Get Out of My Way!

by Drew Holmes

Someone got in my way and it really frustrated me. That person was me.

A few years ago at Boomer Music we started having Step Up day, a semi-annual event where we offer extra trade in value and financing options to our instrument rental customers when they upgrade their instrument. We get in extra inventory from our manufacturers and bring them to schools for students to try out in band and orchestra rehearsals. Prior to the shutdowns and cancellations that personified 2020, we were in the early stages of planning our next event.

We have had several people contact us over the last year asking about Step Up Day and asking what we could do to help them get a nicer instrument. We have consulted with them and identified models of instruments that should meet their needs and scheduled one-on-one tryouts with whichever staff member is a specialist on that instrument. This is slightly more complicated that having an event, since it’s extended over weeks, not truncated into a day.

Since we are about to miss our third Step Up Day Event due to COVID-19, I started thinking we should formally offer this step up consultation to our interested customers. But then I started thinking about the extra logistics involved and the increased time commitments and talked myself out of this. Besides, what if no one wants to do it? Or What if everyone wants to do it? It’s just too hard.

But then I asked myself one simple question: Will this bring us closer to accomplishing our mission of helping people to love music through music making?

Yes.

Then the answer became clear. We are going to make this work. The decreased opportunities for music making over the last year has created an increased appreciation for music. Anything we can do to help further someone on their journey towards a lifelong love of music is something we need to be doing, now more than ever. So it will mean some extra phone calls, emails, and scheduling. So it will take some extra weeks or months. So what?

I have an idea. Now I can start to formulate a plan and make this happen. Rather than wallow in my self-pity that we cannot do it the way we would prefer, I can get to work doing it the best that we can.

And all I had to do was get out of my way.