Understanding Techs: But why won't you fix it?!

Maybe you're just an elitist.

Story Time

Long ago in the mist shrouded past when heroes walked the land and … oh, stuff that. Back in the 1990’s…

I was apprenticed to a couple of technicians in a music store outside of Cleveland, OH and learning the fine balance of providing good customer service and not costing the company money in the process. One of the technicians was the owner of the store — a multi-generational family business — and had serious people skills. She could make anyone feel at ease and welcome, but kept a close eye on the return on that application of skill in the form of customer satisfaction and sales. Places where this discerning eye often came to rest were related to what type of instrument was accepted for repair.

There were certain brands of instruments we simply did not work on. They were poorly made instruments to start with, they were acoustically questionable, parts were unavailable or hard to come by, and repairing them always required more time than was expected with the result being an instrument that still played quite poorly. Dealing with these instruments was always a losing battle. You would spend all this time and never get an instrument that played well. If the instrument didn’t play well it did not bode well for the potential customer satisfaction. Best not to skip tra-la-la into that minefield in the first place.

The other repair technician who was training me was a subcontractor who did repairs out of the store 2-3 days a week. His main shop was a few towns to the east. He was much more pragmatic minded and often disagreed with the idea of turning away minor repairs. Everyone’s money was the same color. Discussions between the two techs often ended with the owner of the store pulling rank and saying, “but that is not how we do it here.”

One day, while the store owner was away, a customer came in with a flute that would have normally been gently turned away. The branding on the flute was not even in a western alphabet. I knew it was a non-starter and watched the person manning the counter try to diplomatically tell the customer we did not work on such instruments. It is a carefully honed customer service skill to tell someone you’re not going to work on their junk instrument without telling them it is a junk instrument. The subcontractor tech happened to be near the front counter and sauntered over to take a look at it and drop some knowledge. He listened to the description of the concern, spotted the likely cause, and despite the standing orders to not work on things like that, said, “be right back” and departed with the flute to the shop in the back of the store.

I watched over his shoulder as he described something about a misaligned post being the source of the ailment, spoke sagely about how sometimes you have to do little things like this to build more customer loyalty so that the next time they come back you can sell them a “real” flute more easily. It made sense. With the flute mounted on a wood mandrel he positioned a small dowel against the misaligned post and gave it a medium-light tap with a small rawhide mallet.

With that simple tap, which I had seen him do countless times on all sorts of instruments, half of the keys instantly fell off the body. It wasn’t that the keys came loose as they would if you took the screws out. The entire key mounting system of posts and ribs attached to the body detached as if only held on by glazed donut frosting and good intentions.

Both of us were in a bit of shock. The customer was waiting at the counter, the last thing they knew was the repair tech had taken their instrument in to the back to fix it (“be right back”), and now it was in pieces mostly on the floor of the shop.

To repair such a catastrophic failure would have required multiple hours of bench time and ended up costing double or triple the monetary value of the instrument. When he said “be right back”, it was a major faux pas. My friend ended up talking to the customer and replacing the flute that had fallen apart on him with a used name brand flute of known quality from his own inventory. It was not a comfortable conversation with the customer, but it all came out ok in the end. When the boss returned to the store, there was a big “I told you so” accompanied by “that’s why we do it this way in this store” for everyone to hear.

Techs turn down repairs all the time, but it is not limited to cheap junk that falls apart. Have you had a repair turned away? It is a more common occurrence and will likely be more prevalent in the future. Why is that?

Pig Ears and Chicken Soup

Turning away a repair is an increasingly common occurrence, but I refer to it in a broad sense. It is certainly not common for instruments like the one in the story to fall apart, spontaneously combust, or implode under dark forces from a black vortex of evil and hate. What I refer to more broadly is a potential repair that is unlikely to meet the expectations of the technician, the player, or both.

Technicians are faced with this sort of conundrum routinely: should I fix this or turn it away? Can it get it going for the player and if so will it be a waste of time and resources? Ultimately, am I going to lose money on this in the short and long term? Will this job threaten my reputation? Will turning away this repair threaten my reputation?

Most important to understand is that this sort of situation does not have to involve some sort of dubious import instrument of questionable quality. This can happen with top shelf, even hand made instruments that have been damaged or worn out. This can happen with midrange instruments where players expect more from them than they are designed or intended to provide.

A couple of sayings come to mind: You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear, and, you shouldn’t make chicken soup from chicken poop.

You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.
In the first saying, essentially, you can’t make something of high quality out of something that is not able to provide that quality. It could be the best sample of a pig’s ear ever seen, it could be made into a very handsome wallet by a skilled tanner or tailor, but it will never be able to be a silk purse. Ever. Now, there’s a lot of daylight between the two and this can be confusing when applied to musical instruments. An intermediate saxophone looks much the same as a professional one. Likewise, a midrange clarinet has a striking resemblance to a professional model. But they are not the same.

Even if one were to compare 2 handmade flutes of the same make and similar vintage, if one were regularly maintained and the other spent its life going for repair only when things broke down, the latter suffering from excessive wear to the mechanical components will have become the sow’s ear in this comparison. It will never be able to regain the intended dimensions and tolerances demonstrated by the properly maintained example. It could maybe be restored to excellent precision at considerable cost, but there are limitations.

