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  • Fallen brothers

    I have heard now from a couple of sources, that one of my "competitors" has been diagnosed with cancer and is apparently no longer doing repair. I never met the guy, his name is Gene, and he ran the electronics shop across town at a large music store. I won't name the store, but it is the same name as a very well known British amp maker. I worked there myself for 8 years, and just couldn't stand the guy in charge, so I left. But I hold no grudge against the poor folk who are employed there. I believe in professional courtesy, and wouldn;t hesitate to help a fellow tech, even if he is competing with me for repair work.

    I always intended to call him and introduce myself, not sure if I wanted to actually enter that store, but too late now. I know he knew who I was too. No one has ever said anything negative about the man, and seemed to me he knew what he was doing. In this town, there are two music store electronic repair shops and my independent shop, that is about it for commercial repair. There are any number of guys doing this work as a hobby. I see Dan from the Music Manor now and then, and we speak on the phone from time to time, but I feel kinda guilty now that as small as our little group is, I never talked to Gene. Mostly I'd hear about him from my customers who also used his services. As with any fellow tech, you just never know when some little gem of wisdom will be found. But such conversations are now never to be.

    This won't be on the news like Amy Winehouse, but still, it is sad when we lose someone from the music world. I wish him well.
    Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

  • #2
    I can't tell from your post Doug whether he has passed on or not, but if not, it is the right time to track him down and call him. It would probably be good for his spirits, and reading between the lines in your post, I think it might be good for yours too.

    I make it a point to stay friendly with my direct competition, and of course with the rest of the service industry across the USA and even into Europe. We're a small bunch, and I got to know a lot of our group from when I worked both at Music Industries Corp. and Samson Technologies (like you Doug!). At Winter NAMM, we have a group of attendees that meet for dinner with ourselves and many service managers from industry companies, and have been doing it for years. Some have retired and/or passed on, but it was always good to know that these people were out there and we were all willing to support each other. Even here in NYC, we have another shop that is sort of our competition, but they just maintain certain clients now. I know one of the owners forever, and he even sat here in my office when he opened up and told me how he was going to put us all out of business, with a smile on his face of course. Well, we're still all here, and when he calls me for parts or schematics, I take care of him as I would anyone else. Karma comes around and back. You can be sure of that.
    John R. Frondelli
    dBm Pro Audio Services, New York, NY

    "Mediocre is the new 'Good' "

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    • #3
      Wow.....thats scary 'cause his brother Steve (The tech for Stereo Center in Flint) died from cancer a few years ago. He was a sharp tech and a great guy.
      The farmer takes a wife, the barber takes a pole....

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      • #4
        You know a lot more about him than I do, then. Yeah, as far as I know, Gene still lives in FLint and was commuting to Lansing. As far as I know, he is still with us, just gave up on the job.
        Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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