I earned a hug today.

A young lady came into the studio with a VHS videotape and a story. The tape contained footage of her mother who had died when my client was still a child. The tape was supposedly lost and there was no other recorded footage of her mom. Thankfully, the tape was recently found. She was both excited and anxious about two things. One, she wanted to have this tape transferred to a format she could actually watch. Two, she didn’t want to let the tape out of her sight for a moment.

I understand this. The value of a videotape cannot be measured in dollars and cents. It’s measured in laughter and tears. When you possess an irreplaceable item it becomes priceless to you.  I work hard to deserve the trust people place in me when they hand over their precious memories for me to work on.

So I did something that only a small, independently owned business can do. I promised this young lady that her tape was in safe hands and that it would be the next tape transferred. I offered her our DVA service so when the transfer was completed, she could begin watching her movie on her smartphone immediately. She decided to take in the sights of Mount Dora while her tape was being transferred.

Two hours later, she returned to the shop to pick up her original tape, She had already begun watching her DVA as she made her way back. She was so thankful for the service we provided, the care we took, and the speed with which we delivered that she refused to shake my hand. I got a hug instead.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit http://www.homevideostudio.com/mtd