The following isn’t technically a drum tip. It is an open goodbye letter for our former store manager, John Johnson.
Hey everybody. John Johnson, former manager of the Drum Center here. I wanted to write something to explain my leaving the store and introduce you to my replacement.
First and foremost I want to make clear that I did not leave the store angry or upset about anything. I plan to be friends with the owners, other employees, and teachers for the rest of my life. I sincerely love and miss them all. Also I do still, and will always shop at the Drum Center and nowhere else. I am still a professional, workingdrummer and I’m more active now than ever so I need stuff a lot. The Drum Center continues to provide the best prices and customer service in the state. Period.
I can sum up my main reason for leaving in three words: I HATE RETAIL!!! I always have. I’ve had several retail jobs so I speak from plenty of experience. The holiday hours and Saturdays after gigs the night before. The constant sales calls and visits from people trying to sell you something. The Drum Center customers are the reason why I was there in the first place. I can honestly say I loved that part. Helping people solve problems and being able to see them smile when I was able to help make their drums sound better than they ever thought possible was very rewarding to me. I felt like I was giving something to the brotherhood of drummers in the community, a brotherhood that I am part of that will always be dear to me. Drummers treat each other better than any other group of people who play the same instrument (guitarists, singers, etc.). I miss the daily interaction the job allowed me to have and I guess I always will. Thanks for the memories brothers. Play hard!!!
The new manager of the store, Vince Grino (affectionately known as “V”) was suggested to the store owners by me. I met V in the mid-nineties when we both lived in Morehead, KY for college. I suggested V because the continued success and continued level of customer service at Drum Center are very important to me. V is as knowledgeable as I am if not more so. He can tune and fix things, too. To me, he was the best logical choice for my replacement. V has my full endorsement and respect and faith in his abilities. Also, he’s just a great guy. Stop in and see for yourself if you haven’t already. You’ll see.
And lastly, a word about the Drum Center’s newest teacher, Drew Charron. Drew is a former student of mine whom I’ve known for many years. Don’t let his age fool you. I wish I had it together half as well as he does! Drew went from being possibly the finest, most dedicated young student I ever had to being a fantastic player. His abilities are way beyond his years. Trust me on this. He would be a fantastic choice for a drum teacher. He has my full endorsement as well. Now if I could get his! Drew is very cool.
I am now attending barber school. It was something I thought long and hard about. I am a people person. I just don’t like selling and retail. I want to continue to help people and serve them but in a much different way. I also want to set my own hours and own my own business. This is the best thing I can do to achieve these goals, I believe. So, if any of y’all need a haircut, check me out! I’ll be the same old John doing something different and I will do it to a very high standard. I’ll have some business cards at the Drum Center very soon.
Take care everybody, I miss you and think of you often.
Sincerely,
John Johnson
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