for a weekend, Mike Faith, the chief executive, expected sales to soar. Instead, the increase was marginal. “It was a big lesson for us,” Mr. Faith said.

He realized that sales for his company, which is based in San Francisco, were far less dependent on price than on what he now says differentiates his business: customer service. “Every call we get is answered by a human being within four rings,” he said, “and our reps are well trained and know a lot about the headsets.”

Since the incident, Mr. Faith has raised prices once, by 8 percent and without much fanfare, although regular customers were told in advance. The result? Revenue rose about 8 percent as well.

“Over all, we didn’t notice any change in sales revenues, but all our sales were of the higher margin,” he said. “Did some customers not like the price? Yes, I’m sure. But that’s the case with any price you charge — there’s always somebody cheaper. The truth about pricing is it’s an art with a little bit of science, rather than a science with a little bit of art.”

Melanie Downey, the owner of Wilava, which manufactures and sells natural skin care products, also assumed that her customers were motivated primarily by price. Over time, she realized she had set prices too low to sustain the business. Yet she hesitated to raise them because she wanted her products to be affordable for those who needed them, and many of her customers have cancer or severe skin problems, including children with eczema. Concerned about maintaining trust, she decided not to act until after the company’s spring busy season.

The increase will range from 4 percent to 20 percent across Wilava’s line. Ms. Downey has been alerting customers in person and has gotten positive, even encouraging, feedback. In the next few weeks she will begin telling online customers. “I’m nervous about that,” she said, “since I won’t get immediate feedback.”

Still, looking back at the last year, she said, “I wish I had done this months ago.”

RIVALS’ PRICES MAY NOT MATTER A lot of small-business owners set prices just by looking at what their competitors charge. Naomi Poe, founder of Better Batter Gluten Free Flour near Altoona, Pa., learned that it is important to try to understand how your customers value your product.

In the food industry, Ms. Poe said, customers generally look for the cheapest price, but because her flour and baking mixes contain no gluten, they cost more to manufacture. She initially tried to compete with products that contain gluten on price but lost money on every sale.