?uesto
Silver Member
I work at my local drum shop, (Resurrection Drums in Hollywood, FL), and I could not be a bigger advocate of going into a store and hitting drums and playing cymbals and yes, even trying on t-shirts for size. =]
Seriously though, we do all that we can an more for the community. My store hosts our local annual Big Beat in November, we're the number one supplier for local schools, churches, and studios. We are also the number one distributor for a lot of music stores' drum departments in South America and the Caribbean. We are constantly doing events and clinics geared towards kids and education that don't make us a dime.
I go into any of the Guitar Centers or Sam Ashes around us, and they don't compare. Not by a long shot. There is nothing these stores can do that rivals us in any way. Sales, customer service, knowledge, experience, passion, community outreach, education, etc. And if that's their physical store, imagine how much we have their online stores beat.
Granted, South Florida is not the place for music or music stores. I know that. It's really rough down here, and with one "Drum Store" in all of South Florida, people are forced to go to the big guys or the internet. The only other "Drum Stores" in the state are in Tampa and Orlando. Where does that leave people who have to drive more than 20 minutes to get here? They usually end up going to Sam Ash or Guitar Center or Best Buy or [at the time] Mars Music, or more likely, an online site.
And then there's the issue of stores like mine or Memphis Drum Shop or Fork's Drum Closet doing business online. I have mixed feelings on this. It's great because you're supporting us. You're supporting the little guys who do care and will accept returns and send something back to Ludwig or Gretsch or Mapex or Pearl and get a written apology with a new drum and some extras because of the trouble at no extra cost. That's how stores like us operate, and our business ethic and care for the customers and musicians does extend to our online customers and overseas customers.
That being said, there is still that element of going in and trying your instrument. I used to buy online before I knew my store existed. It was terrible. I may have had one smooth transaction with online music stores when buying my drum gear. They would send the wrong snare wires or I wouldn't like a cymbal or my drum heads would take over a month. Going into a physical store, be it Resurrection Drums or Guitar Center, certainly grants you the opportunity to play your instrument in person and see and touch and hear and feel the qualities of it. I felt uncomfortable buying run-of-the-mill cymbals online back in the day. Now that I play mostly dark, warm, hammered, cymbals, I would never consider buying one online. Unless it was something I really knew I would like at an incredible price, to where it would not be a huge loss if I didn't dig it, I won't buy it.
Why couldn't I have something like this to write about in my College Writing course? I could have written 2,000 words about this...
Seriously though, we do all that we can an more for the community. My store hosts our local annual Big Beat in November, we're the number one supplier for local schools, churches, and studios. We are also the number one distributor for a lot of music stores' drum departments in South America and the Caribbean. We are constantly doing events and clinics geared towards kids and education that don't make us a dime.
I go into any of the Guitar Centers or Sam Ashes around us, and they don't compare. Not by a long shot. There is nothing these stores can do that rivals us in any way. Sales, customer service, knowledge, experience, passion, community outreach, education, etc. And if that's their physical store, imagine how much we have their online stores beat.
Granted, South Florida is not the place for music or music stores. I know that. It's really rough down here, and with one "Drum Store" in all of South Florida, people are forced to go to the big guys or the internet. The only other "Drum Stores" in the state are in Tampa and Orlando. Where does that leave people who have to drive more than 20 minutes to get here? They usually end up going to Sam Ash or Guitar Center or Best Buy or [at the time] Mars Music, or more likely, an online site.
And then there's the issue of stores like mine or Memphis Drum Shop or Fork's Drum Closet doing business online. I have mixed feelings on this. It's great because you're supporting us. You're supporting the little guys who do care and will accept returns and send something back to Ludwig or Gretsch or Mapex or Pearl and get a written apology with a new drum and some extras because of the trouble at no extra cost. That's how stores like us operate, and our business ethic and care for the customers and musicians does extend to our online customers and overseas customers.
That being said, there is still that element of going in and trying your instrument. I used to buy online before I knew my store existed. It was terrible. I may have had one smooth transaction with online music stores when buying my drum gear. They would send the wrong snare wires or I wouldn't like a cymbal or my drum heads would take over a month. Going into a physical store, be it Resurrection Drums or Guitar Center, certainly grants you the opportunity to play your instrument in person and see and touch and hear and feel the qualities of it. I felt uncomfortable buying run-of-the-mill cymbals online back in the day. Now that I play mostly dark, warm, hammered, cymbals, I would never consider buying one online. Unless it was something I really knew I would like at an incredible price, to where it would not be a huge loss if I didn't dig it, I won't buy it.
Why couldn't I have something like this to write about in my College Writing course? I could have written 2,000 words about this...
