It's always good to know where you can go to get great service ... especially when you need lots of it.

Say you just had a messy breakup with your boyfriend. You're heartbroken and decide you deserve a nice massage -- and, by God, a facial, too, while you're at it. At times like this, you need to know where to go.

After this encounter, you drop by that bar with the really friendly bartender who listens sympathetically as you share your woes and get totally blotto. Thus inspired, you move on to a tattoo parlor, where you either get said ex's name removed from your body or ask for an expletive to be put in front of it.

In the morning, hung-over and thoroughly ashamed of yourself, you decide you need to make some changes. So you get a new, hip haircut and switch your home over to solar power.

It's a wonder what truly great personal services can do for you.

And it's a good thing our readers weren't shy about letting us know exactly where to turn the next time you need to know.

Aesthetician

1. Amy Hobson
667-4176

2. Kelly Davis
L'eau de Vie, 20 Battery Park Ave., Suite 203, Asheville, 258-9741

3. Sensibilities
59 Haywood St., Asheville, 253-3222

Hair Stylist

1. Marc Edward
Marc Edward & Co., 1 Page Ave., Asheville, 252-3000

2. Rick Pickett
Innovations Salon, 51 Thompson St., Asheville, 225-9850

3. Christine di Benedetto
Full Circle Salon, 34 Wall St., 251-1722

Tattoo Parlor

1. Man's Ruin
857 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, 253-6660

2. Ace of Spades
506 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, 225-7969

3. Liquid Dragon
66 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville, 251-2518

Piercing Parlor

1. Man's Ruin
857 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, 253-6660

2. (tie) Liquid Dragon (251-2518), Ace of Spades (225-7969) and Pit Bull (252-1991)

Cashier/Clerk

1. Anthony Gooden (My Native Ireland)

2. (tie) Billy Ornold (Haywood Road Market) and Marlene Clevenger

3. Patti Pence

Pet Sitter

1. Jesse Edgerton
350-0766

2. At Your Bark and Call (Caren Harris)
275-5345

Boarding Kennel

1. Bed & Biscuit
1420 North Fork Rd., Black Mountain, (669-6578)

2. Top Dog Kennels
680 Old Hwy. 70, Swannanoa, 686-3175

3. (tie) Arbor Creek Kennel and Stables (645-7775) and Avery Creek Kennel (684-2161)

Veterinarian

1. (tie) Animal Hospital of North Asheville (253-3393) and Charlotte Street Animal Hospital (232-0440)

2. Cat Care Clinic of Asheville
640 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, 253-5287

3. All Pets
7 Reynolds Mountain Blvd., Asheville, 645-5252

Day Spa

1. Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa
290 Macon Ave., Asheville, 252-2711

2. Sensibilities Natural Body Care & Day Spa
59 Haywood St., Asheville, 253-3222

3. Finger Petals Salon & Day Spa
549 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, 252-5065

Massage Therapist

1. Renee Robb-Cohen
215-4270

2. Arthur Schiess
777-3622

3. Margo Ruschmann
252-5065

Yoga Instructor

1. Cindy Dollar
Dollar's new studio will open later this month at 120 Coxe Ave., Asheville, 236-0426

2. Stephanie Keach
Asheville Yoga Center, 239 S. Liberty St., Asheville, 254-0380

3. (tie) Shonna Campbel, Lilah Schwartz, Letitia Walker, Kaoverii and Asheville Yoga

Pre-school/Daycare

1. Jewish Community Center
236 Charlotte St., Asheville, 253-0701

2. YWCA
185 S. French Broad Ave., Asheville, 254-7206

3. Rainbow Mountain Children's School
574 Haywood Road, Asheville, 258-9264

Realty Company

1. Beverly-Hanks & Associates
300 Executive Park, Asheville, 254-7221; 1940 Hendersonville Road, Arden, 684-8999; and 400 Beverly-Hanks Centre, Hendersonville, 697-0515

2. Appalachian Realty Associates
23 Arlington St., Asheville, 255-7530

3. Re/Max Advantage Realty
94 Coxe Ave., Asheville, 254-0771

Real Estate Agent

1. Ben Mansell
Re/Max Advantage Realty (232-2304)

2. (tie) Betsy Reiser; Jean Baker; and Stephanie Alcazar
Appalachian Realty Associates (255-7530), Beverly-Hanks & Associates (251-1800), and Beverly-Hanks & Associates (210-2962) respectively

3. Jen Mass
Prudential Lifestyle Realty (254-7355)

Restaurant Server

1. Amber Martin (Cafe on the Square)

2. Dena Goldsmith (Trevi)

3. Gabe Gomez

Bartender/Barista

1. (tie) Maj (New French Bar) and Sonya Melton (Highland Grill & Oyster Bar)

2. (tie) Wes (Bier Garden) and Kathy Taylor (Usual Suspects/Charlotte St. Pub)

3. (tie) Susie Wagner (Gold Hill), Jeff (Grey Eagle) and Brian Postelle (Westville Pub)

Cleaning Service

1. Merry Maids
684-4837

2. Upstairs Downstairs
253-6737

3. Pristine Clean
No info available

Car-repair Shop

1. Mike Byer Auto & Truck Repair
91 Biltmore Ave., Asheville, 258-0548, and 137 Coxe Ave., Asheville, 252-7682

2. Precision International Foreign Car Service
100-A Coxe Ave., Asheville, 253-6139

3. Elff Auto Services
151 Coxe Ave., Asheville, 251-2122

Computer Repair

1. Charlotte Street Computers
195 Charlotte St., Asheville, 225-6600

2. The Electronic Office
780 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, 274-1196

3. Sassy's Computer, Inc.
85 Weaverville Hwy, 658-9474

Electrician

1. Hyatt Electric (253-0111)

2. None of them

3. (tie) Mark Prudowsky (776-8483) and Jim Hayes (254-9146)

Plumber

1. (tie) A-2-Z Plumbing (236-3880 or 423-6289) and Mountain High Plumbing (683-0028)

2. (tie) Roto-Rooter (258-8001), Mitchell West (253-5559), Christopher's Plumbing (254-8511) and Blue Sky Plumbing (251-9555)

Home Repair

1. (tie) Carpentry by Lucy (658-2228), Charles Barnett (no info available), Home Depot (667-9298 or 274-5400), "my husband" and "none of them"

2. (tie) Cody Derrick (no info available), Jim Mosley (no info available), John Nelson (no info available) and Mountain Housing Opportunities (254-4030)

Winners with this symbol have been voted best in their category for the previous four or more years.