In Praise of Conn-Selmer

There’s no substitute for dedicated customer service.

As a brick and mortar retailer, I am well aware of the value of the shopping experience and in-store customer service. It is my best edge against the Internet world in my market. But instances of great customer service from suppliers are rarely discussed in the music trade press and online discussion groups.

At one of our many instrument try-outs for beginning students, we met a young man named Garrett whose mom had concerns about the cleaner we used to disinfect mouthpieces. Garrett suffers from many food and related allergies to the point that, at his young age, he carries an Epi-Pen for emergency situations. If he inadvertently encounters something like food coloring, his face swells and his throat closes up, for example.

When he made a decision to play the clarinet after hearing other students try it, we discussed what it was in a clarinet that might pose a problem for him. One of our technicians, who also has many similar allergy issues suggested approaching our district manager at Conn-S

elmer about the situation to see what solutions might be available from their production people who build the Vito clarinets we use for student rentals.

Our district manager, T.J. Waicul, working with quality engineer, Nancee Estes, and manufacturing manager, Brad Wolford, explored the dyes and polishes used, the cleaning cloths used in the plant, and even the latex gloves the staff wears in the assembly process. This became a customer service project for the eight line workers who custom built a clarinet for Garrett. They eliminated chemicals, washed parts with deionized water, left the case open for days to eliminate lingering odors, and did all of this without their latex gloves. When the clarinet arrived in our store, each section carefully sealed in plastic, the package included a description of the manufacturing process and each technician individually explained their role and signed off on it.

When Garrett and his mom came to the store yesterday to get the new “special” clarinet, Garrett’s eyes were huge and his mom’s were full of tears. I’m sure they will tell all of their friends in person and on social media. 

Conn-Selmer made my company look like heroes by going far beyond what is normally expected of a supplier. They embraced Garrett’s problem as their own and found a solution. I have been a Conn-Selmer dealer for more than 20 years and can’t say enough about how I am treated as their customer.

They inspire me to do the same with my customers. Drew Parker is president of Separk Music, Co. in Lewisville, North Carolina. www.separkmusic.com

TESTIMONIALS

“I felt stunned that they went this far and were so concerned with the allergies that I have. These by far are some of the only people other than my parents that really understand my dye and gluten allergies. This is one of the nicest things that anyone has done for me. When I heard that nine technicians worked on this one of a kind clarinet just for me, I felt really special. I really want to thank all of the people that felt like they needed to do this for my allergies. Now that Conn-Selmer has done this for me, I know that they can do it for other people in the future that have severe allergies like my brother, Ethan James. Thank you for making band class a really cool thing to participate in!” – Garrett Sapp

My husband and I just want to commend Separk Music Company for their communication with me and for their communication in relaying the concern about Garrett’s allergies to the Conn-Selmer clarinet company, who personally constructed a one of a kind individual clarinet for Garrett. Truly this type of customer service is very rare and went above and beyond what we would have expected. As a mom of two children with severe allergies, it truly touched my heart to see what they had done for Garrett. The attention to detail in order to avoid chemicals and take into consideration Garrett’s allergy to food coloring and gluten was phenomenal! Thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts!” – Heather Sapp

“As his teacher, I am truly grateful that a business puts the needs of a future musician in such high regard. They should be commended for taking such tedious care in making my students clarinet to ensure he has no adverse reactions to chemicals that he is highly allergic to. Love and passion are evident in the Conn-Selmer Company. I am the owner of a Selmer Super Action 80 Alto Saxophone. It makes me proud to own an instrument and purchase more in the future because of their proactive efforts for music education.” – Adam Joiner, Garrett’s band director