Every instrument is an individual case. If I am a specialist in Mollenhauer contrabassoons (I’m not), and an average repair costs $Whatever, it does not mean my default setting is to accept any Mollenhauer contra that comes in with any expectation of that price being representative or binding.

Application of this saying is all about tempering expectations. You have to know what you have in reality and compare it objectively to what you want the result to be. I have many customers who have decent midrange instruments but operate under the cognitive dissonance that they are on equal footing to professional model instruments. Objectively, they are not. These instruments are most certainly very fine instruments for the player’s needs as far as meeting them where they are in their budget and ability. But they are the sow’s ear in this tale and no matter how much they love their sow’s ear, once they start inquiring about qualities only found in a silk purse, there are limited options. If you are unsure of what you have on the scale between silk purse and sow’s ear, ask.

Don’t make chicken soup from chicken poop.
This is an easy concept to grasp. If you don’t have the proper ingredients, or if the ingredients are of questionable quality, the results will not be as you expect.

This is not to say that lesser instruments are “poop”. Well, to be honest, some are; but most, particularly instruments made by an established brand, are well made and reliable for what they are. What matters is that people do not conflate that an instrument being a make with a good reputation means that all offerings of that brand are of the same level of quality, precision. and durability. When people do not fully understand or (worse) choose to openly disregard the difference in levels of instruments, it sets up the playing field full of errant expectations, assumptions, and potential conflict.

The Changing Landscape of Instrument Repair

There are a couple of details everyone who may have need of instrument repair needs to understand clearly:

There are more instruments in need of repair than there are trained technicians or hours in the day to do those repairs.

Regardless of the number of potential repairs, repair technicians cannot continue to pursue their vocation if they cannot make a living doing it.

People may think instrument repairs are expensive, but many technicians run into a hard cap on pricing in the market place. There is a clear tipping point where the decision to repair is less economical than the decision to replace. This is a problem if the technician does not sell instruments. They end up battling to keep the sale in house in the form of a repair, so it is not uncommon that they short themselves on the price they wish to charge.

This tipping point has been exacerbated by business practices utilized by some instrument makers and retailers. With the lower cost instruments many retailers are favoring, it is becoming increasingly prevalent that if there is a problem with an instrument in the warranty period it is replaced rather than repaired. No technician necessary. While this may alleviate some pressure on the need for repairs, it also instills a devaluation of the nature of repairs in general. Why repair when you can replace?

The seemingly market-driven practice of reducing repair pricing to make the sale, which has been going on as long as I have been in the business, ends up forcing technicians to work longer hours for less money. It can lead to illness, injury, and burnout. But I think the tipping point has been reached and we can see this in some of the younger techs entering the field.

In recent years many technicians have found that a way out of this downward spiral is to create efficiencies in their processes and, to be frank about it, turn away repairs that do not fit into that model. They don’t have to be everything to everyone going from clarinet to guitar to tuba to oboe in a day. One example of work efficiencies could be to work mostly on student model clarinets: focus on the tooling, supplies, and workspace design necessary to maximize efficiency and output with student and intermediate model clarinets. If someone comes in with a bari sax in need of repair it could certainly be something the technician is capable of handling, but it requires changing gears both mentally and in the allocation of space, tools, and supplies. More and more technicians faced with such an interruption to their work flow are either charging an unaltered price for their time (perhaps with a premium), or turning the bari sax repair down altogether.

This practice has no bearing on the quality of the instrument, the nature of the repair, and certainly should not be seen as a snub against a potential patron. It is what the technician has to do to stay in business. Your repair is atypical to their process and work flow and can actually pose a threat to their ability to maximize what they can earn from their time.

Yes, it comes down to money. But it is more about earning the money needed to survive in this society than getting “rich”.

All Press is not Good Press

In addition to remaining financially viable as a business, a technician’s reputation is probably the most important aspect of their business. As the saying goes, bad news travels half way around the world while good news is still putting on its shoes. Negative reactions, bad energy, rumors whispered during rehearsals are all things repair techs strive to minimize or eliminate. Positive feedback only tends to come when asked but negative opinions have the pervasive power of gossip.

Consider the opening story. A customer brings a flute to a music store and the repair tech ruins it. That’s the headline that has the potential to catch fire. There is no detail given that is was a Lark flute made in China in the 1980’s. It is not mentioned that the customer took it to 4 other repair shops and was turned away before this one tech tried to help. The fact is not offered that the technician admitted his error, apologized, and reimbursed the customer with a flute of at least triple value that was infinitely more serviceable at no cost.

What every technician dreads is bad press. Everyone in business is aware that they are not going to please everyone, but we try nonetheless. Make things convenient for your customers. Make them feel welcome. Don’t charge too much. Don’t take too long. Do the repair properly. It can be a lot to manage. Repair techs and business owners can constantly be pulled in different directions and sometimes they need to set some boundaries.

