Klarinet Archive - Posting 000468.txt from 1999/07

From: "Aaron Hayden" <haydenmusic@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Rental instruments - you get what you are paying for.(E-11)
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 11:15:53 -0400

As I stated previously, I have a small store in Florida. Rentals are a
large part of the business, since most instrument sales are through rent to
own. Only about 1% of instrument sales are over the counter, no matter how
cheap you try to sell the instrument. People, here, want the dealer to
hold the bill. We have a satellite chain store here, and what I understand,
they started offering a 3 month special approx. 3 or 4 years ago.(i.e. a
clarinet for $7.00 a month for the 1st 3 months). To be competitive I had
to offer the same. The Replacement, Maintenance & Repair for a clarinet is
$3.00 a month. They don't have a repair shop on premises. My
Replacement, Maintenance & Repair charge is $6.00 per month for a clarinet.
$2.00 of the money goes to an insurance company(Music Agency) for a no risk
policy, to cover excessive damage and loss. If the clarinet gets lost,
stolen or damaged beyond repair, I can give my customer a brand new
replacement. The other $4.00 goes to in house repair and maintenance. I
require all rentals to be serviced every 3 or 4 months. As Margaret's shop
does, every instrument is gone over before it reaches the customer. I never
had a return because of malfunction. If a customer comes in the store to
rent the instrument, I will take the time to show the child(and may
demonstrate, by playing a little something), how to assemble and maintain
it, and may possibly attempt to start them off with their first
tones.(depending on what school they attend) But the most unfortunate
thing is, that when I visit the schools, just after the rental season, many
kids come up to me and state that their teacher said that this or that is
not working on the instrument, and ask me to fix it. These are not my
rentals, so I politely tell them that they have to go back to the store
where they rented them from. Many of the kids told me that they have
already brought the instrument back and it still don't work.
The point of all this is that unfortunately most parents don't care
where they rent the instrument, all they are looking for is the bottom line,
the price. Most parents don't care about the service, since they feel what
could possibly go wrong with the instrument. Another case in point. Last
year we have somebody selling used instruments out of their garage for
$100.00. Many parents bought these instruments. They eventually came to
me, and it was a horror show. Many of these instruments where so damaged,
it would cost more to repair them, than to band a brand new one. After I
told the parent what is was going to cost to restore the instrument in
proper playing condition, they stated that, "well my child is only a
beginner, this instrument is good enough the way it is". In a few months
the parent usually comes back to me to try to sell this piece of garbage,
because the child quit.
----- Original Message -----
From: Margaret Squires <margeaux@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Buffet E 11

> The way our shop works (one owner is a clarinetist!) for rental nights is
this:
>
> All instruments are gone through when they come through the front door,
whether they
> are brand new from the factory, or if they are a rental return. We take
as wide a
> price range of instruments to rental nights as possible. Sometimes toward
the end
> of the rental season we only have new instruments to rent. We offer a
"damage
> policy" for $2 per month (in addition to the regular monthly rental). It
covers all
> accidental damage done to the instrument. Yes, the broken tenon repair
would be
> covered. (However, when the kid had a temper tantrum and kicked his alto
sax across
> the floor, that was not covered!)
>
> Some parents want to purchase an instrument instead of rent. We discount
the price
> and offer a "guaranteed byback". They have a year from the date of
purchase to
> return the instrument for a full refund, less whatever would have been the
regular
> monthly rental for the time they had the instrument.
>
> We also offer smiles and our shop dogs to welcome you when you enter the
store!
>
> I'm not trying to advertise for our store, just want people to know that
we do
> everything we can to make ourselves competitive. The quality of
instruments that
> come out of some of the mail order catalogs is so inferior to what we
provide.
> (That's why we sent 130 flutes back to a major manufacturer to be
reworked) So,
> yes, the price may be a bit higher, but we guarantee that you will get a
quality
> produce and be satisfied with your purchase.
>
> OK, I've said WAY more than enough.
>
> Margaret
>
>
> Jack Kissinger wrote:
>
> > In St. Louis, list price is
> > the rule and I can echo the experience of Band Rental night that Jim
Hobby
> > referred to. The two large music stores that showed up (which happen to
be two
> > of the most highly regarded in town) came with stacks of new Selmer
1410's (one
> > of Selmer's plastic student models), still in their original sealed
plastic
> > wrapping, dispensed like hotcakes to eager (but mostly naive) parents
for only
> > $650 apiece (about $300 above mail-order price, I would guess). Would
these
> > stores replace a pad that had fallen out or a bumper cork or repair a
bent key?
> > Probably. But suppose a kid dropped the instrument and broke a tenon
three or
> > four weeks after the purchase. Would the store rebuild (about a $70
job) it for
> > free? Perhaps but, having lived here for over 20 years observing the
local
> > stores, I doubt it. Seems to me $300 will buy alot of service and the
> > difference between local and mail order prices on professional models is
even
> > greater.
>
>
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