I have always said the last thing I wanted was to train someone to repair horns but I have had a change of heart
I have been working at two stores for the last 12 years, A big Music Store chain and a smaller family owned store. The smaller store wanted to expand their repair shop and made me a offer to just work there and also to train a person to repair .It was a great offer so I took it. I quit the chain and have been working and training at the smaller store.
This store had the foresight to look into the future and realize that I would not be around forever.(I am 73) They look at it as a investment in the future. Maybe some of the store owners reading this could see they would need another trained person also.
The only way this could work would be if they payed me additional wage to train. I get a hour wage plus commission then an hour training wage on top of that. When you train someone you can't be as productive in getting the work done because that takes your time and you get distracted.That is how it has to be done.
Things are working out great. I have a young man that is just great . He is very smart and can pick up things quick and understands everything I show him. I started him on brass repairs and now he is doing most if not all of the brass work.
He does a very good job. I had him take apart flutes.clarinets,saxes and then put them back together. I have him watch me work and sometimes I just watch him.I showed him how to remove dents ,what tools to use , how to order parts and supplies.I had him take lessons on flute and clarinet. I am always telling him about construction and how things work. He does great work.
MOST IMPORTANT. You have to have a person that gets it. In this world there are people that get it and those that don't get it. In the past when I had my shop I had three people that I tried to train and none of them worked out. I made it clear that I was not going to try to train someone that was just looking for a job. I was assured that this person was well qualified and he was. He played trumpet in the high
school band and is a outstanding piano player.He knows music. He is only nineteen years old and acts like he is twenty -five. He has other duties in the store and does those jobs well. I also talk to him about how to talk to customers on the phone and at the counter. I am having him repad his first sax. A old tenor I had in my garage for twenty years.
This is great for me because I have some one that I can train with no problems
Maybe some of you tecks out there will consider starting a training program for someone.
In the old days there were big music stores for wind instruments that did a lot of business and had large repair shops and had to train people. Now that music has changed and people play different instruments those places are not around . Every body wants a discount and a most stores work on a small profit margin so it is up to us with experience to train new people.
But you have to find the right people to train.
I have been working at two stores for the last 12 years, A big Music Store chain and a smaller family owned store. The smaller store wanted to expand their repair shop and made me a offer to just work there and also to train a person to repair .It was a great offer so I took it. I quit the chain and have been working and training at the smaller store.
This store had the foresight to look into the future and realize that I would not be around forever.(I am 73) They look at it as a investment in the future. Maybe some of the store owners reading this could see they would need another trained person also.
The only way this could work would be if they payed me additional wage to train. I get a hour wage plus commission then an hour training wage on top of that. When you train someone you can't be as productive in getting the work done because that takes your time and you get distracted.That is how it has to be done.
Things are working out great. I have a young man that is just great . He is very smart and can pick up things quick and understands everything I show him. I started him on brass repairs and now he is doing most if not all of the brass work.
He does a very good job. I had him take apart flutes.clarinets,saxes and then put them back together. I have him watch me work and sometimes I just watch him.I showed him how to remove dents ,what tools to use , how to order parts and supplies.I had him take lessons on flute and clarinet. I am always telling him about construction and how things work. He does great work.
MOST IMPORTANT. You have to have a person that gets it. In this world there are people that get it and those that don't get it. In the past when I had my shop I had three people that I tried to train and none of them worked out. I made it clear that I was not going to try to train someone that was just looking for a job. I was assured that this person was well qualified and he was. He played trumpet in the high
school band and is a outstanding piano player.He knows music. He is only nineteen years old and acts like he is twenty -five. He has other duties in the store and does those jobs well. I also talk to him about how to talk to customers on the phone and at the counter. I am having him repad his first sax. A old tenor I had in my garage for twenty years.
This is great for me because I have some one that I can train with no problems
Maybe some of you tecks out there will consider starting a training program for someone.
In the old days there were big music stores for wind instruments that did a lot of business and had large repair shops and had to train people. Now that music has changed and people play different instruments those places are not around . Every body wants a discount and a most stores work on a small profit margin so it is up to us with experience to train new people.
But you have to find the right people to train.
