So in the simplest terms; we provide a service. And, like any other service oriented small business like, say, hairdressers, we exist through word of mouth and repeat visits. And that's because, like the girls at the beauty parlor (each with her own station, guiding the clients around from sink to chair to that over the head large plastic drying bubble object), our technicians gently guide the guitars from case to workbench, sometimes to the buffing wheel, sometimes to the touchup finishing area, often to the computerized fretmill (PLEK) device and back to the workbench before finally easing the instrument back into its case for delivery to it's owner. And like the hairdressers, we charge money for what we do. But it's way more than just that. The money pays the bills, sure, and makes it possible to own more guitars, but the real transaction here is community.
Any decent, thriving service-based business starts at the level of community. There's lots of colorful characters out there purporting to know how to work on a guitar. Some of them actually know what they're doing, too. But what is it that makes the simple give and take of our service into a functioning and desirable community? Is it that we listen to the owner? Is it keeping our word? Is it a comfortable workplace environment? Is there some unqualifiable cool factor involved?
We're lucky, as we've mentioned before, because we love our work. Maybe that has something to do with it.
(pics: daily activity!)
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