Mom And Pop Stores vs. Retail And Online Behemoths--What's A Guy To Do?Oct 11 '04 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line "Mom and Pop" stores are a dying breed--most of these dealers care passionately about their business and will give you the best in service and advice.
My essay today deals with some thoughts on how to select and purchase an electric guitar (or any type of guitar, for that matter). I would like to look at this issue in the context of the small retailer and his competition, that ever-burgeoning glut of huge retail chains and internet guitar dealers. I'll not refer to these behemoths by name, but most of you will know which companies I'm talking about. I bought my first guitar in 1964, at a furniture store in the small, quaint town of Henderson, Tennessee. Yep, a furniture store--apparently the gentleman who owned the store had a penchant for guitars, and there were always three or four models in stock, always used, for a prospective purchaser to inspect. Most of the time I just sat around and played the guitars, but I finally bought one, a Gibson SG, which was destroyed in an automobile accident in 1968. I almost cried over that one, but that's another story. That furniture store in Henderson, Tennessee, wasn't a "Mom and Pop" musical store, but there were many of them in surrounding rural west Tennessee. All of these stores were individually owned and operated by people who had a genuine love for musical instruments, and throughout the years I did a lot of business with many of these establishments. Inventories weren't huge, but almost everything would be in stock, from guitars and amps to strings, picks, straps, pedals and other accessories. Because these small stores were by definition "small", profit margins were razor thin, and sometimes a lot of negotiating would take place before the buyer and seller agreed on a price. Trade ins were a part of the bargaining process, and most of the "Mom and Pop" stores had a larger inventory of used instruments than new instruments. Over the years, I've watched several of the "Mom and Pop" stores go out of business. Sometimes it was because of tough economic times, but I think that the main cause of the failure of many of these stores was the advent of the huge retail chains and their brethren, the online music store. Another factor is the arrogance of some of the largest guitar manufacturers--one of my friends in the business recently told me he had to discontinue his Gibson line. It seems that he had to purchase a certain number of guitars from Gibson before he could sell the guitars, or he couldn't sell them at all. It wasn't a matter of ordering the instruments that he had a demand for--he had to take a quota to get any at all, and sometimes he wound up with guitars that would hang on his wall for literally years. But I digress--back to the point. When you select and purchase a guitar, should you do business with a "Mom and Pop" store, or should you do it with the relative ease associated with a huge retail establishment or its internet counterpart? First let me talk about the behemoths. There's no question that you can buy a guitar cheaper from a national chain, and if the price is your only consideration, then you should stop right there. Of course, you might enjoy the ever-changing personnel at your local Sam Ash (oops, I said it!)--they say that the employees at these stores change faster than the Logan's Roadhouse wait staff, so there's no guarantee that you'll be dealing with the same person from week to week. The online music store (Musician's Friend, for example) also offers excellent prices, and the luxury of dealing with a nameless, faceless beings who will have no idea who you are and what happens to you and your instrument after you give them your credit card number. In either of these situations, you're not going to get the human touch that I think is so vital to the working musician. At your local "Mom and Pop" store, you'll see the same guys there every day, and they'll know you by name too. Of course the prices will be higher because the owner is not buying the guitars at wholesale by the hundreds, but most dealers will cut it as close as they can because they want your business. There's a personal touch there that's lacking in the huge retail chains and the internet dealers, and I think that's a very important factor. Service is where I give the "Mom and Pop" stores the edge--if you've got a repair or an adjustment that's needed for your guitar, most of these dealers will get right on it and have your instrument back to you quickly. They're always available for advice, and it's sound advice, because as I said earlier, most of these people genuinely love the business and many are working musicians themselves. In short, the resources are at your fingertips and can be used immediately, without having to ship your guitar halfway around the country, the work being done by people you trust and not by some guy named Shawn or Brandon whose only training is in retail and who really doesn't care what happens to you or your guitar after you leave the store or accept the shipment. I guess I can sum it up like this (and this has happened to me before)--let's say it's Friday night at about 7:00 p. m. You've loaded in for your gig, the set up is complete, and you begin your sound check. When you turn you amp on, you discover that for some reason or another it doesn't work. Is Sam Ash gonna hustle an amp right on over to you? I think not. How about Musicians Friend? I know that the internet is lightning fast, but one's figured out yet how to teleport an amp, and they wouldn't do it anyway, even if they could. Ridiculous examples you say? Probably so, but it illustrates my point perfectly. If any "Mom and Pop" dealer can help you, he will--I can testify. Do business with the "Mom and Pop" dealers--they add the element of humanity which the behemoths sorely lack, and in most emergencies these guys are there when you need them. Day to day, their support services are invaluable, something you're not going to get from chains like you-know-who. Thanks for reading.  |
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