If there is a repair out of their normal groove, if a repair has a low chance of success, or if a customer’s expectations outstrip what is reasonably possible within the design of the instrument or their budget, why risk putting something out there that can be a lightning rod for negative commentary?

Likewise, “just make it work” repairs are becoming a less accepted task. When I was starting my career over 3 decades ago, “just make it work” repairs were what kept the doors open. Repair techs garnered illustrious reputations among music teachers at how quickly they were able to save the day. I do not play in that sand lot any more, but I think that has changed as well.

Now more technicians are turning away “just make it work” repairs because they cannot stand behind the continued functioning of the instrument. What can happen is a student takes an instrument in for a “just make it work” repair with details discussed with the technician— the instrument functions, but not well and that is ok for the student per the discussion with the tech. The student’s teacher sees it some time later, determines that it is not working as it should, and only knows that it was “just in the shop”. They are not privy to the details surrounding what the student and tech discussed and agreed on for a course of action. But now the teacher has a bad impression of the tech’s work based on incomplete or incorrect information.

Nobody wants to risk that catastrophic snowball careening down the mountain toward the quaint alpine village. So repairs are instead done on the technician’s terms. If they can’t do a complete enough job to stand behind the work they have done, no amount of money will convince them to endanger their reputation by doing otherwise.

Repair Techs are like Gandalf

If you are familiar with the books of J.R.R. Tolkien (or the movies), the wizard Gandalf is often seen as the problem solver, the answerer of questions, and the person who is relied upon when needed most. He bends over backwards, gives his all (and more), to accomplish what must be done. But noticeably, Gandalf has other things he has to worry about and is not always available for or concerned with every task or trouble. He can’t “fix” everything, and sometimes deliberately steps aside from events where others wish he was present and participating.

Repair techs are loosely similar to wizards in this regard. They can’t be there to fix every problem and answer every question. While they may have knowledge of how to do battle successfully with a hill troll or a shoddily-made instrument, whichever the case may be, they do not actively seek them out. They are wise to avoid them when they have more pressing engagements and do not have time and energy to waste. Repair techs will bend over backwards and give their all (and more) for their customers. Their ways are mysterious and they are wielders of awesome power, but they are just people trying to make their way in the world helping as many as they can along the way.

Reasons an instrument may be turned away

Quality or condition
An instrument of questionable quality or one that has sustained particular damage is the most often turned away. This is most often based on the chance that the repair will fail, the repair will not make the instrument significantly better, or that any repair would need to be so chock full o’ compromises that it would be potentially damaging to the technician’s reputation if seen in the wild.

Time
As mentioned before, there are more instruments to repair than hours in the day to repair them. Even the most flexible yoga practicing tech will have their limits when bending over backwards for customers. If a tech doesn’t have time to fit your repair in, it’s not personal.

Cost-effectiveness
One area where I can be pretty stubborn is when a customer wants me to apply top tier standards to their mid tier instruments. This can be problematic because the mid tier instruments are inherently lacking in key mechanical details that are required to establish those standards. For example, the difference in hand made flutes between a basic overhaul and a conversion to Straubinger or JS pads is about $500. However, if someone had a mid range flute and wanted those pads installed, it would not only cost 2-3x more in labor to establish the necessary standards, the precision needed would be compromised, and the flute would not function appreciably better to justify such expense or investment of time.

I cannot in good faith take someone’s money for what is essentially a waste of time with no real benefit.

In a similar vein, (and this happened earlier this week) when a deficiency in the design or construction of a mid range instrument is identified and the customer wants it corrected, I will almost always decline. Unless it is something quite basic, it is a losing battle. The benefit compared to the cost is incredibly out of balance. If the quality of a better designed and more refined instrument is desired, spend the money on a better designed and more refined instrument.

Out-of-Area-of-Focus
If a tech decides to operate their shop focusing on just fixing student clarinets, or just overhauling high end piccolos, they may not be interested in anything that isn’t in that area of focus.

I am reminded of the old auto mechanic in my home town who would not only fix your transmission, but also help you fix your lawn mower or the hydraulics on your tractor, or go with you to the auto auction to give advice on what was a decent buy. Try pulling up to the service department at your Honda dealership and trying to get help with any of those things today.

Unreasonable Expectations
This can relate to many of the previous points but is worthy of its own note. This often comes up in the area of major projects such as restorations or customizations. The customer may not understand the full scope of the project and have starry eyed ambitions for how it will be when complete. If there is a suitable gulf between what I am able to provide with the palette of the instrument to be repaired and what the customer’s hopes and dreams are, I will decline the repair.

Often I will even refuse to offer an overly inflated price. Many technicians have stories of quoting a “go away” price that they thought was so high that nobody would accept it, only to have the customer say “ok”. Quite often the resulting repair ends up being far more involved and the time spent cruises right by the quote without so much as a tip of the hat.

As always, develop a good relationship with your technician. Use them for their strengths and become aware of what they are likely to not prefer working on. Lean on them for their knowledge so you can be better informed about the care your instruments need to serve you the best.

At the Woodwindfixer’s Bench is a publication of Jeff’s Woodwind Shop, a repair shop for professional musicians in the National Capital Region. Visit www.woodwindfixer.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.