I always felt like I was in Grandma's attic in there, some nice gear but amps stacked up, no room to move around.
Where else do you get a hand written receipt.
Where else do you get a hand written receipt.
That is a sure sign that any business is soon going to be on the scrap heap.I always felt like I was in Grandma's attic in there, some nice gear but amps stacked up, no room to move around.
Where else do you get a hand written receipt.
I'm no expert in business like you are but I don't think the hand written receipts had anything to do with it,.. the owner dying may have.That is a sure sign that any business is soon going to be on the scrap heap.
I don't know, it worked and served people well. I'm just a young kid so my dealings were few in comparison to some of the other folks in the city but I'm sure they can chime in on how well things went with Brian and handwritten receipts. I know I've spoken many times with people and the reviews were good,.. eventually though in the last years it turned under new managers.I had the same feeling as mentioned about the hand written bills of sale.
Quaint and charming but ultimately not very confidence inspiring.
I bought a 2008 Simon &Patrick from some guy last year. It still has the original handwritten receipt in the case,I should also mention that I've bought guitars second hand in this city that still have the handwritten receipt and the card verification slip stapled together in the case compartment. I like that.
I buy regularly from successful businesses that issue hand-written receipts. The local mom'n'pop music shop does them sometimes, usually stapled to a cash register receipt, to offer an itemized account of the sale. My plumber does the same, even from his shop, not just on location.That is a sure sign that any business is soon going to be on the scrap heap.
After Brian died, the widow drove away some good people, including long-time manager Tyler Stang, who started up Stang Guitars. It's clear to me that there was never any intention of keeping the business as a going concern, investing in it in any way, or selling it. Whatever else was going on, in the past year it became obvious that the place was winding up operations and was going to shut down at some point. Their primitive website has been advertising excellent deals for quite some time. Lots of 1/3 to 1/2 off deals for walk-in customers, some of which were advertisied on their website. Regarding the cost of inventory, they have been discounting some stuff based on whatever was paid for it 10 or 15 years ago, resulting in some absolutely screaming deals.For the sake of clarity, Avenue didn't end up under new ownership or management. When Brian passed away his wife took over. She was always involved in the business. Brian was in his early 60's when he passed away almost 3 years ago. One can only assume that his wife really didn't want to run the business in the event of his death and even less so 3 years later, not to mention that their lease was expiring and Whyte Ave isn't the most reasonably priced space in the city. The issue regarding hand written receipts was really irrelevant to the success of the business but it's an important indicator of a business that didn't progress into the new millennium where inventory is tracked by computer. I can't imagine how they keep track of their inventory and more so what their cost of that inventory really is (or was). By all accounts it is still a sad day when stores like this close their doors.
Everything you've noted is absolutely true.After Brian died, the widow drove away some good people, including long-time manager Tyler Stang, who started up Stang Guitars. It's clear to me that there was never any intention of keeping the business as a going concern, investing in it in any way, or selling it. Whatever else was going on, in the past year it became obvious that the place was winding up operations and was going to shut down at some point. Their primitive website has been advertising excellent deals for quite some time. Lots of 1/3 to 1/2 off deals for walk-in customers, some of which were advertisied on their website. Regarding the cost of inventory, they have been discounting some stuff based on whatever was paid for it 10 or 15 years ago, resulting in some absolutely screaming deals.