Klarinet Archive - Posting 001090.txt from 2004/07

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Feeling like Yamaha is one stupidly run company!
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 12:07:24 -0400

At 09:04 AM 7/30/2004 -0500, Christy Erickson wrote:
>I live in a town of 18,000. We have 2 music stores in town and neither one
>caters to it's customers very well. I know of no musician in town who
>enjoys going to one of them in particular, and the other has nothing on the
>shelves. The next largest town is 45 miles away.

Surprising. I am in a town of 40,000+ and we (my old employer) are the
ONLY store dealing in band instruments or orchestral strings. There is a
guitar/drum place down the street. In the next, larger town (10 miles or
so) a branch of our store is still the only one. There is a store in
another nearby town of 20,000+ to the west, but the local band directors
there (with a large and high-quality band and orchestra program) discourage
their students from going there and recommend us. To the north, I don't
think there is another store for 150 miles. In spite of the "monopoly" it
is a struggle to make ends meet, given the weak economy we have faced
recently, the First Act and other instrument-shaped objects, internet
sales, etc. Of course, it costs money to provide quality service!

>Every music store I've ever been asked to work for charges the students a
>set rate for music lessons and the teacher is charged %50 of that rate for
>the use of the space. Needless to say, I do far better teaching in my home
>studio.

Our store rents studio space too, but not at 50%! That's pretty steep!

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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