Meet Tom Seymour of The Fret House in Covina

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Seymour.

Tom, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The original business license was taken out in November of 1969. We began with lessons, repairs and a small inventory. Profits were reinvested to grow the business. We celebrated the opening with a “hootenanny” which has continued to this day as open mic night on the first Saturday of the month. We arrived in downtown Covina in 1986, which allowed us to have a dedicated performance area where we present touring acoustic artists. We managed to get through many economic cycles by remaining focused on providing the services our customers have asked for. I stay hands on by continuing to do some repairs, teach some lessons and talk to customers in the front of the store, and train new employees.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As the “Folk” revival came to an end, the larger stores reduced their acoustic guitar selections. We increased ours to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. We added electric guitars and amps and began renting student band instruments. We added computers to handle accounting, sales and inventory. The arrival of the internet has presented many challenges to brick and mortar stores. We no longer advertise in local phone books and rarely use direct mail which were once the main channels to reach our local customers.

We now focus on the digital world to communicate our message to a larger population.

Word of mouth has always been and continues to be very important. Conservative fiscal management has gotten us through many slow periods.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Fret House – what should we know?
We are a retail music store specializing in guitars. We have a large selection of high quality American made guitars as well as less expensive instruments for beginning and intermediate players. We always inspect and set up our instruments to suit the needs of the customer. Out of the box guitars almost always need adjustments. Our least expensive instruments set up to be easy to play for the tender fingered beginning player to help them be successful in their quest to make music.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Having a clearly defined goal and a willingness to adapt to change.

Contact Info:

• Address: 309 N Citrus Ave.
• Website: www.frethouse.com
• Phone: (626) 339-7020
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fret.house
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFretHouse/

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