In the Midwest and Eastern United States, most music stores with Band and Orchestra departments provide a representative from their store to schools (especially in rural areas). But in the state of California, this type of service is unheard of. In the past year, due in part to the recession, some music stores have closed or refocused their emphasis. Therefore, the need for this type of service grows greater, leaving stores with road reps having to pick up the slack.
You may be asking, “What is a Road Rep?” Hopefully, by the end of this blog post, you will be asking, “How can I get one?”
A Road Representative from a Band and Orchestra music store is a well rounded music retail professional who bridges the gap between what the music educator needs to run their programs successfully and the service(s) that the store provides. The following is a list of what a well rounded Band and Orchestra store provides:
• Repairs
• Rentals
• Lessons
• School Bid Sales
• Retail Instrument Sales
• Accessory sales to both the school and students
• Clinics and special events
• Donations in the form of advertisements
Now this sounds all fine and dandy, but when all of this could be brought to your door (in addition to the time saved in doing the research and handling of all the aforementioned services), this becomes an extreme value.
But it doesn’t stop there. Your Road Rep is not simply a “delivery boy.” He is extremely knowledgeable about all music retail and can answer any questions you may have as well as provide suggestions on products that best suit you and your students’ needs.
Many times the Road Rep can make on-the-spot repairs and/or suggest the best route to take in maintenance and repair of your instruments. He can also make suggestions as far as what product is best used in specific situations and provide a number of alternatives. He is well aware of new products on the market and generally uses music educators as feedback when it comes to sampling these new products.
At California Keyboards Music Center, our Road Reps are unique. We provide courteous, knowledgeable, and speedy service. We also cater their focus to your needs. If all you need is repair service, we make sure repairs get done in a timely manner as well as to your specifications. We also can provide accessory sales to your students as a better alternative to driving an hour to the next store or dealing with a store that doesn’t have a Band and Orchestra emphasis and doesn’t understand your needs. We have competitive prices to those found on the Internet–and faster service. We can bring step-up or Pro model instruments for your students to sample. There are also special promotions and sales we can inform you about. Lastly, you have a face to do business with rather than a voice over the phone or a cold, unresponsive computer screen.
Road Reps are your music education retail consultant. You will notice your stress level decrease and your time to focus on what truly matters increase –producing quality young musicians as our Road Reps handle all your music needs. Although you may have never known such a professional ever existed, it is well worth having somebody in the retail business working on the inside for your best interest.
Road Reps are your hook-up.
