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‘More Than Just a Flute Shop:’ A Chat with Flute Center of New York’s Phil Unger

Christian Wissmuller • August 2020Retail • July 28, 2020

“My start came through the repair end,” explains Flute Center of New York’s (FCNY) president and owner/master repair technician Phil Unger. “Never in a million years did I expect to end up owning the number-one flute specialty shop in the nation.”

While Unger may never have expected to be in such a position, it’d be hard to argue against his business’ stature. With a staggering selection of instruments across every brand imaginable (quite possibly the literal truth), accessories and sheet music, an extensive and massively successful rental program, one of the most respected repair teams in the industry, and a staff of experts to provide guidance and advice, Flute Center of New York is truly unique.

Unger continues the story of his own entry into the business: “It was my mother who said, ‘You’ve always been good with your hands and love taking things apart, so how bout musical instrument repair?’ It sounded good to me so I was accepted into Bob Getzen’s Allied Instrument Repair program in Elkhorn Wisconsin in 1977. Turns out it was the best training to be had and after one year of daily 8-5 training, you really knew your stuff.”

Unger then took a position at Colvert Music in Dallas, Texas and also became the woodwind repairman for the Dallas Independent School System. “On weekends I started my own business specializing in professional flutes and all woodwinds,” he says. “Of course, repairing these flutes require an entirely different skill set. So I called the Powell flute company in Boston and was able to get the foreman of the shop on the phone. I said, ‘I will pay you whatever you want if you will teach me professional flute repair.’ This happened to be Jim Phelan, who eventually became the owner of the Powell company for a brief time and wrote the Bible on professional flute repair.” Phelan agreed, giving Unger $100 a day and a place to live.

Building a Reputation

“Little by little I started doing much of the professional flute repairs in Texas and even throughout the nation,” says Unger. “In 1983 Sir James Galway visited my shop which was the beginning of a lifetime friendship. Jean-Pierre Rampal also came whenever he was in town and became a friend. A natural outgrowth of repairing flutes was helping people to sell their flutes. I was perfectly positioned for this endeavor, as I was building a vast network of flute players from all over the world. I still remember selling my first gold flute! This was exciting. I was also the very first dealer for a major flute maker. This was Powell flutes. Before this, they would only sell directly to clients.”

At the time, there were relatively few flute-centric businesses and the budding entrepreneur wanted his own to be more than “just” a flute shop. “I wanted to build personal relationships with the large circle of flutists I was meeting from the four corners of the planet,” he says. “It is my belief that we are all born with some special talent or gift. I think many, if not most, never figure out their gifts, but I was acutely aware of my special talent, because it was evident at an early age. That gift was the ability to bring people together. This fits perfectly with what I do every day. As often as I could, I made it a point to not only service or sell a flute to a client, but to ask them to lunch or dinner. In this way, I have developed friendships across the globe. So for me, my business is very personal and intimate. It is not about just selling flutes. I don’t think I could have it any other way.”

Next Stop: New York City

In 1994, Unger moved his family from Texas to New Jersey where the next chapter of his career evolved. “I was approached by David Ginott, then the owner of Rayburn Music in Boston and another store in NYC,” he recalls. “He asked me to come to Manhattan and partner with him in his store. This is how I got my start in NYC. Eventually I went out on my own right on Columbus Circle, the musical center of the universe. Rent was exorbitant, but I took big gamble and it paid off. I remember an article I read many years ago in MMR, when you listed the top retail music shops in the nation. There was one that was listed as doing $4M that year and I knew the owner, having done many transactions with him in the past. I thought to myself, ‘Man, if I ever reach that mark, I will consider myself a success!’ Well, last year we topped $7M.”

While he’s clearly the driving force behind the operation, Unger generously shares credit for Flute Center of New York’s success. “I have surrounded myself with the greatest staff known in our business,” he beams. “We have built a cohesive and dynamic team that has moved and promoted our brand on an international level. We have been first in how we have accessed social media to extend the FCNY name. Customer happiness, ease of navigating our website, and simple trial arrangements have all added to our success. Simply put, it all starts with the customer coming first and bending over backwards to see to it that any problems or dissatisfactions are dealt with head on and with total transparency.

“Every business has people who will walk away unhappy and any repairman or business who tells you otherwise are not being honest. This just comes with the territory, but if dealt with properly, you may end up with a customer who may never use you again, but you can work a solution where they know that you, as the owner have done everything in your power to remedy the situation. In this they can walk away satisfied that you were ethical and honest with them.”

Coping with COVID-19

As with most businesses, FCNY has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Luckily, [in May] we found out we were approved for the PPP federal program. FCNY is lucky to be the leader in our field and we continue to reach out through our social media arms to stay current and visible. In late April we ended a Virtual Flute Choir contest and had well over 500 flutists from across the globe enter. It was a tremendous amount of work on our end, but it was a wonderful way to bring our community together in a very creative way.” In mid-May, the store ran another contest, in conjunction with the Haynes Flute Company where a Haynes alto flute was given away. Just two days after posting the event, FCNY already had over 250 flutists that had entered.

“So, we just keep moving forward with new and novel ideas,” Unger says. “You must be able to adjust and re-invent yourself when something like a pandemic strikes. Within 24 hours of NYC saying that they were closing down, we were able to move our entire operation to another location. Because of this, we can still offer trials to our customers and our sales are still strong. Of course, not as they were, but we feel enough to keep our entire staff on full salary. We forwarded the phone extensions at the store to everyone’s personal phones. We quickly gave all employees access to their individual computers at work. And to help keep the bond between our workers, as we don’t get to see each other anymore, each day each person tells what they did for the day and what their day was like. It is usually punctuated with humor and insight, as they continue to streamline our processes, even from home. This really helps to maintain a sense of still ‘working together,’ even though it is remotely. I must say that I owe a great deal of our success to the FCNY team. We are lucky to have each other.”

Fruits of Hard Work, Dedication Unger’s journey in New York began in a 100 square-foot space with just himself and one other repairman, while the first Flute Center of New York was housed in a 900 square-foot location. Today’s facility and staff speak to the great success and growth of the operation: 2,500 square feet, eight full-time employees, two part time, and three repairmen.

“We are also the largest consignment flute shop in the world, by far,” Unger says. “This costs us no real overhead and contributes a significant amount to our bottom line. We have become known as the place to go for previously owned instruments. As we represent almost every substantial maker as a dealer, we never push any specific brand. We always allow our customers the dignity to choose what they feel is right for them. If they ask our help, which is often the case in the shop, then we lend an unbiased ear. All of our staff has either a master’s or a doctor of flute performance degree. In this way, they are eminently qualified to assist every client. We can also boast being number-one in sales for just about every flute manufacturer in the U.S. and abroad.”

Phil Unger is a true standard-bearer for the passion and integrity that the best in MI bring to the table. “I would like to point out that my specific industry, the flute industry is quite unique to all other instruments, I believe,” he says. “It is relatively small and this affords us the environment to be competitive amongst ourselves, but at the same time this is generally a friendly competitiveness. You can imagine that after 40 years of seeing my colleagues year after year, I have also made great friends within the industry. This is special and I always try to keep communication between even us open and transparent. It just makes for a better life!”

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